I love these girls! I appreciate their musicianship as well as their message. I hope they never back down! My favorite track, “Lullaby” reminds me of the soundtrack from the film “O Brother Where Art Thou?”

There was much about this album that suggested it should be a huge statement artistically: participation of Rick Rubin as producer (involved in Johnny Cash’s renaissance and some great albums from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys), interesting songwriting guests (people like Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris, Neil Finn, the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn), and hoopla about this album being “personal”. It is with regret as someone who counts himself a Chicks fan that I have to say, in the words of Public Enemy, “Don’t Believe the Hype”.

A lot of these songs have to deal with the backlash created by statements lead singer Natalie Maines made in 2003 about her embarrassment with the President which led to country radio banning her music with many stations holding events not unlike the “Beatles burnings” in the South of the 60s. Sometimes the writing is sharp and incisive as in the chart-topping screw-you anthem “Not Ready to Make Nice” (“It’s too late to make it right/I probably wouldn’t if I could/Cuz I’m mad as h**l/Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should”) But others do tend to drift a bit toward self-pity as in the “Everybody Knows” lament of celebrity status. (“All the things I can’t erase from my life/Everybody knows”)

Another problem is a couple songs come off as retreads. “Lubbock or Leave it” is a redo of “Sin Wagon” from older album FLY and likewise the title track just seems like a slight re-spin on “Wide Open Spaces” from the group’s debut.

HIGHLIGHTS:
“Not Ready to Make Nice” probably stands tallest here, a brilliantly defiant middle finger at the country music establishment as the Chicks have their say about the “incident”. It avoids self-pitying precisely because it doesn’t focus on which side is “right” or “wrong” so much as the group’s feelings about it all.(“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…”) I say this as someone who considers himself a pretty mainstream conservative: we have seen ourselves come dangerously close to doing the things that caused us to break from England lo these many years ago. The delicate “Lullaby” is a great soother Natalie and the group penned in tribute to their new offspring (“How long do you want to be loved?/Is forever enough? Is forever enough?”)

LOWS:
The two worst offenders probably are the earlier mentioned title track and “Everybody Knows” but I’d also say slightly 60s girl group influenced “I Like It” is fairly blah as well.

BOTTOM LINE:
Dixie Chicks diehards should get this one regardless of their politics. Those who aren’t already “in the fold” probably won’t be joining because it’s short several blockbuster tracks like “Goodbye Earl” and “Wide Open Spaces”. The group’s best effort is still FLY.

The Chicks are still angry about the ridiculous reactionary backlash & it shows in almost every track on their new effort. In particular, “Not Ready to Make Nice” and the furiously unrepentant “Lubbock or Leave It” show that these women are saddened but standing firm. Because of this, it’s not exactly a rollicking good-time album, although the closing track, the gospel-infused “I Hope”, ends it on an optimistic note. A thoughtful, thought-provoking disc from some of the best voices in contemporary country music.

I bought this the day it was released in Australia. I must say I was really looking forward to new material by the Dixie Chicks, and playing it on my drive home from work, I wasn’t disappointed! I was also keeping an ear out for “Not Ready To Make Nice”, the first single off the album. Given the whole affair about the Dixie Chicks commenting that they were ashamed that George Bush was also from Texas, it’s amazing what they’ve turned out after all that’s happened. There is a sadness to the song, although the lyrics hint at anger. The lines that hit me were “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”. I’ve really enjoyed the album, but I couldn’t help but think: where’s the Wide Open Spaces, Goodbye Earl, or White Trash Wedding on this album? Some might say they have grown, but I was really looking forward to a thigh-slapping Dixie Chicks album. I guess I just have to put it through more listens.