Disco de Dixie Chicks: “Taking the Long Way [Digipak] [Limited]”

I have always been a Dixie Chick fan, so I was destined to buy this album especially with the flurry of not so nice press. Well...there isn't a song on this album that you don't want to know by heart. A fantastic mix of songs to laugh, to cry and to comtemplate life about. It is a perfect introduction after 3 years!! The Track --"Not ready to make Nice" --- who can't relate so some aspect of their life?? Not to mention, "I Hope". This album needs to be heard becaue it is great music and the Chicks are heros. They make no apologizes for being who they are and that is refreshing in a world where everyone is trying to fit in. This is music, life and inspiration!!

I fell for the Chicks a few months after Home came out, when I heard "Landslide" playing on a tinny tape player in an empty cafe beside a highway, among the pine trees near Apsley, Ontario. The waitress was wiping down the tables and singing along. I thought it was about the prettiest music I'd ever heard. So wistful and strong and beautiful -- just like that waitress and her rocky Canadian town.

When I came home, I bought all the Chicks albums (well, the ones with Natalie anyway) and they just blew me away. I listen to a lot of different stuff -- Beck, Buck Owens, Buddy & Julie Miller, Bill Withers, the Beastie Boys, the Beatles, Bach (and that's just Bs) -- but there's only a handful of musicians that really touch my heart. The Chicks are definitely on that list. Songs like "Long Time Gone," "Tortured, Tangled Hearts" and even "White Trash Wedding" transport me. I'd listen to "Travelin' Soldier" more, but it always makes me cry.

Anyway, I downloaded Taking the Long Way right away this morning. And I'm loving every song. The Chicks sound beautiful together, and it's great to have them back. "The Long Way Around," "Easy Silence" and "Not Ready to Make Nice" are a great three-pack to kick off the package. "Lullaby" is the one that brings that pleasurable lump to my throat.

By the way, it's really interesting to read these negative reviews. One guy attacks Natalie for being (allegedly) fat. Some lady says she'd never buy the CD (and therefore hasn't heard it), but still feels qualified to give it one star. If these are the kind of people who were boycotting the Chicks and causing that whole ruckus ... well, I think their level of discourse pretty much speaks for itself. I don't think we should worry about them.

But then there are the people who just seem mad that the Chicks aren't playing "country" anymore. These are the ones I feel sorry for. Listen, is country music so endangered that fans have to somehow close ranks and attack one of their "own" for making an album in LA? Of course not! Like everything else, country music benefits from diversity. Listen to Taking the Long Way on its own terms. I'm sure that's what Merle Haggard, Tim McGraw and even Hank Jr. are doing. If you don't, it's your loss.

This is one of the best CDs they've put out - I'm glad that they put together these songs to show that they can overcome the baloney that had to put up with just because Natalie voiced her opinion - it's sad to think in this country of FREEDOM that someone has to go through everything they did because they have a mind of their own - Way to go Girls the music is awesome and your strength is marvelous keep up the good work!!!!!

What a great year for Rick Rubin. In the midst of Neil Diamond's masterful comeback album and the Chili Pepper's funk double-CD, he guides the Dixie Chicks to one harmonic and lovely collection of country melodies.

Do you remember around 1980 when there were all these great country-pop crossovers were everywhere on the radio? This is one of those albums that has soooo many candidates for such exposure. Country fans will likely hear what they expect, but there's much for pop music fans to like as well. Smart songwriting, tight songcraft, topical and relevant lyrics, "hummable" melodies - like Faith Hill and Garth Brooks this is the kind of album in which pop music fans will find much to admire.

The only unfortunate piece with the red-state backlash, orchestrated mostly by the kind of jingoistic rah-rah that is the basis of Chevy truck commercials, is that at the end of the day, all this is is a great pop album by polished musicians.

Regardless of their political stance, regardless of the straw chewin' DJs who won't play their music, regardless of the promoters who won't touch them with a 10-ft. pole, the Dixie Chicks have achieved nothing more complicated than a flat-out solid song cycle. Worth every dime.

I have been a staunch Dixie Chicks fan through thick and thin, and am thrilled to have a new CD from them! Just in time for Memorial Day road-tripping (it might just make you forget about the $3.00/gallon gasoline!).

I really do love the powerful lyrics and feisty tone of this CD (my favorite song--"I Hope"). No, it's not all sunshine and light, but artists' work is often a reflection of what's been going on in their lives, and they've certainly been through a lot the last couple years. I'm glad to see them coming back strong!!

The first copy I bought for me, because I like the Dixie Chicks' music. The other five copies I bought for friends--that's my little way of saying that whether or not I like what is said, I value our right as Americans to say it, and I'll support people who stand up for that right.