ALBUM REVIEW

10,000 MANIACS

“10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged”

Elektra

* * * 1/2

Call it Michael Jordan Syndrome: Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs are, unfortunately, packing it in while well ahead of the game.

Their swan song together is a belated TV soundtrack that shapes up as the best of the albums to come out of the “Unplugged” franchise. It’s not that far afield from the band’s usual live set--only the guitars have really been unplugged, joined by mandolin, bassoons, a string section, etc.--yet it provides even more tender context for Merchant’s bittersweetness.

Part of the quintet’s greatness has always been the exquisitely furious spin put on the singer’s literate prose poetry. The slightly more delicate framing here is also more obvious, but obviously appropriate. With a hit version of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen’s “Because the Night” joining 13 personal bests, this is a lovely cork in a brilliant career.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).