Track Listing

1. Long Way Around
2. Easy Silence
3. Not Ready To Make Nice
4. Everybody Knows
5. Bitter End
6. Lullaby
7. Lubbock Or Leave It
8. Silent House
9. Favorite Year
10. Voice Inside My Head
11. I Like It
12. Baby Hold On
13. So Hard When It Doesn't Come Easy
14. I Hope

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3400 in Music
• Released on: 2006-06-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

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."

CD Description
Country-pop superstars who have sold over 18m records in the US alone use this, their seventh studio album, to hit backover the furore that engulfed them in 2003 owing to their political views. On this album they reaffirm those views and ruminate on life and love over their customary melodic melange of county, rock and pop in a set crisply - and unexpectedly - produced by beardy king of metal Rick Rubin (System Of A Down, Slayer, Johnny Cash). Includes the single 'Not ReadyTo Make Nice'.

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Customer Reviews

Doin' it their own way
From the very first track of this album the Dixie Chicks make it plain that their lot in life is to lead rather than follow. The extremely talented and controversial female trio does it their own way, writing their own songs and caring not a whit for those who disagree with either their politics or their genre crossover from country to rock `n roll.

Defiant, proud and unapologetic, even the slow songs radiate their frame of mind, an example being track two, "Easy Silence" when Natalie sings:

"Monkeys on the barricades / Are warning us to back away / They form commissions trying to find / The next one they can crucify"

The stand-out track of the album is the first single "Not Ready to Make Nice", where the Chicks sing about the fallout from their fans and the death threats they received:

"And how in the world can the words that I said / Send somebody so over the edge / That they'd write me a letter / Sayin' that I better shut up and sing / Or my life will be over"

The rest of the album is stamped with the indelible boot print of the Dixie Chicks, maybe a tad over-produced, definitely country (albeit mixed with helpings of rock `n roll), but without filler material. Other songs to take note of are "The Long Way Around"; "Everybody Knows"; "Lubbock or Leave It"; "Favorite Year"; "Voice Inside my Head"; "Baby Hold On" and the closer "I Hope" a song written for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

This album is well worth every dime, and is a must for independent thinkers everywhere.

A very pleasant surprise
I have to say, country music leaves me cold. I bought this album to support the Dixie Chicks and the concept of freedom of speech. I was utterly horrified by the reaction which greeted Natalie's anti-Bush comments in 2003. Blacklisted from radio stations, public burnings of their CDs, death threats... it was like Nazi Germany reborn in the USA. So I bought this CD as a political gesture; I thought I would listen to it once, but was sure I wouldn't like the music.

Well, I got a very pleasant surprise, because this is actually a terrific album. Mature, heartfelt lyrics and irresistible hooks are the order of the day, and it sounds nothing like my idea of country music (which is probably due to my ignorance) but a straightforward pop/rock album with perhaps a few country influences. I notice Dan Wilson of Semisonic is co-writer on a number of the best tracks, and if, like me, you were a fan of Semisonic, I think you will recognise his touch here. So forget your preconceptions about country music and give it a try.

Finally, let's all be thankful we live in a country where artists can express their opinions without fear of blacklisting and other terrible reprisals.

A corker!
have not yet been able to go a full day without playing it at least once - it was a long time coming, but well worth the wait. It has vibes of Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac which I guess is them carrying on from Landslide in Home. Its certainly beautiful and Natalie's vocals are haunting. Listening to this certainly beats revising for exams! Ones to particularly look out for are 'Everybody knows', 'Silent House', 'Taking the Long Way' and of course 'Not Ready to Make Nice' which is just a brilliant way to hit back at all those critics! As with most of the Chick's albums, this one sees a different sound, but as you'd expect it's well executed and really enjoyable.