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Dixie Chicks: Home |
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Track List 1. Long Time
Gone |
(Monument/Columbia) The Dixie Chicks burst
on the country music scene in the mid-90's with a new sound unlike
anything else out there, a sound all their own, which was like a breath
of fresh air that blew into a room full of stagnant sound-alike songs
and look-alike artists. Full of youthful exuberance and attitude, they
proved that mixing the traditional sounds of country music (banjos,
fiddles, dobros, mandolins) could indeed work within the contemporary
framework of country-pop...and SELL. Sell, they did, with their debut
Wide Open Spaces, and it's follow-up Fly each selling
over 10 million copies each.
With their third album Home, The Chicks,
not resting on their laurels and sticking to the formula that's worked
so well for them in the past, now set out to prove that contemporary
country music can be made using the traditional sounds of country music-
without the contemporary trappings of pounding drumbeats, electric
guitar rock riffs, cookie cutter over-production and bland sugar coated
songs. The result is a stunning album that combines contemporary
sensibilities with old time tradition.
Home is an acoustic collection, but
in no means does that mean "mellow," the CD contains plenty of blazing
up-tempo numbers and attitude. They combine traditional country roots
with lots of bluegrass, and touches of blues, rock and pop, not straying
from their trademark sound so much that they sound "unChick-like." They
merely stripped away the layers of drums and electric guitars, went for
less glossy production, which puts the spotlight on their own amazing
instrumental and vocal talents, and focuses on the strong song
selections they've chosen for this album.
Home opens with their current chart
topper, the infectious "Long Time Gone," with it's front and center
banjo and tongue in cheek puns making reference to Haggard, Cash and
Hank, that makes one wonder how far over the heads of much of today's
mainstream country listeners that one went. The Stevie Nicks penned
reflective "Landslide" showcases The Chicks' tight harmonies at their
best.
The Chicks reprise the Bruce Robison penned
"Travelin' Soldier" which they performed on last year's CMAs. On this
poignant tale of a soldier going off the war, and the girl he asks if he
could write to, Natalie's voice never sounded prettier or more
heartbreaking. While the song has been recorded before, it's been
recorded by males, and the song works far better being sung by a woman
and Natalie nails this one, taking the song to new heights.
They tackle bluegrass head on with a
humorous tale of a shotgun wedding in "White Trash Wedding," and true
love gone awry in "Tortured, Tangled Hearts." "Lil' Jack Slade" is a
blazing instrumental that features some of the finest pickin' you'll
ever hear.
The Chicks perhaps shine brightest on the
quieter more reflective songs, which show how much they've grown as both
artists and women. "I Believe In Love" is a beautiful, soaring song
about the hope and dreams of love, and the belief that it does exist.
Radney Foster's "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" is an emotionally moving
and exquisite lullaby. Nancy Griffith's "Top Of The World" is full of
aching regret and self-reflection. The song's arrangement with violins
and cellos adds to the drama and power of the song making this
track positively soar.
The centerpiece of Home is the Maia
and Randy Sharp penned "A Home." It's haunting melody and stellar
harmonies, incorporate folk, flourishes of pop, and inflections of
bluegrass into this mournful tale filled with aching regret of a love
that went passed up, because the song's character listened to others
instead of her own heart.
As Natalie, Emily, and Martie have
matured, married, and are starting families, they are finding their way
to their center, their roots, their home, and are getting comfortable
with who they are as people. Their music is growing and evolving with
them. With Home they find themselves more grounded, and managed
a difficult feat, they've refined, and to an extent re-defined, their
sound without losing their trademark sound and allowing themselves to
become formulaic. The Dixie Chicks' Home is a very warm and
welcoming place, one you'll find yourself paying a visit to often.
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AnnMarie
Harrington Take Country Back August 2002