Butterfly

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Natalie Merchant's Butterfly, first released as part of the 2017 ten-disc box set The Natalie Merchant Collection and here available digitally for the first time, is a new studio set featuring four new songs and six reinterpreted selections from her catalog, all arranged for string quartet.

Description

Natalie Merchant's Butterfly, first released as part of the 2017 ten-disc box set The Natalie Merchant Collection and available digitally for the first time on June 25, 2020, is a new studio set featuring four new songs and six reinterpreted selections from her catalog, all arranged for string quartet.

“Since 2010 I’ve performed mainly as soloist with string ensembles and chamber orchestras. I love the subtle emotional quality strings give to my songs and it’s such a pleasure to reinterpret them in this way. In 2015, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of my first solo album, Tigerlily, with an album featuring string quartet versions of that material; with Butterfly, I was able to give ‘My Skin,’ ‘Frozen Charlotte,’ ‘Ophelia,’ and ‘The Worst Thing’ the same attention,” Merchant says.

“There are four songs on this album that I think represent some of the best writing of my career: the title track, ‘Butterfly,’ ‘She Devil,’ ‘Baby Mine,’ and ‘Andalucía,’” she continues. “Written over a period of twenty years, these songs represent such different phases of my life and career. What they all share is that none of them fit into previous albums or I was unable to capture a performance that did them justice. Listening to them today, I hear how they truly belong together.”

Merchant notes, “We have all found ourselves living through a very frightening period of history. Our rare and exceedingly beautiful planet is in peril and all the creatures (our species included) feel on the brink of chaos. In the face of crisis, we still search for meaning and reach out for beauty. I hope that Butterfly is received as my offering of beauty and meaning for these times and that it gives solace to anyone willing to listen."

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Natalie Merchant
reissues?
new-release
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597919462
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597919486

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Natalie Merchant spoke with Sheroes host Carmel Holt, a longtime friend, on the latest episode of the show and its special ten-part series The Road to Joni, honoring Joni Mitchell. This week, on episode four, "The Bridge to Joni," Merchant discusses her own relationship with Mitchell's music and shares a previously unreleased recording of her performing "All I Want" from her personal archives. You can hear the episode, which also features Madison Cunningham, here.

  • "Comfort can come in the form of drawing attention to something that other people feel alone in seeing," Natalie Merchant tells Guy Raz on the latest episode of his podcast The Great Creators. "'Am I the only person who's noticing this?' Well, that's pretty isolating. But the comfort can come in someone saying, 'I see it too, and I'm frightened about it too.'" You can hear their conversation, about her life and career, including her new album, Keep Your Courage, here.

  • About This Album

    Natalie Merchant's Butterfly, first released as part of the 2017 ten-disc box set The Natalie Merchant Collection and available digitally for the first time on June 25, 2020, is a new studio set featuring four new songs and six reinterpreted selections from her catalog, all arranged for string quartet.

    “Since 2010 I’ve performed mainly as soloist with string ensembles and chamber orchestras. I love the subtle emotional quality strings give to my songs and it’s such a pleasure to reinterpret them in this way. In 2015, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of my first solo album, Tigerlily, with an album featuring string quartet versions of that material; with Butterfly, I was able to give ‘My Skin,’ ‘Frozen Charlotte,’ ‘Ophelia,’ and ‘The Worst Thing’ the same attention,” Merchant says.

    “There are four songs on this album that I think represent some of the best writing of my career: the title track, ‘Butterfly,’ ‘She Devil,’ ‘Baby Mine,’ and ‘Andalucía,’” she continues. “Written over a period of twenty years, these songs represent such different phases of my life and career. What they all share is that none of them fit into previous albums or I was unable to capture a performance that did them justice. Listening to them today, I hear how they truly belong together.”

    Merchant notes, “We have all found ourselves living through a very frightening period of history. Our rare and exceedingly beautiful planet is in peril and all the creatures (our species included) feel on the brink of chaos. In the face of crisis, we still search for meaning and reach out for beauty. I hope that Butterfly is received as my offering of beauty and meaning for these times and that it gives solace to anyone willing to listen."