The songs themselves are pretty good, with the best tracks probably being "Pit Viper" and "My Mother the War". "My Mother the War" became the group's first song to get some airplay. Some of the best songs later appeared on the band's first full length album, The Wishing Chair (1985).

Although this is probably the weakest album yet released by 10,000 Maniacs, it does make a nice addition to a 10KM fan's record collection. Being able to hear Natalie Merchant in her earliest days as an artist is a treat, and John Lombardo's guitar playing and writing are keenly missed in some of 10KM's later releases.

Early Maniacs' Music: A
"Hope Chest" collects the early, independently released tracks that 10,000 Maniacs recorded before signing with Elektra. The mix of styles from post-punk to new wave to neo-reggae to dance beat is fascinating in itself. Equally interesting is the groups' subject matter in its songs: a painter ("Poor De Chirico"); a bullfighter ("Death of Manolete"); atomic boms and/or warfare ("Orange" and "Grey Victory"); multiple personality disorder ("Katrina's Fair") and two tracks putting anti-war British poet Wilfred Owens' verse to music ("The Latin One" and "Anthem For Doomed Youth"). It is clear from the very start that the Maniacs never intended to build a career on catchy pop melodies about love. And for the most part, they remained true to that vision in their music. The sound is a little more raw, a little rougher; Natalie's vocals sound a bit immature at times, but she was only in high school when some of the tracks were recorded. The polish of later CD's is missing, and that is exactly what makes "Hope Chest" so engaging. "Planned Obsolescence," the CD's opening track, may be the most amazing song the group ever recorded. With its loopy new wave sound and its insistent beat and Natalie's echoing lyrics, it still asks a profound question: Can science and fact ever truly replace faith and belief? This CD has become more of a favorite the longer I have owned it. If it is not in your collection, it is an amazing document of a tremendously talented group at the very beginning of its all too brief career.
This album is great, but admiteddly, it takes an acquired taste to appreciate it. If you are a fan of 10,000 Maniacs or of Natalie Merchant, this album has a lot of good tracks that show off their early prowess as a band. A lot of the songs sound light with little production, but it serves to focus on the groups ability to sound great by themselves. Natalie's early vocals are clearly not as strong as her later work, but she does sound fresh, young, and able to belt it out.

Must Have
As someone who had his teen years in the eighties, I was gladly surprised to have heard this album which depicts the first recordings by the band at the beginning of that decade. There's a blend of styles that range from reggae to ska and new wave, that show where Natalie Merchant and company came from. Filled with an innocent flavor that makes it all the more attractive, not your "typical" 10,000 Maniacs album, yet an extraordinary documentary on the band's original work.
"the hope chest" is the only 10,000 maniacs album that i can fully enjoy as an album. the beautiful spontaneity of natalie's youth is so apparent and shining that after hearing "the hope chest" one is ruined for the stenciled drudgery of their subsequent releases. for me, this is the only album in which i can realize, and hear in the music, the passion which this young woman felt for her ideas.