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Has it really been three years since we've had a new Dixie Chicks album? It sure doesn't seem that long, but it was August of 1999 that they released their sophomore album, Fly. But, now the wait is over, and we can all drink our fill of new Chicks music. And I am gonna predict that this one will do as well as their first two.
What you'll notice here is a more "acoustic" sound. Not that either of their previous albums was overproduced, but this one has a more yes, I gotta say it "homey" feeling to it. It was recorded in Texas, the home state of Natalie, Martie, and Emily during their hiatus from touring. The album is co-produced by Natalie's father, Lloyd Maines, along with Emily, Martie and Natalie themselves. The previous two albums were produced by Blake Chancey and Paul Worley.
Of the twelve songs on this album, the Chicks have at one time or another performed five of the songs on television. That could be more, but these are the ones I know of.
Of course, there is the first single, the wildly successful "Long Time Gone," which is in the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart this week, sitting at No. 2. It made it to the Top 10 in just 9 weeks, which is amazing. Most songs take at least 15-20 weeks to reach Top 5, if they ever do make it that high on the charts. The song was made into a video, plus they played it on the Opry earlier this month. The song that will be the next single, "Landslide" is a song that the Chicks have already filmed a video for. They performed this song on the Divas Las Vegas show just last May. The third song they've performed previously was "Travelin' Soldier," which they sang on the 2001 CMA Awards show. The fourth song they've performed previously was "I Believe In Love," which they sang as part of the Freedom Concert in September 2001. The last song would be "White Trash Wedding" which they sang on the Opry earlier this month. So, not all the music is totally new. Those that were fortunate enough to see them during their Fly tour, may remember hearing "Truth No. 2." So, while there is a lot of music that we've heard, there are some wonderful nuggets of gold to be mined from the rest of the album.
As I mentioned, "Long Time Gone" is the first single, and its upbeat, fun story is a great introduction to the "new" Chicks sound.
The Fleetwood Mac cover, "Landslide" is a gorgeous ballad that Natalie wraps her vocals around and gives it her own touch.
Bruce Robison, who is also Emily's brother-in-law wrote "Travelin' Soldier," which is a sad song about a young girl who meets and falls in love with a boy that goes off to Viet Nam, not to return.
"Truth No. 2" is penned by Patty Griffin. I just love the instrumentation. It's so basic, and I love the interesting lyrics as well: "Sing me something brave from your mouth and I'll bring you pearls of water on my hips, and the love in my lips, all the love from my lips."
The girls wrote "White Trash Wedding" about Martie and her husband. It's real bluegrassy, and really shows off the wonderful harmonies the Chicks have.
The song "A Home" is a song of reflection. The relationship didn't work out, and what could have been a home for them is now just "four walls, a roof, a door, some windows. Just a place to run when my working day is through." It starts out rather slow, but the choruses are a bit faster. You can hear Nickel Creek's Chris Thile on mandolin here.
Another ballad, "More Love" talks about "you're my strength, you're my weakness, you're my faith, you're my doubt. We gotta meet in the middle to work this thing out." Again, Chris Thile plays mandolin on this song. This song has a definite Celtic feel to it.
I absolutely love "I Believe In Love," which is very understated. The song was one of two that Martie and Natalie co-wrote with Marty Stuart. She sings, "Oh, I'd rather be alone, like I am tonight, then settle for the kind of love that fades before the morning light."
The second song that Marty Stuart co-wrote with Martie and Natalie is "Tortured, Tangled Hearts." It's very bluegrassy.
An instrumental, "Lil Jack Slade" was just a fun jam session, and Natalie's son loved dancing to it, so they named it after him. Again, Chris Thile plays the mandolin, and even gets a solo here.
Another gorgeous ballad is the sweet "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" which was written by Radney Foster. Emmylou Harris adds her beautiful background vocals here.
Another understated song, "Top of the World" was also written by Patty Griffin. "There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard. Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow."
Usually, it takes me a couple of listens to an album before I can say I have a feel for it, and know which songs I like and which songs I don't. With this album, I loved every song after the first listen. The Chicks definitely have another winner here. While I wouldn't call this traditional, I wouldn't call it contemporary, either. It's kind of a whole type of music of its own, and even so, I'd say that it's a safe bet you'll be hearing many of these songs on country radio in the months and years to come.
Gold... Platinum... Diamond... It all remains to be seen. But, it's definitely worth having, for fans new and old.
Song List:
Album cover courtesy of Sony Nashville.
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