Published on Sep 13, 2002
The Dixie Chicks have come a long way in four short years.
It was in 1998 that they released
Wide Open Spaces, their first album with new lead singer
Natalie Maines after three independently released discs that barely
registered on the Nashville radar screen. Maines had just been
recruited into the band by founding members and sisters Emily
Robison (banjo/dobro/harmony vocals) and Martie Maguire
(fiddle/harmony vocals).
The road since then has been a rollercoaster ride to say the
least. In those four years, the trio from Texas sold about a
zillion copies of the radio-friendly
Wide Open Spaces and
Fly, its somewhat sassier follow-up; won an armful of
country music awards; courted controversy with songs like “Goodbye
Earl,” a lively tune about murdering an abusive husband; sued their
music label (Sony); got married; had a baby; settled the lawsuit;
and came roaring back with
Home.
While on hiatus (and in court), the Dixie Chicks started
recording a few things at home, almost on a lark. While their first
two albums together had featured a slicked-up, full-band, modern
Nashville sound, the new material took shape free from the label’s
watchful eye in a more organic setting. With no drums and precious
little electric guitar, Home’s sound relies heavily on the playing
of Chicks themselves, along with Natalie’s father, steel guitar
legend Lloyd Maines, and a small group of loyal sidemen for
support.
The end result flirts heavily with bluegrass without ever
committing. As much as the Chicks clearly love this most
traditional form of country music, their pop instincts are too
strong to ignore. What you get, then, is some of the most
vigorously played, melodic, high-spirited, mostly acoustic country
music you’ll ever be lucky enough to hear. Darrell Scott’s “Long
Time Gone” is the perfect kick-off (and first single), a frothy
rant against narrow-minded music industry types that’s full of
allusions to old-line country icons like Johnny Cash and
accusations that “the music ain’t got no soul” anymore.
As a bonus, “Long Time Gone” and the touching (if predictable)
story-song “Travelin’ Soldier” offer a sustained taste of the real
secret to the Chicks’ appeal. Not only are sisters Maguire and
Robison fabulous players, their achingly pretty harmony vocals form
the perfect backdrop for Natalie Maines’ stunningly rich, powerful
lead voice. In terms of pure vocal talent, she’s the Natalie
Merchant of country, hands down.
Still, what was most notable on this album to me was the
musicianship on display. Never mind the strong melody lines Robison
and Maguire play on upbeat tracks like “Truth No. 2” (from Patty
Griffin) and “Tortured, Tangled Hearts”; check out the lightning
picking and bowing on the brutally on-target (and strangely
touching) “White Trash Wedding.” Acknowledging the sisters’ chops,
renowned mandolin prodigy Chris Thile of Nickel Creek sits in for
not one but three tracks, the heartfelt ballads “A Home” and “More
Love,” and the rip-roaring instrumental “Lil’ Jack Slade.”
Home was clearly a labor of love for the Dixie Chicks, a
first breath of renewal after their lengthy tussle with Sony. The
fact that the album is a steady number one right now on the country
charts and holding strong on the pop charts as well tells you all
you need to know about who won the musical side of the argument. A
belt buckle shown in the album’s packaging says it all: “CHICKS
RULE.”