Motherland (Natalie Merchant album)

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[2]
Billboard(Favorable)[3]
E! OnlineB+[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
Jam!(Favorable)[5]
MojoStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[1]
QStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[1]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[6]
Slant MagazineStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[7]
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Motherland is the third studio album by Natalie Merchant, released on November 13, 2001, by Elektra Records.

History

Originally, a song named "The End" was supposed to appear on the album instead of "Not In This Life". Merchant noted that: "I'd take out one song, 'Not in This Life,' because it seems frivolous to me now. And I'd put back a song called 'The End,' which probably would have gotten me in trouble. Part of the lyric goes: 'That'll be the end of war/ the end of the law of Bible, of Koran, Torah.' I really wanted to put it on the record, but I felt there was so much serious material already that I chose something lighter, for balance."[8] "The End" later appeared on Merchant's self-titled sixth studio album (2014).

Two tracks from Motherland, "Tell Yourself" and "Not in This Life", appeared on the television series Felicity and Alias respectively.[9][10] The song "Henry Darger" is about "posthumously appreciated outsider artist" Henry Darger.[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant.[12]

  1. "This House Is on Fire" – 4:42
  2. "Motherland" – 4:44
  3. "Saint Judas" – 5:44
  4. "Put the Law on You" – 5:01
  5. "Build a Levee" – 4:46
  6. "Golden Boy" – 4:10
  7. "Henry Darger" – 4:24
  8. "The Worst Thing" – 5:46
  9. "Tell Yourself" – 5:14
  10. "Just Can't Last" – 4:31
  11. "Not in This Life" – 5:22
  12. "I'm Not Gonna Beg" – 3:40

Personnel

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String sections (1, 7, 8)

  • Alan Stepansky – cello (1, 7, 8)
  • Elizabeth Dyson – cello (7)
  • Sarah Seiver – cello (7)
  • Jeremy McCoy – double bass (7)
  • Karen Dreyfus – viola (1, 7, 8)
  • Nicholas Cords – viola (7)
  • Vivek Kamath – viola (7)
  • Sandra Park – violin (1, 8), first violin (7), string contractor (7)
  • Sharon Yamada – violin (1, 7, 8)
  • Bruno Eicher – violin (7)
  • Soo Hyun Kwon – violin (7)
  • Ann Kim – violin (7)
  • Lisa Kim – violin (7)
  • Krzysztof Kuznik – violin (7)
  • Karen Marx – violin (7)
  • Laura Seaton – violin (7)
  • Rob Shaw – violin (7)
  • Fiona Simon – violin (7)
  • Jung Sun Yoo – violin (7)

Production

  • T-Bone Burnett – producer
  • Natalie Merchant – producer, package design
  • Mike Piersante – recording
  • Ryan Boesch – recording assistant
  • Kevin Dean – recording assistant
  • Brandon Mason – recording assistant
  • Keith Shortreed – recording assistant
  • Jim Scott – additional recording, mixing
  • Jennifer Hilliard – mix assistant
  • Robert Read – mix assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
  • Paul Ackling – production assistant, guitar technician
  • Lili Picou – package design
  • Laura Wilson – photography
  • Gary Smith – management

Charts

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Chart performance for Motherland
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 83

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Motherland by Natalie Merchant". Metacritic.com. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 1, 2001. p. 20. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Entertainment Weekly review". Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  5. ^ Jam! review[dead link]
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2007.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Slant review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  8. ^ Singer, Barry (July 7, 2002). Natalie Merchant, Accidental Prophet. The New York Times.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Various – Felicity. Senior Year". Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  10. ^ "Color Blind." Alias, season 1, episode 7, November 25, 2001. Directed by Jack Bender, written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. American Broadcasting Company.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Natalie Merchant: Motherland : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Motherland | Natalie Merchant". Nataliemerchant.com. May 4, 2017.
  13. ^ Template:Cite Ryan

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