Dixie Chickens Come Home to Roost
Despite country music radio's refusal to play their confrontation but indelible single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," the Dixie Chicks' new record, Take the Long Way, has landed at #1 in both Billboard's pop and country charts, selling a robust 526,000 copies in its first week. This represents their second best debut, and also this year's second best debut for a country record. They've gotten a lot of publicity, which helps. But for every positive story (60 Minutes), there's a negative one, like Paula Zahn's seething contempt for the Chicks on CNN.
Mrs. TMcD is a big fan of the Dixies, so I can report that the album is quite good--a guilty pleasure for me, not for the politics, but for the country "chick pop" factor. Still, Natalie Maines is a country rebel bad ass in my book. As they used to say on Hee Haw, "Saaaaal-uuute!"
posted by tenaciousmcd @ 3:11 PM
2 Comments:
I actually heard one of their cuts on lightning 100 (a progressive alternative rock station for those who have not lived in the Nashville area) the other day. They sound much more folkie than country on there newest album (or at least on the one song I heard). I went to I-tunes and listened to a few of their songs--probably their best album to date.
Here is a link for a performance on GMA for "Not ready to make nice"
http://www.chicksrockchicksrule.com/video/gma_nrtmn.wmv
I bought the album as soon as it came out, and not for political reasons. I was a committed fan well before the Bush comment nonsense, because the the Chicks are HUGE supporters of Patty Griffin.
I've given the new album a few good listens (as much as that's possible without a real stereo), and I'm impressed with the new sound on the album. Rob Rubin has clearly done a great job, and I'm happy with the disappearance of the trademark country sounds. It's more of a folk album, but also more of a rock album. And the single has a great hook.
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