CD Odyssey Disc 1489: The Chicks

I was hoping to get my second shot along with Sheila today but alas, no extras available so I’ll wait my turn a few more days. I’m champing at the bit for the jab, though…

Disc 1489 is…. Taking the Long Way

Artist: Dixie Chicks/The Chicks

Year of Release: 2006

What’s up with the Cover? Glamour! Sheila tells me this “smoky eye” look was all the rage back in 2006. I like the Goth girl look more than most, but this particular smoky eye begs the question “are they zombies or are the vampires?” I’ll be hoping for vampire. It just feels like a better way to die, am I right? Either way, I would happily get in the car with these ladies.

How I Came To Know It: I was a fan when this record came out, but I didn’t buy it right away, even though I loved the big single. I think I hesitated out of fear that the record might feature a lot of pop production. Eventually I remembered that great music is not confined by genre and went and grabbed a copy.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Chicks albums which is all of them with this particular lineup of Emily Robison, Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines. I like all five records, but one has to come in last, and “Taking the Long Way” is that one. Since this is the final review of the albums in my collection, here is a recap:

1. Home: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 140)
2. Wide Open Spaces: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 407)
3. Gaslighter: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1411)
4. Fly: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 548)
5. Taking the Long Way: 3 stars (reviewed right here)

Ratings: 4 stars

My fears that “Taking the Long Way” would be wrecked by a lush pop production turned out to be unfounded. Not because it doesn’t feature that sound – it totally does – but because they make that sound work.

Part of this is the brilliance of producer Rick Rubin. I love that no matter what artist Rubin takes under his wing he always manages to locate the essence of what makes that artist special and bring it to full flower. He’s produced such disparate acts as LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty and lands each of them just right.

“Taking the Long Way” presented an additional challenge. The Chicks’ previous album, “Home” was a return to their roots, heavy on the country and bluegrass influences. Following its release in 2002 they were rejected by many in the mainstream country world over a now-famous exclamation at one of their live shows. It was a deeply unfair and unwarranted response, but the Chicks were not cowed by it. Quite the contrary.

Instead they freed themselves from the trappings of genre, coming back with a record that fully embraced the pop influences that had flared intermittently in their previous records. Rubin, true to the artist as always, came in alongside them and helped make this evolution a sonic success. The result is mostly a pop record, but with a crossover into rock and country that would no doubt make the ghost of Gram Parsons proud.

In terms of tunes these songs are bold, brash with anthemic melodic structures that will have your heart soaring. The Chicks are all talented songwriters, and while many of the songs have shared credit, I can hear their bluegrass roots echo delightfully through the bones of these tunes.

Thematically, the record explores both the complex themes of fame (and when fame goes wrong in a fickle crowd) as well as the juxtaposition of the safe harbour represented in home and family.

On the fame front, the standout is “Not Ready to Make Nice” an anthem for the Chicks in response to their critics, but also handy for anyone who has decided they are going to stand their ground and speak their truth. The Chicks have been told to pipe down and their response is clear; a firmly raised and fully erect middle finger.

The song benefits from some great and unequivocal language, but the slow build in the arrangement also does a great job of underscoring a rising anger, and a greater still determination to be heard.

“The Long Way Around” is another winner, picking up on a theme first explored years earlier on the song “Wide Open Spaces”. That song is full of hope and promise of a young woman hitting the road for the first time. “Long Way Around” is that same road from the other side of experience, still thankful they took the long way.

On the family side, we have “Easy Silence” which captures the importance of a supportive home front. It is a gentle love song about those who provide a shield just by virtue of the peace and stillness they bring to a relationship. I think “Lullaby” is about having a kid. That’s not usually my jam but is such a pretty expression of motherly love I liked it anyway. Hey, I’ve got a heart too, friends.

As with the Chicks’ most recent record, “Gaslighter” all that lush production doesn’t let the individual talents of Emily and Martie shine as much as I like. They are both brilliant, but pop doesn’t afford those constant solo moments to show off like bluegrass does. Pop does love a singer, however, and Natalie Maines does a masterful job of being big and bold on the anthems, and sweet and vulnerable on the back home tunes.

The record features a ton of stars. There are a total of 18 guest musicians, and in addition to the oft -employed pedal steel of Lloyd Maines, we get treated to Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on various keyboards and the legendary Bonnie Raitt singing backup. I’m not sure where they all appear, though. Rubin has decided to blend it all into a symphony of sound.  

While this is a good record, it is too damned long, with 14 songs, and well past 66 minutes of running time. None of the tunes are terrible, but the Chicks should have shaved 2-3 songs and 10 minutes off to allow those songs remaining to stand out better.

The album ends with the soulful sounds of “I Hope” which is essentially a church revival calling upon us all to cleave to our better selves. I’m a sucker for songs that appeal for us all to come together and smile on our brothers, and this one ticked all the boxes. It also has some of Maines best vocal work and some sweet Chicks’ harmony, standing out stark against the suddenly very light touch on the production. Rubin’s magic is still here, but apart from some sweet soloing for the organ and the electric guitar, he is content to shut up and let these three amazing women sing.

Best tracks: The Long Way Around, Easy Silence, Not Ready to Make Nice, Lullaby, I Hope

CD Odyssey Disc 1411: The Chicks

It’s late and I’m tired, but this pilot light of creative writing ain’t gonna glow through wishful thinking alone.

Disc 1411 is…. Gaslighter

Artist: The Chicks

Year of Release: 2020

What’s up with the Cover? No, this is not the Chicks in some earlier phase of their lives, it is Josie Bogle, Emma Martin and Caoimhe O’Shea, collectively known as the Corrigan-White School of Irish Dance pageant winners.

The cover also notes the album is by the “Dixie Chicks” but that’s just because it got released right before they changed their band name. They are now called “The Chicks” and so that, quite naturally, is what I’ll be calling them too.

How I Came To Know It: I am a long-time fan of the Chicks dating back to their first album, so this was just me buying their latest record.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Chicks albums total. Of those, “Gaslighter” lands right in the middle at #3 and is in close contention for #2.

Ratings: 3 stars

When Chicks’ singer Natalie Maines’ ex discovered she had reunited with her old band and that their first album in 14 years was going to be a concept album, he may have hoped it would be the fanciful story of a haunted amusement park. Instead, “Gaslighter” is an unapologetic exploration of every facet of the topic, “my ex-husband is a douchebag.” Cross a gifted songwriter at your peril, gentlemen.

You’d think this theme would get old, but it never does. After almost a decade and a half apart the Chicks show no rust. “Gaslighter” is a worthy entry into their already impressive musical career. Gone is most of their early country sound, as this album is the natural continuance of the journey into pop music they were on with their 2006 parting album, “Taking the Long Way.” While that album was still finding its way, “Gaslighter” has its feet well under it, striding purposefully through layers of sound with the “don’t give a fuck” confidence that the Chicks have always worn so well.

I will always have a soft spot for Emily Robison and Martie Maguire’s brilliant musicianship, and while they are often muted in this new sound, they get their moments to shine. The album does a fine job of bringing in other sounds as well, including the transmutative brilliance on electric guitar of St. Vincent on “Texas Man”. It was hard to be too disappointed when there is so much good going on.

Maines’ vocals have always been powerful, and this record is some of the finest work of her career. It helps that she has a whole lot to say about her ex, with very little of it being complimentary. Through the course of the record you get a very clear picture of just what she thinks of him from the opening title track, where she sings “you know exactly what you did on my boat” all the way through to the direct evidence noted in the title of Track 8, “Tights on My Boat” which Maines begins with:

“I hope you die peacefully in your sleep
Just kidding
I hope it hurts like you hurt me.”

And where we learn definitively that no, the titular tights were not hers.

For all the anger and betrayal you would expect on a divorce record, there is also a lot of self-examination and honest soul searching expressed as well. “Texas Man” is a celebratory and self-aware expression of rediscovered sexual longing (along with the natural trepidation that comes with getting back onto the dating scene). “Young Man” is the awkward effort to say the right thing to the kids when mom and dad are done with each other.

“My Best Friend’s Wedding” is the gravitational center of the record, as Maines recalls meeting her husband at a friend’s wedding. That wedding, too, ended in divorce, but the friend found love the second time around, and so hope remains for us all. It is touching stuff, both strong and vulnerable, and a reminder that all this pain will pass, with maybe that dreamed-of Texas Man noted earlier just around the corner.

“Gaslighter” often simmers with anger and disappointment, but at its core it isn’t a dirge, it’s a rebirth. It ends on the happiest note an album like this can – an appeal to decency and a request for the douchebag to just please sign the Goddamn divorce papers.

Best tracks: Gaslighter, Texas Man, Everybody Loves You, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Tights on My Boat, Set Me Free

CD Odyssey Disc 548: Dixie Chicks

I am writing this review while football is on.  What madness is this, you ask?  Never fear, dear reader, my other passion remains unabated.  However the other game a) doesn’t feature the Miami Dolphins and b) is being recorded so I can watch it when I’m done.  Ah, technology. 

Disc 548 is…. Fly

Artist: Dixie Chicks

Year of Release: 1999

What’s up with the Cover?  I had no idea initially.  I assumed it was some lame art project.  Then Sheila pointed out that these are photos of select portions of butterfly wings that seem to display letters.  Nature is the greatest artist there has ever been but I appreciate it more when the camera pans out a bit.

Also, in the CD booklet there is a series of pictures of the Dixie Chicks themselves, in various ‘fly’ themed photo shoots.  We have them riding a rocket, posing as fairies, bursting out of a zipper, stuck to fly paper, on the wing of a plane and riding a swing.  Any of these would have been better than the butterfly wing close ups (as fairies they are particularly fetching) but I think my favourite is this one:

See downloader types?  You are missing out.

How I Came To Know It:  For a long time I only had the two Dixie Chicks albums I previously reviewed (“Wide Open Spaces” at Disc 407 and “Home” at Disc 140) but eventually I decided to give this one a shot a few years ago.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Dixie Chicks albums (all those featuring Natalie Maines as the lead singer, so the last four).  I like “Fly” but I’d put it third out of four.

Rating:  3 stars

My first experience with this album was seeing the video for “Ready to Run” which essentially featured the Dixie Chicks in wedding dresses, riding bikes through town in what I think was supposed to be a comic chase scene. Their whole approach just seemed a bit…goofy.

Once I did get “Fly” my suspicions were confirmed, because it is definitely goofy in places.  It’s also clear that the Dixie Chicks had a lot of wacky fun putting the record together.  At times it seems like they are trying too hard to demonstrate how much fun they were having which has them straying too far into the new country genre. I abhor new country, and all the vacuous pop starlets it spews out, and I was afraid the Dixie Chicks, with such a promising beginning, were going to be ruined.

Luckily, this did not happen.  The album is fun and upbeat, but the strength of the band’s musical talent shines through it all.  As I’ve mentioned on previous albums, sisters Emily and Martie are brilliant musicians on banjo and fiddle. Natalie has a powerful voice that would be at home not only in country music, but pop or hard rock as well.

“Fly” takes a more pop turn for sure, but the bluegrass roots of Emily and Martie keep it grounded enough that it doesn’t get away from itself and head to far into (shudder) the new Nashville sound.  Also, I liked the tension of Natalie’s very pop vocals against the more traditional harmonies of the sisters and their subtle playing.  Any more strain and the sound would break unpleasantly but for the most part it is the strain that keeps you interested.

This tension is most noticeable on the first track, “Ready to Run” which (bad video aside) is essentially a pop song that has been “bluegrass-i-fied” with some brilliant violin and banjo licks and even a little Celtic penny whistle.  The violin lick sounds painfully similar to another song I’ve heard, but since I can’t place what it is, I’ll give them a pass.  Besides, it is a good lick.

The album was massively commercially successful, going multi-platinum in Canada, as well as a bunch of other English-speaking countries and spawning seven top ten hits in the U.S.  Considering the album only has fourteen tracks, that is amazing.

Over exposure at the time annoyed me, and had me overlooking much of the album’s good points when it was first released. “Cowboy Take Me Away” comes to mind, which I got tired of seeing constantly on CMT.  Now, free of the bombardment, I love this honest, simple love song composed as many of the band members were finding love of their own.  At least one of the Dixie Chicks wrote about half the songs on this album, and that this is one of them (Martie Seidel co-wrote it) makes me like it more.

They didn’t write “Goodbye, Earl” mind you (that was the prolific country songwriter Dennis Linde who has a whole separate wiki page just dedicated to his writing credits). 

They may not have written it, but damn, do the Dixie Chicks own it.  “Goodbye Earl” is the perfect signature song for “Fly” because it incorporates all of the Chicks best elements.  The song features Natalie’s high spirited, sassy powerhouse voice, Martie and Emily’s harmonies and virtuoso playing, and it isn’t afraid to skirt controversy.

“Goodbye Earl” is about the harsh but important topic of spousal abuse, and it took a little heat for doing so in a light-hearted tone (underscored by a comic video featuring well-known TV stars Jane Krakowski and Dennis Franz).  Well, the song is light-hearted in its approach, but the fact that a woman and her best friend conspire to murder the despicable Earl (by poisoning his black-eyed peas at dinner) is black comedy at its finest. 

“Goobye Earl” is a brave and brilliant song.  That it shattered some of the Nashville establishment’s pre-conceived notions on what three pretty women should or shouldn’t sing about was just a bonus.  It wouldn’t be the last time the Dixie Chicks would deliciously do just whatever the hell they wanted artistically, but I’ll save that for another review.

Best tracks:  Ready to Run, Cowboy Take Me Away, Cold Day in July, Goodbye Earl

CD Odyssey Disc 407: Dixie Chicks

It’s been almost two years to the day since I reviewed this next artist.  That’s a lot of space between reviews.  Wide open space, even.

Disc 407 is…Wide Open Spaces

Artist: Dixie Chicks

Year of Release: 1998

What’s up with the Cover?  Band shot.  Boring ordinarily, but far more palatable when you have women as beautiful as these three.  Notably, Natalie is slightly out of step with Emily and Martie, which is one of the reasons the band works so well.

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video for “I Can Love You Better” on Country Music Television and I was struck by how much I liked the music.  However, I chalked it up to their looks.  Then I saw a video for “There’s Your Trouble” and liked them even more.  By the time “Wide Open Spaces” was released as a single, I figured, I was three for three, and bought the album.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Dixie Chicks albums, which is all of the ones that feature Natalie Maines as lead vocalist.  I enjoy all of them, but I’ll say “Wide Open Spaces” is second best.  It is a far cry from “Home” (reviewed back at Disc 140), but still good enough to hold off “Fly” for second best.

Rating: 3 stars.

As I noted in the “How I Came to Know It” section above, I warmed to this album slowly.  I am distrustful of anything I associate with the new country sound coming out of Nashville for most of the last twenty-five years, and with good reason.

The fact that the Dixie Chicks are so easy on the eyes was great for the videos, but not for my trust of their music – Nashville is often about style over substance.  Not so, the Chicks, who are every bit as talented as they are attractive.  It was the talent that ultimately got me past their image (hideous as it was) to the point that I’d buy this album, their first commercial success.  I’ve been buying their records ever since.

“Wide Open Spaces” is still the record that got it started, and introduced a wider audience to the Dixie Chicks.  The album is a mix of traditional music structures that hearken back to Hank Williams Sr., bluegrass harmonies, and the modern pop sensibilities and production values of new country.  Ordinarily, the inclusion of that last element would have been enough to turn me off, but the Dixie Chicks’ talent shines through, and successfully pulls off the marriage of the various styles.

Emily plays banjo, guitar and dobro and Martie plays fiddle and mandolin, and both are superb musicians.  Knowing what they can accomplish on later albums like “Home” I was a bit disappointed they don’t have more opportunity to shine.  They mostly play little hooks that supplement the big brash voice that comes out of tiny Natalie Maines.

Say what you will about the awkward change the two sisters made at lead singer after they were signed to record “Wide Open Spaces” but it was the right decision.  Natalie can belt it out with the best of them, and her rock edge is what is needed to keep the schmaltz of new country from creeping too far into the record’s sound.

Instead, she rides up on top of two great players (and many more studio musicians besides) with a star quality that is every bit as equal to her formidable presence on stage.  The sisters fill in beautiful harmonies behind her voice, and support her perfectly.

The album is a bit of a tale of two sides, with the first five songs being the best five songs, culminating with “You Were Mine”, written by Emily and Martie, and a serviceable broken-heart song that shows the promise they’ll fully develop on later albums when the soulless record execs let them put more of their own stuff on the albums.

Three of the other four opening tracks (“I Can Love You Better”, “Wide Open Spaces” and “There’s Your Trouble” were all hits, and the fourth (“Loving Arms”) should have been.  “I Can Love You Better” and “There’s Your Trouble” show the Chicks’ playful quality, despite both covering the decidedly non-playful topic of unrequited love and jealousy.

The title track “Wide Open Spaces” is a bit more grounded.  It is a song about striking out on your own, and taking a risk to pursue your dreams.  I like the double meaning of the opening lines:

“Who doesn’t know what I’m talking about?

Who’s never left home, who’s never struck out?”

I like the implication of ‘struck out’ because, hey, it doesn’t always work out, but you’ll never know if you don’t give it a shot.  That said the lyrics are not as consistent on the album as the musicianship.  The same song later features strained lines like “If these are life’s lessons/she’ll take this test.”

Even the songs I like have fairly sub-par lyrics, but it works for three reasons.  First, Natalie sings her pants off.  Second, the production might be new country, but it is superbly well done new country (go ahead and smirk, soulless, record exec.).  Third, and most importantly, Martie and Emily are selfless musicians, and have a great feel for when to push forward in the mix, and when to settle back for the sake of the song’s arrangement.  When given the chance, they also show a lot of range, playing pop hooks, fifties guitar hooks and old time bluegrass with equal relish.

The second half of the album is weaker than the first.  It still benefits from strong melodies, but the lyrics are even noticeably bland, and the album loses a little bit of its playfulness, without sufficiently replacing it with gravitas.  In the process it reminds me that you can have all the elements to succeed (and the Dixie Chicks do) but still make a merely good album.  For a great one, I recommend you start with “Home,” which (not so coincidentally) is the one they made after they got out from under the thumb of the record companies.

That’s right, soulless record exec – wipe that smirk off your face.

Best tracks: I Can Love You Better, Wide Open Spaces, Loving Arms, There’s Your Trouble, You Were Mine.

CD Odyssey Disc 140: Dixie Chicks

I've had a pretty good run of music lately. It is almost like this collection I'm going through was personally chosen by me!

Disc 140 is...Home
Artist: Dixie Chicks

Year of Release: 2002

What’s Up With The Cover?: The three members of the Dixie Chicks stand on a prairie road, looking smokin' hot. They're wearing quite a bit of eye make up for country girls - and I like it.

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video on CMT many years ago for a song called "I Can Love You Better" and really liked it, so I bought their debut album (not this one). "Home" was once again me seeing a video on CMT (this time for "Long Time Gone"). I held off, but when I heard their remake of "Landslide" I bought it (I've yet to buy a Dixie Chicks album for just one song, since I'm leery of anything that comes out of Nashville these days).

How It Stacks Up: I have two Dixie Chicks albums, this one and their debut, "Wide Open Spaces". I think this one is the stronger of the two.

Rating: 4 stars.

I'm always slightly embarassed when I go to buy a Dixie Chicks album. I mean, they have that pop quality to their country, courtesy of Natalie Maines' rock n' roll chops. Also, will people think I bought it because I think they're hot, rather than for the music? Will those people be a tiny bit right?

If it were really true I'd readily admit to it, but the truth is, those factors discourage me more than encourage me, and while I want their other albums, I haven't had the cajones to buy them and defend me choice at the record store counter.

Every listen to "Home" reminds me how stupid all these egotistical considerations are. The Dixie Chicks are incredibly talented country musicians. They don't write all their songs, but the ones they do write are good, and the ones they don't are well chosen.

Also, these women can really play. And anyone who challenges that is frankly spending too much time staring at the cover and not enough time listening. Any song would prove it, but "Home"'s lone instrumental, "Lil' Jack Slade" will really drive the point home. Emily is a maestro on the banjo - more amazing because I believe the story is that she picked it up because sister Martie already played the fiddle.

And can Martie ever play the fiddle. I've listened to my share of fiddle music - irish folk, scottish folk, cape breton folk, bluegrass and others (and yes, they are all different). Martie is not just competent, she makes you feel the music, and that is the difference between a competent fiddle and a brilliant fiddle. It is all in the heart, and these girls have the heart.

"Home" is them getting back to their more bluegrass and country roots after a slow move toward pop on their first two releases. The natural concern is that amazing rock voice of Natalie Maines isn't going to suit the music, but actually it gives it an updated and refreshing quality to songs that otherwise have a very old feel.

Speaking of which, while listening to this album, you may be tempted to check and see if they are singing old standards, but they are in fact brand new songs. When songs sound timeless, that is a good thing. It means they are going to last.

There are a couple tracks that don't grab me, like "Godspeed" which I'm pretty sure is a song about one of the Chicks' kids, and "White Trash Wedding" which has a bit of a novelty air about it. That said, even these songs are well constructed, and well performed.

Standouts on this album are numerous, but I like the way the disc starts with "Long Time Gone" which is a song about getting back to your roots - a thematic introduction to the album to follow. They even take a gentle poke at Nashville's new country scene (and deservedly so):

"We listen to the radio to hear what's cookin'
But the must ain't got no soul
Now they sound tired, but they don't sound Haggard
They got money but they don't have Cash
They got Junior but they don't have Hank
I think, I think, I think."

Take that Hank Williams Jr. and in case you weren't sure - yes, you suck.

I'm also really taken with "Travelin' Soldier" the story of a Vietnam vet who befriends a girl before he ships out, and writes her faithfully until he is killed on duty. This song always chokes me up. The story is simple, but it is presented with an emotional honesty, and is a beautifully crafted tale of tragedy.

"More Love" is always touching for me as well. It reminds me of Wailin' Jennys' "One Voice" with an idealistic message that makes you think anything is possible. Even if 'more love' isn't just around the corner, we need songs like this that keep the destination on the roadmap, giving us an emotional belief that we can grow as a species. While these kind of songs can get schmaltzy in a hurry - "More Love" never does.

"Top Of The World" is a song that captures the quiet despair in so many blue collar homes - I think (it's not entirely clear). I'd quote it, but without Natalie's magic voice, it wouldn't have the resonance so I'll just say - listen to it.

Listening to this album reminded me how misunderstood the Dixie Chicks have been through most of their career. For years they were perceived as pretty pop-country princesses. Totally untrue - they are artists who do what they want, and it has happened to be popular with fans. They cross genres when the feel like it, and they do it effortlessly.

They are a talented group of musicians with a lot of important things to say, and although it was painful for them, I'm glad people now see them for who they are, and not who they wanted them to be.

Best tracks: Long Time Gone, Travelin' Soldier, Truth No. 2, More Love, Lil' Jack Slade, Top Of The World