“You can’t judge a book by its cover.” How many times have you
\nheard that old chestnut? Well, there’s a reason — there’s a kernel
\nof truth in it that bears repeating.<\/p>\n
The packaging for the breakthrough album by this
\nNashville-by-way-of-Texas trio practically shouts “slick trendy
\nlightweight Nashville girl-group!” One flip through the
\nphoto-laden, mostly lyric-less booklet and the editor at
\nPeople<\/i> magazine would be titling my review “Spice Chicks or
\nDixie Divas?”<\/p>\n
I mean, exactly how many glamour shots do we really need of this
\nalarmingly well-scrubbed, plucked, dyed and coiffed trio? Eight,
\nyou say, plus two individual portrait shots of each Chick? Yes,
\nthey are blond and effervescent, long-legged and not the least bit
\nhard to look at, but even a red-blooded American male like me has
\nlimits. Are they musicians or Revlon models?<\/p>\n
Guess what — they’re musicians, and damn fine ones. (Whew!)<\/p>\n
Sisters and founding members Emily Erwin (vocals, dobro, banjo,
\nguitar) and Martie Seidel (vocals, fiddle, mandolin) are both
\noutstanding players, providing a rich range of backing to more
\nrecent addition and lead vocalist Natalie Maines, who has got a
\nmajor league set of pipes that she isn’t afraid to let loose with.
\nThe heart and soul of this group, though, are the rich, sweet
\nthree-part harmonies that are featured on nearly every song
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Nowhere is that more true than on the #1 hit “Wide Open Spaces.”
\nDespite its done-a-thousand-times leaving-home-and-busting-loose
\nstory-line, the Chicks’ soaring harmonies make it sound fresh and
\nwarm, and the chorus is as radio-friendly as they come.<\/p>\n
What may be most impressive about this album from a creative
\nstandpoint, though, is that the Chicks (misogyny disclaimer: they
\nchose the name) challenge you with a terrific range of musical
\nstyles rather than sticking to the solid-but-safe approach of the
\ntitle tune.<\/p>\n
Standouts include the smartly-written bluegrass ballad “Never
\nSay Die”; the twangy, banjo-driven, Grammy-winning, relentlessly
\ncatchy “There’s Your Trouble”; and the anything but pro forma
\nhonky-tonk hoot “Let ‘Er Rip.” The latter is one of the wittiest
\nand most convincingly delivered tunes of the well-worn kiss-off
\ngenre I’ve heard in a long time.<\/p>\n
Most of the songs here are penned by outside pros ranging from
\nnew country mastermind Kostas to veteran folk-rocker Maria McKee.
\nOne of the very best, though, is composed by Erwin and Seidel: the
\nheartfelt ballad “You Were Mine,” whose classy, understated strings
\nand knockout vocal arrangement are brilliantly executed. The other
\ntwo principal ballads, “Loving Arms” and the J.D. Souther tune
\n“I’ll Take Care Of You,” also feature arrangements that highlight
\nthe raw power and beauty of the trio’s voices, whether blended and
\njuxtaposed.<\/p>\n
Not content to leave on anything but a high note, the Chicks
\nclose out this album of tightly constructed three-point-five minute
\ntracks with the five-minute rowdy instrumental and vocal rave-up
\n“Give It Up Or Let Me Go” (written by none other than Bonnie
\nRaitt). Maines’ lead vocal growls right up to the edge of a nasty
\nblues-boogie, Erwin and Seidel knock off a pair of whooping,
\njitterbugging solos on banjo and fiddle, and it’s party time beyond
\na shadow of a doubt.<\/p>\n
The Chicks click on all cylinders here: the song choices are
\ndiverse and excellent, the playing is smart and confident, and the
\nthree-part harmonies are simply gorgeous. This album is rich with
\nthe kind of life and sass and creativity and integrity that far too
\nmany of the Chicks’ competitors at the top of the country charts
\nnever even bother to reach for.<\/p>\n
Back on the “image” front, the best news of all may be that the
\nChicks have achieved so much success with
\nWide Open Spaces<\/i> (quadruple platinum, three #1 hits, two
\nGrammys) that they shouldn’t have any trouble bucking the label
\nnext time around when it comes to the packaging. A group with this
\nmuch raw talent at its disposal should never leave itself open to
\nbeing labeled “Spice Chicks.”<\/p>\n
I mean, they even have better
\nhair<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":25013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6109],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-36218","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-dixie-chicks","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36218"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36218"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}