Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
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Free Music Notes for Taking the Long Way
Free Music Review: Love those Chicks!
Hit: 5 Stars
I fell for the Chicks a few months after Home came out, when I heard "Landslide" playing on a tinny tape player in an empty cafe beside a highway, among the pine trees near Apsley, Ontario. The waitress was wiping down the tables and singing along. I thought it was about the prettiest music I'd ever heard. So wistful and strong and beautiful -- just like that waitress and her rocky Canadian town.
When I came home, I bought all the Chicks albums (well, the ones with Natalie anyway) and they just blew me away. I listen to a lot of different stuff -- Beck, Buck Owens, Buddy & Julie Miller, Bill Withers, the Beastie Boys, the Beatles, Bach (and that's just Bs) -- but there's only a handful of musicians that really touch my heart. The Chicks are definitely on that list. Songs like "Long Time Gone," "Tortured, Tangled Hearts" and even "White Trash Wedding" transport me. I'd listen to "Travelin' Soldier" more, but it always makes me cry.
Anyway, I downloaded Taking the Long Way right away this morning. And I'm loving every song. The Chicks sound beautiful together, and it's great to have them back. "The Long Way Around," "Easy Silence" and "Not Ready to Make Nice" are a great three-pack to kick off the package. "Lullaby" is the one that brings that pleasurable lump to my throat.
By the way, it's really interesting to read these negative reviews. One guy attacks Natalie for being (allegedly) fat. Some lady says she'd never buy the CD (and therefore hasn't heard it), but still feels qualified to give it one star. If these are the kind of people who were boycotting the Chicks and causing that whole ruckus ... well, I think their level of discourse pretty much speaks for itself. I don't think we should worry about them.
But then there are the people who just seem mad that the Chicks aren't playing "country" anymore. These are the ones I feel sorry for. Listen, is country music so endangered that fans have to somehow close ranks and attack one of their "own" for making an album in LA? Of course not! Like everything else, country music benefits from diversity. Listen to Taking the Long Way on its own terms. I'm sure that's what Merle Haggard, Tim McGraw and even Hank Jr. are doing. If you don't, it's your loss.
Free Music Review: "Taking The Long Way" Easily In The Top Three Best Albums I've Ever Heard
Hit: 5 Stars
Wow, words fail me....this album is just so damn good! I'm afraid that any comments or reviews won't do Taking The Long Way justice; you simply MUST go and buy this album right now at your local record store, and if you love music you WILL love this album.
This is the kind of album that generations to come will be re-discovering and asking their parents, "hey did you *know* about this awesome album?" Mind you, this album is geared to a more mature audience than teenagers, and it reflects the maturity and growth of the Chicks. This is an album that 30 years from now, you'll still sit down to listen to and be blown away with its rich goodness, saying "Wow, I can't believe how good this is..."
To the Dixie Chicks...thank you very much for this personal, meaningful, and musically rich album. To hear their voices blending together with the various instruments, the interplay of notes and sounds....oh my God, I can't even say any more. If you DON'T buy this record, you're missing out on a true gem and you're crazy. People who like shallow pap won't 'get' this record, musically or otherwise. I really liked the personal stories being told in each song, and kudos to the Chicks for writing their own songs on this record - you shine beautifully, ladies.
I've heard a lotta music in my time...the Beatles, the Eagles, countless numbers of bands...and I can honestly say without a doubt that this is one of the best albums I've ever heard - I'd put it in the top three for me, for all time, and I'm not a gusher here, this really IS that good.
Also very cool was the contributions of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' keyboardist, Bonnie Raitt for backup vocals on at least one track, and John Mayer doing lead guitar on a track also. Mind you, I always love it when Emily does lead guitar (and she rocks on the banjo, baby!).
Natalie's voicework on this record is reallly, really good too (well all the Chicks sing so well on it). I guess I am gushing a bit now, lol, but if you go out and buy the CD for yourself and listen, you'll understand why. The lyrics and photo booklet inside was very nice too :).
Dixie Chicks rock! :D
Raquel :)
Free Music Review: Not your typical country fare and a great driving CD
Hit: 5 Stars
I wasn't a Dixie Chicks fan because I never really listened to Country radio (not a problem for finding the Dixie Chicks these days). But I saw Shut up and Sing, the documentary of their three year recovery and transformation after the brou-ha-ha over lead singer, Natalie Maines, comments about Bush while on tour in England. When I heard their music on the movie, I came to buy the CD, and I was surprised at how accessible this album is for non-country fans.
I'm a big fan of Sheryl Crow, Alison Kraus, Jewel--singer/songwriting women who play guitars. Though this album of the Dixie Chicks has only one song penned by Crow, you would swear that they are channeling her (and she's been channeling George Harrison lately) on songs 8-12. In fact, you can hear a bit of George Harrison in places too--just like Crow's Wildflower, which I found this album a nice companion to. "I Like It" sounds a lot like Crow when she's being the wild child: Soak Up the Sun, Everyday is a Winding Road, All I wanna Do. "My Favorite Year" is actually the song Crow wrote on this, and yeah, you can hear the Crow influence, but I think she was an influential figure here on the rest too. Course, I've never encountered Dixie Chicks' music before, so perhaps Crow is channeling them!
The first half of the album deals more with their response to the shakedown of their careers as musicians. They are powerful songs, and could easily--even "Not Ready to Make Nice"--outlast the incidents that caused them. They are anthems in their own right, and this album deserves a lot of play for years to come, after the documentary is a historical artifact. The album will be about transformation and gritty success through troubled times.
Natalie has a strong high voice and it embodies the struggle so well--she's perfect for this music. I like the quiet songs too "Lullaby" and "Easy Silence". I like that Easy Silence comes in between the anthem songs; I love that "Taking the Long Way around" comes first. It's a well-planned CD, with the Chicks making some unusual and daring musical choices through the last few songs. I'm a new fan, and I can't wait to see what they do next.
Free Music Review: The Dixie Chicks Do It Again!
Hit: 5 Stars
Here's my review of what may be the Dixie Chicks's best album ever, "Taking The Long Way":
1. The Long Way Around- This song is very cool sounding, perfect to listen to when relaxing on your porch during the summertime (5/5)
2. Easy Silence- This song is a beautiful (and political) example of how love can withstand any pressure. Great, mellow love song (5/5)
3. Not Ready To Make Nice- This is a stunning, powerful, brilliant, and flawless song, but given the 2003 controversy, probably not the best choice for a first single (5/5)
4. Everybody Knows- This song has a fresh, relaxed country vibe to it, and it is very radio friendly. Good choice for a second single, although airplay was hurt by "Not Ready To Make Nice" (5/5)
5. Bitter End- This is also very radio friendly and country sounding. Good choice for a graduation song (5/5)
6. Lullaby- This song is very powerful and relaxing, just like a real lullaby. Good choice to sing to your babies (5/5)
7. Lubbock Or Leave It- This song is my favorite on the whole CD. It's an instant classic, and a rollicking country rocker (5/5)
8. Silent House- This song took awhile to grow on me. It used to be the worst in my opinion, but now it's one of the best (5/5)
9. Favorite Year- The only song written with Sheryl Crow. Real good example of how love can be strong one year and die in the next, good song to listen to overall (5/5)
10. Voice Inside My Head- The only song written with Linda Perry. Very deep, 70's rock-edged, and totally cool. Third fave on the CD (5/5)
11. I Like It- Awesome, 60's-esque, upbeat tune. Great choice to play at a party (5/5)
12. Baby Hold On- The only song written with Pete Yorn. Very smooth sounding and nice to hear (5/5)
13. So Hard- This is an amazingly moving song about infertility, and who could have thought a song about such a serious topic would be so upbeat? (5/5)
14. I Hope- I love the soulful, gospely feel of this song, but it's probably the worst on the album (4.5/5)
OVERALL GRADE: 5/5
Free Music Review: A powerful song collection
Hit: 5 Stars
This album deserves credit and acclaim for its musical creativity, the beautiful voices/harmonies, and lyrics that will make you laugh, bawl, remember and, most important, find the energy to keep on trying at this thing we call life. In my book, those three factors come together in a powerful piece of sonic perfomance art.
"Taking the Long Way" embraces listeners on several levels, the first being the appeal of the Chicks' musical talent and their compelling harmony. Maines has an authentic "everywoman" quality to her voice -- it's alternately soft, sassy and bellowing, depending on the emotion the song is trying to evoke. Songs that need a lilting, loving touch get it, such as the gentle "Lullaby" that any mom will find herself humming during bath time with the baby. Songs evoking images of past loves, a mother's battle with Alzeheimer's, and a couple's desire to keep a committed love young and playful through early parenthood are conveyed with a poignant wish.
The musicality piques the listeners' interest. The lyrics reach out and grab their hearts. Full disclosure: I'm a 35-year-old (soon to be 36) married mother of two small children. The words to these songs resonate with any woman who has a few bruises on her heart and a lot going on in her life, both family and professional. Every song has a message a mom, wife, girlfriend, daughter can identify with if they've lived more than a few years and have the scars to prove it. The songs that have an edge of anger to them resonate also, again in an authentic way. Any woman (person for that matter) who doesn't have episodes in their life that they're bitterly, deeply angry and hurt over either has been sheltered to the point of being cloistered or is oblivious to the undercurrents in life. Anger and disappointment are part of life, just as much as the other themes in "Taking the Long Way."
Those themes -- ranging from politics and love to getting old and growing up -- are what strike me as giving this album a mellowed maturity that makes me listen to it over and over and over... These women have done some living and learning, just like the majority of us.