In the ’80s, this Jamestown, New York, quintet copied no one. “We called the music we made ‘proletariat,’” singer Natalie Merchant pretends in the liner notes, but understand this: 10,000 Maniacs rank among the least aw-shucks of bands, flinging their mandolins and left-wing politics like expensive scarves. The hits “What’s the Matter Here?” and “Trouble Me,” as well as album tracks along the well-written lines of “You Happy Puppet,” are generously melodic. They profit further from Merchant’s highly affected alto, an original instrument of screen-door textures and slippery rhythms. Covers — as well as demos, on the second disc — abound: a spot-on resurrection (with Michael Stipe) of Lulu’s old ’60s beauty “To Sir With Love”; a godawful 1993 hit version of Patti Smith’s “Because the Night.” The vibe throughout remains high-minded yet ultra-cozy.

DOWNLOAD THESE “You Happy Puppet,” “Trouble Me”