Dixie Chicks - The Classic Albums Collection (2016) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/96kHz]

Dixie Chicks first came together as a bluegrass quartet in Texas in 1989, later becoming a trio in 1995 when founding members (and sisters) Emily Robison (banjo/dobro) and Martie Maguire (fiddle/mandolin) were joined by 21-year-old Natalie Maines (daughter of guitarist/producer Lloyd Maines) as the group's new lead vocalist and guitarist. By the late 1990s, the classic Dixie Chicks trio lineup struck a stunning balance between the traditional Nashville sound and the contemporary influences of alternative rock and pop. In 2016, Columbia/Legacy have reissued the Dixie Chicks classic four studio albums: Wide Open Spaces (1998), Fly (1999), Home (2002) and Taking The Long Way (2006), newly remastered and available on vinyl and digital download.

The Dixie Chicks spent the first half of the '90s toiling away on the independent bluegrass circuit, releasing three albums on small labels, before sisters Martie Seidel and Emily Robison decided to revamp their sound in 1995, adding Natalie Maines as their lead singer and, in the process, moving the group away from bluegrass and toward a major label with Sony/Columbia's revived Monument Records imprint. All of this seems like the blueprint for a big pop crossover move and, to be sure, their 1998 major-label debut Wide Open Spaces was a monumental success, selling over ten million copies and turning the group into superstars, but the remarkable thing about the album is that it's most decidedly not a sell-out, or even a consciously country-pop record. To be sure, there are pop melodies here, but this isn't a country-pop album in the vein of Shania Twain, a record that's big on style and glitz, designed for a mass audience. Instead, Wide Open Spaces pulls from several different sources – the Chicks' Americana roots, to be sure, but also bits of the alt country from kd lang and Lyle Lovett, '70s soft rock (any album that features versions of songs by J.D. Souther and Bonnie Raitt surely fits this bill), even the female neo-folkies emerging on the adult alternative rock stations at the end of the decade. In other words, it hit a sweet spot, appealing to many different audiences because it was eclectic without being elitist but they also had a true star in Natalie Maines, whose powerful, bluesy voice gave these songs a compelling center. Maines was versatile, too, negotiating the twists and turns of these songs without a hitch, easily moving from the vulnerability of "You Were Mine" to the snarl of "Give It Up or Let Me Go." The same goes for the Dixie Chicks and Wide Open Spaces as a whole: they are as convincing on the sprightly opener "I Can Love You Better" or the bright, optimistic title song as they are on the breezy "There's Your Trouble" as they are on the honky tonk shuffle of "Tonight the Heartache's on Me" and the rocking swagger of "Let 'Er Rip." It's a remarkably wide range and it's effortlessly eclectic, with the Dixie Chicks bringing it all together with their attitude and understated musicality – as debuts go (and this does count as a debut), they rarely get better than this.

Tracklist:

01 - I Can Love You Better
02 - Wide Open Spaces
03 - Loving Arms
04 - There's Your Trouble
05 - You Were Mine
06 - Never Say Die
07 - Tonight the Heartache's on Me
08 - Let 'Er Rip
09 - Once You've Loved Somebody
10 - I'll Take Care of You
11 - Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
12 - Give It Up or Let Me Go

Wide Open Spaces unveiled the new incarnation of the Dixie Chicks, revealing an eclectic, assured group that was simultaneously rootsy and utterly modern, but if that 1998 de facto debut captured the band just leaving the ground, Fly – perhaps appropriately, given the title – finds the group in full flight, in full possession of their talents. This time around, the different sounds they draw upon are more fully integrated, which only makes them more distinctive as a group. Even if the whole of the album feels more of a piece, they still take the time to deliver a slice of pure honky tonk on "Hello Mr. Heartache" and a piece of breakneck bluegrass on the rip-roaring, wickedly clever "Sin Wagon," which is also one of the group originals here, a collaboration between Natalie Maines and Emily Robison and outside writer Stephony Smith. It – along with the Maines-cowritten "Without You," the Maines/Robison "Don't Waste Your Heart" and Martie Seidel's co-written "Ready to Run" and "Cowboy Take Me Away" – showcase the trio's increasing craft as writers, which is one of the reasons this album sounds unified. But even the outside-written material feels like the group, whether it's the twangy boogie "Some Days You Gotta Dance," Patty Griffin's "Let Him Fly," the melancholy "Cold Day in July" and, especially "Goodbye Earl" where a wife gets revenge on her abusive husband. Like before, the group moves gracefully between these different styles, with Maines providing a powerful, compelling focus with Robison and Seidel offering sensitive support, and this blend makes Fly a rich, nuanced album that just gets better with repeated listens.

Tracklist:

01 - Ready to Run
02 - If I Fall You're Going Down with Me
03 - Cowboy Take Me Away
04 - Cold Day in July
05 - Goodbye Earl
06 - Hello Mr. Heartache
07 - Don't Waste Your Heart
08 - Sin Wagon
09 - Without You
10 - Some Days You Gotta Dance
11 - Hole in My Head
12 - Heartbreak Town
13 - Let Him Fly

Delivering a successor to their breakthrough smash Wide Open Spaces was easy – Fly followed a year afterward, sounding sleek and satisfying. Following that album turned out to be a little more difficult for the Dixie Chicks, not least because they were involved in an ugly battle with their record company over royalties. While they were away, country radio grew stricter, but there were undercurrents of change, particularly in the grassroots success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. The Dixie Chicks always had deep country roots, but it was entirely conceivable that they could have chosen the pop route, since it's always the safest bet for established stars to follow the mainstream – especially after they have been away for a while. Fortunately, one thing this trio has never been is predictable, and they were emboldened by their successful battle with the label, along with the O Brother, leading to the stunner that is Home, their sixth album. There may be a Stevie Nicks cover here, but there are no concessions to pop anywhere; there are hardly any electric guitars, actually. This is a pure country album, loaded with fiddles, acoustic guitars, and close harmonies, but retaining the Chicks' signature flair, sense of humor, and personality. It's a vibrant, quirky, heartfelt record that finds the group investing as much in a funny, rollicking number like "White Trash Wedding" or something as sadly sweet as "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)." But the key to the album is that, as they so brilliantly put it on the wonderful opener, "Long Time Gone," they recognize many modern country singers "sound tired but they don't sound Haggard" and "have money but they don't have Cash" – and this is a sentiment that doesn't just apply to those riding the charts, but to the po-faced alt-country contenders who are too serious to have fun. They deftly balance modern attitudes with classic instrumentation, all built on terrific songwriting, winding up with an album that feels purer than anything on the charts, yet much livelier and genuine than alt-country. This is what country music in 2002 should sound like. With Home, the Dixie Chicks illustrate that country music should be simple but adventurous, sincere but fun. In doing so, they've delivered not just their best album, but what's arguably the best country album yet released in the 2000s. Needless to say, an instant classic.

Tracklist:

01 - Long Time Gone
02 - Landslide
03 - Travelin' Soldier
04 - Truth No. 2
05 - White Trash Wedding
06 - A Home
07 - More Love
08 - I Believe in Love
09 - Tortured, Tangled Hearts
10 - Lil' Jack Slade
11 - Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
12 - Top of the World

The road leading away from Home, the Dixie Chicks' acclaimed 2002 return to straight-ahead country, proved to be quite rocky for the Texan trio, largely due to anti-George W. Bush and antiwar comments lead singer Natalie Maines made during the long crawl to the 2003 Iraqi War. Maines' words, initially spoken off the cuff in concert but then repeated in numerous interviews, earned her plenty of enemies within the country community (most notably Toby Keith), but despite the hailstorm of publicity, Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison did not back down, even as their country audience slowly diminished. But by that point, the Dixie Chicks were bigger than a mere country act anyway: they were international superstars. Their sound and sensibility played to an audience that was much bigger and more self-consciously sophisticated than the country audience, so their shift from country to pop on 2006's Taking the Long Way feels natural; even the neo-bluegrass of Home felt like a kindred spirit to the alt-country movement and such AAA singer/songwriters as Sheryl Crow, not the pure bluegrass of Ricky Skaggs, or even the progressive Alison Krauss. Given the controversy of 2003, the conscious distancing from country makes sense – and given songs like the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice" and the redneck-baiting "Lubbock or Live It," the Dixie Chicks don't sound like they're in retreat on Taking the Long Way, either; they merely sound like they're being themselves. And Taking the Long Way is as genuine a Dixie Chicks album as Home or Wide Open Spaces, feeling like an accurate reflection of the trio's current life. They are now savvy, sophisticated urbanites – the album cover makes it seem like they've stepped out of Sex and the City – and the music reflects that. It's rooted in country – or more specifically country-rock – and it wouldn't sound out of place in Nashville, but sounds more suited for upscale apartments and coffeehouses. The sound might be a little more NPR than hot country, but the trio's harmonies still shine brightly, they still play with conviction, and they still have a strong body of songs here. No doubt reflecting the influence of producer Rick Rubin, the Chicks work with songwriters well outside of the Music Row mainstream: naturally, Sheryl Crow makes an appearance as a co-writer here, but so does acclaimed pop tunesmith Neil Finn, alt-country mainstay Gary Louris, bluesman Keb' Mo', Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, and through much of the album, Semisonic/Trip Shakespeare frontman Dan Wilson. All are accomplished songwriters whose strengths may not seem to lie in country, but they all know how to structure a song, and they help give the group direction and the album focus. Rubin's skill on picking collaborators for the trio makes up for his typically flat production – it's clean and classy but not colorful, which it begs to be, given that this is a pop album filled with different styles and textures from rollicking rock & roll to soulful laments to sweet ballads. But this lack of zest in the production is forgivable because Taking the Long Way is otherwise a strong, confident affair that is far from suggesting the Dixie Chicks are being cowardly for moving away from country. Rather, they're bravely asserting their identity through this varied, successful crossover move.

Tracklist:

01 - The Long Way Around
02 - Easy Silence
03 - Not Ready to Make Nice
04 - Everybody Knows
05 - Bitter End
06 - Lullaby
07 - Lubbock or Leave It
08 - Silent House
09 - Favorite Year
10 - Voice Inside My Head
11 - I Like It
12 - Baby Hold On
13 - So Hard
14 - I Hope


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