Amazon.co.uk Review
Nothing changes folks like babies and war, and since the release of their last album, 2002's
Home, the Dixie Chicks have been forever altered by both. If that album showcased the trio as precocious young adults,
Taking the Long Way finds them sobered and matured, and in a grown-up state of mind. Produced by the celebrated Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who saw the Chicks as "a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album," their new record impresses both as beautiful sonic tapestry (peppered with myriad Beatlesque hallmarks) and forthright yet vulnerable portrait of three women shaken by the personal and political events of the past few years. As they make clear in the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice," they still smart over the backlash from their 2003 Bushwhacking. But as they assert on the equally autobiographical "The Long Way Around," they could never "kiss all the asses that they told me to" and just follow others aimlessly--and silently--through life. This means that the Chicks are simultaneously prideful and scornful of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"), and that as new mothers they increasingly treasure the refuge they find in life with their families, out of the spotlight ("Easy Silence," "Lullaby," "Baby Hold On"). The push and pull of both passions drive this record, which also touches on the personal issues of infertility (with which sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both dealt) and Alzheimer's (from which Natalie Maines's grandmother suffers). The trio crafted all 14 cuts with the help of such writers as Sheryl Crow, Gary Louris, Mike Campbell, and Keb' Mo', laying out their lives as honestly and intimately as they might in their diaries. For that reason, on first listen,
Taking the Long Way seems too somber--in need of a bit of levity and more than a couple of uptempo songs (like the sexy, '60s-flavored "I Like It") to resonate for the long haul. It also seems to lack the writing quality that Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Robison brought to
Home. But on repeated plays, those concerns dissipate. By the last cut, the R&B/gospel offering "I Hope," the Chicks have chronicled their journey with as much spirituality as spunk, their pain deeply ingrained in their protests. --
Alanna Nash
From the Label
Co-written by the Dixie Chicks--Natalie Maines with sisters Emily Robinson & Martie Maguire--and produced by Rick Rubin, lyrically the album covers a whole range of topics but at its centre is a diary that focuses on
that moment in 2003 (where the band commented on President Bush), and the reaction that followed. The new album features an impressive band including Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith, bass player Larry Knetchel, (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’) Benmont Tench on keyboards and Mike Campbell on guitar, plus co-writers Dan Wilson, Pete Yorn and Gary Louris of The Jayhawks.
Inspired by artists including The Eagles and The Mamas and the Papas,
Taking The Long Way is their first release since 2002’s
Home and adds a sweeping, southern California sound to the band’s intimacy and heart-on-sleeve attitude. "Everything felt more personal this time," says Natalie Maines. "I go back to songs we’ve done in the past and there’s just more maturity, depth, intelligence on these. They just feel more grown-up."
Album highlights include the first single "Not Ready To make Nice" which revisits the events of 2003, "Silent House" which examines the struggle of watching a relative suffer from illness, and the beautiful "It’s So Hard When Things Don’t Come Easy" which addresses infertility - an issue both band-members Emily Robinson and Martie Maguire have experienced.
Similarly, the gospel-inflected "I Hope", which was co-written with Keb’ Mo and features a guitar solo by John Mayer, was premiered during a Hurricane Katrina benefit in 2004. "This album was total therapy," adds Natalie Maines. "I’m way more at peace now. Writing these songs and saying everything we had to say makes it possible to move on."
![Home [New Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/315VMZGG94L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
~ Dixie Chicks
~ Dixie Chicks
~ Dixie Chicks
![Dixie Chicks - Shut Up And Sing [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JgKBS5XQL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Natalie Maines
~ Dixie Chicks
![Home [New Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/315VMZGG94L._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
