Secrets of the I Ching

Secrets of the I Ching is the first album by 10,000 Maniacs (following their 1982 EP, Human Conflict Number Five), released in 1983 by Christian Burial Music, the band's own label.[7] The album was recorded at SUNY Fredonia, with only 500 copies made. It is the first of their recordings with drummer Jerome Augustyniak.[8] Rerecorded versions of the songs "Tension" (as "Tension Makes a Tangle"), "Grey Victory", "Daktari" and "My Mother the War" appear on their 1985 album The Wishing Chair. The song "Tension" is itself a re-recording of a song that initially appeared on the band's EP.

Secrets of the I Ching
Studio album by
10,000 Maniacs
Released1983
RecordedMarch–July 1983
LabelChristian Burial Music, Mark Recordings (1983 US/Germany)
ProducerAlbert Garzon, 10,000 Maniacs[1]
10,000 Maniacs chronology
Human Conflict Number Five (EP)
(1982)		 Secrets of the I Ching
(1983)		 The Wishing Chair
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB−[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [6]

All the tracks on the LP, in remixed, remastered and resequenced form, appear as part of the 10,000 Maniacs compilation CD Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that the album "begins to bring some needed focus to the band’s warmly eccentric vision by concentrating on the folk-rock elements ... the music ranges from screeching noise layered over a pop hook to almost psychedelic power calypso."[9] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called the album "sonically anemic."[1] The Spin Alternative Record Guide wrote that "it's fun to hear [the band] try their chops on the hip genres of the day."[10]

In a Q interview, Robert Christgau recalled Merchant saying, "...and I'll inform you that I was only 17 years old, so it made a big impression on me – that I'd written the most pretentious lyrics since lysergic acid had been in flower. I was upset then but now I laugh about it because I've put Robert Christgau in perspective."[11]

Track listing

All songs written by John Lombardo and Natalie Merchant, except where indicated

  1. "Grey Victory" (John Lombardo/Robert Buck/Natalie Merchant) – 2:59
  2. "Poor de Chirico" – 3:09
  3. "Death of Manolete" – 3:52
  4. "Tension" – 3:30
  5. "Daktari" – 4:10
  6. "Pit Viper" (Steven Gustafson/Natalie Merchant) – 3:51
  7. "Katrina's Fair" (Robert Buck/Natalie Merchant) – 2:57
  8. "The Latin One" – 2:59
  9. "National Education Week" (Dennis Drew/Natalie Merchant) – 2:47
  10. "My Mother the War" (John Lombardo/Michael Walsh/Natalie Merchant) – 3:31

The above track listing is for the original Mark Records pressing for Christian Burial Music, the band's own label. Subsequent editions of this album are missing "National Education Week".

Personnel

References
  1. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1131.
  2. "Secrets of the I Ching - 10,000 Maniacs | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. "Robert Christgau: CG: 10,000 maniacs". www.robertchristgau.com.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 8: MUZE. p. 91.CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. "RollingStone.com - 10,000 Maniacs Recordings". web.archive.org. May 6, 2001.
  6. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 807. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone 10,000 maniacs album guide.
  7. DeCurtis, Anthony (February 2, 1999). "Rocking My Life Away: Writing about Music and Other Matters". Duke University Press – via Google Books.
  8. The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 997.
  9. "10,000 Maniacs". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 401.
  11. 'Q Questionnaire': Q, January 1994, p154


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