From Leave Your Sleep [2 CDs plus book]

Natalie Merchant presents 'Leave Your Sleep', her first studio album since 2003's 'The House Carpenter's Daughter'. This release is the culmination of seven years' research and collaboration and is, in Merchant's words, "the most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined."

A two-disc set, 'Leave Your Sleep' is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected by Merchant including pieces by both well-known and obscure writers. Featured are works by British Victorians, early- and mid-20th century Americans and contemporary writers as well as anonymous nursery rhymes and lullabies. Among the authors included are Ogden Nash, e.e. cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Robert Graves.

In addition to a new method of lyricism, Merchant stretches out musically on 'Leave Your Sleep' by collaborating with a broad spectrum of artists - some old friends, some she has admired from afar - including the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Medeski Martin & Wood, members of the New York Philharmonic, The Klezmatics, Lúnasa and Hazmat Modine. "The sessions were recorded in live ensemble settings to capture a fresh and spontaneous energy," notes Merchant. "They were some of the most magical experiences I've ever had making music."

Natalie Merchant was the original lead singer for the alt rock band 10,000 Maniacs which she joined in 1981. Merchant left the band in 1993 after releasing more than five albums with the band, to purse a very successful solo career..