After rising to fame at the helm of the popular folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant enjoyed even greater success as a solo artist during the mid-'90s. Her literate, socially conscious songs established her among the preeminent women in pop music, while her solo debut – 1995's Tigerlily – helped pave the way for a number of female performers in a pre-Lilith Fair market. She continued releasing albums well into the 2000s, often examining specific genres or subjects, although Tigerlily remained her biggest-selling record…

A benefit album for abortion rights, Born to Choose features an almost standard cast of alternative musicians (including R.E.M., Natalie Merchant, Matthew Sweet, Bob Mould, and Soundgarden) supporting the most overtly political of all recent tribute collections. Born to Choose would be meaningless if the music was weak. Even though it is the standard mix of outtakes, B-sides, and live tracks, the music is worth the price, with R.E.M. & Natalie Merchant's "Photograph," Pavement's "Greenlander," and Sweet's "She Said, She Said" being the major highlights.

The first collection to present this decade's musical creation and evolution, Whatever includes radio regulars and chart-toppers such as Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, En Vogue, Collective Soul, Spin Doctors, Joan Osborne, Duran Duran, Hanson, Jewel, Kris Kross, Sarah McLachlan and more. Whatever also rocks back to Lollapalooza's early pioneers Primus with 'My Name Is Mud', Babes In Toyland's 'Sweet 69', Luscious Jackson's hit 'Naked Eye', Dinosaur Jr.'s 'Start Choppin', and The Flaming Lips' single 'She Don't Use Jelly'.

Teaming up with T-Bone Burnett was a good, healthy move for Natalie Merchant. She had begun to sink into vaguely tuneless singer/songwriterisms with her second solo album, Ophelia, and the sag in artistic quality was notable – which may have been why she bought time with a live album in 1999. Burnett helps restore some musical backbone to her music on Motherland, even if the record is hardly a gritty affair (apart from Merchant's voice, which seems to have deepened and grown tougher since the last time out). Still, there's some character within the sound – atmospheric, blues post-folk-rock, music that breathes – not nearly as precious as Tigerlily or any of the 10,000 Maniacs' records, for that matter, while retaining Merchant's signature sound. Upon first listen, none of the songs announce themselves, yet it all sticks together, and repeated plays reveal Motherland as a subtle grower that will satisfy her large cult.

The collection comprises ten discs, including all eight of her solo studio albums from the past three decades; Butterfly, a new studio set featuring four new songs and six reinterpreted selections from her catalog, all arranged for string quartet; and Rarities, a collection of fifteen rare and previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1998 and 2017, which offers a unique view of Merchant's creative experimentation through home studio demos, album outtakes, live tracks, and collaborations with diverse artists like Billy Bragg, David Byrne, The Chieftains, Cowboy Junkies, and Amy Helm.