"Taking the Long Way" - Dixie Chicks

My fiance, long time Dixie Chicks fan, picked up the new Dixie Chicks album yesterday. I have not yet had a chance to pry it away from her long enough to listen to it, though I intended to do so and have a review here today. Tomorrow. Maybe.

The Washington Post had this to say about the album:

"Taking the Long Way" is a tuneful tour de force, overflowing with rich melodies, soaring harmonies and otherwise sharp pop songcraft.

Still, many country music fans will likely disapprove of the group's new direction. But, then, what else is new?

The Dixie Chicks, of course, were all but excommunicated from the church of country music in 2003, when the best-selling Texas trio had the temerity to pop off about President Bush and the war in Iraq. "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," lead singer Natalie Maines said onstage in London that year. The remarks riled up the Chicks' red-state base, leading to a bitter backlash that included radio boycotts of the Chicks' 2002 album, "Home," plus all manner of insults, denouncements and even death threats. ("Home" sold 6 million copies -- half the total of the group's 1998 album, "Wide Open Spaces.")

Oh, and Toby Keith can suck on the fact that the Dixie Chicks album will be number one on Billboard's charts next week.

I'm not a fan of most country music. Some of it's the politics, but mostly it's the plasticy feeling it has. So few big country stars write their own stuff... Even fewer feel genuine. They write songs about other people's lives. They all pretend to be just like you. I think that's what really rubs me the wrong way. There are exceptions. I owned Johnny Cash albums before the movie and the 'Hurt' video. I appreciated the Dixie Chicks for their craft and their songwriting. Pissing on Toby Keith was the icing on the cake.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have a chance to digest the album tonight...

Dixie Chicks Taking the Long Way Country Music