As a musician from arch-conservative Texas, you have to walk on eggs. When singer Natalie Maines of country girl group Dixie Chicks took a critical note about George W. Bush in 2003, the country world was turned upside down, the group members were threatened with death and their careers seemed to be over. Taking The Long Way Home is the result of that difficult period. With producer Rick Rubin at
… the helm - never afraid to help a clashed artist recover - and in collaboration with songwriters such as Neil Finn, Linda Perry, Gary Louris (Jayhawks), Keb 'Mo' and Sheryl Crow, has managed to convert the heavy experiences of the ladies into catchy pop and rock songs, with still the necessary country influences. That Maines does not intend to swallow her words from now on is evident from the emotional text of Not Ready To Make Nice, in which she convincingly sings all frustration and anger away from herself. (MS)more