| Taking the Long Way | 
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| Artist: Dixie Chicks
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $18.97
Buy New: $6.00
You Save: $12.97 (68%)
New (72) Used (38) Collectible (1) from $4.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  1184 reviews
Sales Rank: 834
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 80739
UPC: 828768073926
EAN: 0828768073926
ASIN: B000F7MG4G
Release Date: May 23, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new, never opened, in stock in our warehouse, and ships right now. Case may have a small crack - still a giftable item.
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| Tracks:
| • | The Long Way Around | | • | Easy Silence | | • | Not Ready To Make Nice | | • | Everybody Knows | | • | Bitter End | | • | Lullaby | | • | Lubbock Or Leave It | | • | Silent House | | • | Favorite Year | | • | Voice Inside My Head | | • | I Like It | | • | Baby Hold On | | • | So Hard | | • | I Hope |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Nothing changes folks like babies and war, and since the release of their last album, 2002's Home, the Dixie Chicks have been forever altered by both. If that album showcased the trio as precocious young adults, Taking the Long Way finds them sobered and matured, and in a grown-up state of mind. Produced by the celebrated Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who saw the Chicks as "a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album," their new record impresses both as beautiful sonic tapestry (peppered with myriad Beatlesque hallmarks) and forthright yet vulnerable portrait of three women shaken by the personal and political events of the past few years. As they make clear in the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice," they still smart over the backlash from their 2003 Bushwhacking. But as they assert on the equally autobiographical "The Long Way Around," they could never "kiss all the asses that they told me to" and just follow others aimlessly--and silently--through life. This means that the Chicks are simultaneously prideful and scornful of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"), and that as new mothers they increasingly treasure the refuge they find in life with their families, out of the spotlight ("Easy Silence," "Lullaby," "Baby Hold On"). The push and pull of both passions drive this record, which also touches on the personal issues of infertility (with which sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both dealt) and Alzheimer's (from which Natalie Maines's grandmother suffers). The trio crafted all 14 cuts with the help of such writers as Sheryl Crow, Gary Louris, Mike Campbell, and Keb' Mo', laying out their lives as honestly and intimately as they might in their diaries. For that reason, on first listen, Taking the Long Way seems too somber--in need of a bit of levity and more than a couple of uptempo songs (like the sexy, '60s-flavored "I Like It") to resonate for the long haul. It also seems to lack the writing quality that Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Robison brought to Home. But on repeated plays, those concerns dissipate. By the last cut, the R&B/gospel offering "I Hope," the Chicks have chronicled their journey with as much spirituality as spunk, their pain deeply ingrained in their protests. --Alanna Nash
Description
With Taking The Long Way, one of the most anticipated albums in recent years, the Dixie Chicks are putting themselves out there like never before. For the first time, every one of the disc's fourteen songs are co-written by the Chicks themselves, exploring themes both deeply private and resoundingly political. Collaborating with legendary producer Rick Rubin (who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from Run DMC to Neil Diamond), the biggest-selling female band in history has truly pushed themselves to new heights both as writers and as performers. "Everything felt more personal this time," says Maines. "I go back to songs we've done in the past and there's just more maturity, depth, intelligence on these. They just feel more grown-up." Inspired by such classic rock artists as the Eagles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the Mamas and the Papas, Taking The Long Way adds a sweeping, Southern California vibe to the Chicks' down-home intimacy. That ambition is matched with lyrics addressing everything from small-town narrow-mindedness ("Lubbock or Leave It") to the psychology of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"). "This album was about finding a balance in the different aspects of our lives," says Emily Robison, "but there's something thematic there, too--it's really about being bold." Dixie Pics Dixie Discs 
Home | 
Wide Open Spaces | 
Fly | 
Top of the World Tour (Live CD) | 
Top of the World Tour (DVD) | 
An Evening with the Dixie Chicks (DVD) |
Album Description
Japanese pressing. No extras. 2006.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1179 more reviews...
 No walking on egg shells with Dixie Chicks' outstanding new album. May 23, 2006
668 out of 779 found this review helpful
Three years after the controversy surrounding the Home tour, the Dixie Chicks are back with a bang on their latest studio album, Taking the Long Way. Receiving some songwriting and musical help from friends like Neil Finn, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Chad Smith, Don Wilson, and Pete Yorn, the Chicks' Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison deliver an incredible, mature record destined for success, one that will greatly please long time fans and win over some new converts. This is the Dixie Chicks at their best, and it's been a long time coming.
The Long Way Around kicks off the album with a beautiful melody and chorus, with some of their strongest vocal harmonies ever set against a wonderful Tom Petty-like guitar sound. This is the way albums should begin. Easy Silence is a tender piano ballad with some beautiful violin and a great vocal by Natalie. Not Easy To Make Nice delves into some tough lyrics,"they say time heals everything..but I'm still waiting" but surrounds it in some unbelievably gentle strings and a great chorus. Everybody Knows and Bitter End are more traditional country ballads, while Lullaby is a 6-minute track that pays homage to its title. Lubbock or Leave It is a banjo-driven rockabilly track that will make you move on the dance floor, even as the cleverly sarcastic lyrics make you listen a few more times.
Silent House and Favorite Year are ballads that touch on the loss of family and friends. Voice Inside My Head combines acoustic and a wonderful slide guitar with a endearing chorus, "everytime I'm feeling down, I wonder what would it be like with you around." This Cali-beach sound continues on the slinky track I Like It, before slowing down on the bluesy ballad Baby Hold On (with John Mayer on lead guitar) and So Hard (a song which grows on you with every listen). The album closes with the uplifting and soulful I Hope, with its church organ and choral sound. A great way to end this amazing album.
Producer Rob Rubin concentrates the Dixie Chicks sound, drawing out the best of their songwriting and musical ability and making the tracks tighter and more focused. Its 14 tracks clock in at a lengthy 68 minutes, averaging about 4 minutes a song, a nice change in an industry where 45 minute records are the norm. Vocally the ladies are as wonderful as always, but their musicianship also impresses here. They have matured greatly in their songwriting and their lyrics, creating a distinct emotional palette that grows with every listen. Love or hate their politics, as musicians they make some of the best music today. Highly Recommended and one of 2006's Top 5 albums.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO
Love those Chicks! May 23, 2006
662 out of 785 found this review helpful
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.
 I hate America - But I like the Dixie Chicks! June 3, 2006
107 out of 135 found this review helpful
Just because this Canadian boy hates America doesn't mean that he hates all Americans. The Dixie Chicks may not come across as especially bright when you see them interviewed on TV but at least their heart is in the right place. The music is above average pop although it is highly commercial. If you want to hear music with more of a message, I recommend fellow Canadian Neil Young's latest or, my favorite, Green Day's "American Idiot."
 It sure is tough being multi-millionaire pop singers! June 10, 2006
107 out of 162 found this review helpful
The Dixie Chicks may be multi-millionaires but on this CD they whine on about how tough their lives have been. Despite this compact disc being at #1 in sales, they are still complaining to their buddies in the news media that some of their concerts didn't sell out immediately. If they have to cancel some shows ("The Horror"), their tour might only gross 85 million bucks instead of 90 million.
Apparently now, not only is it censorship if some people, of their own free will, don't want to listen to their songs, or some radio stations, of their own free will, decide they don't want to play their music, but it is also censorship if people, of their own free will, decide they don't want to see them in concert.
I guess the Dixie Chicks and their fans think that in a free country all MUST be forced to listen to the Dixie Chicks, radio stations MUST all be forced to play their songs, and all of us MUST be forced to buy their concert tickets. Only in fascist dictatorships do people choose what music they want to listen to, what songs they want to play on their own radio stations, and what concerts they want to attend.
I've heard a few of the tunes on this CD and they are nothing special - certainly nothing to make me want to buy it. I've heard worse but the production of this one stinks. But the main problem is all of the whining vocals that are hard to take from a group of super wealthy bimbos. I wish I had their "problems" if it came with their fortunes.
 Silly June 16, 2006
91 out of 171 found this review helpful
Initially, I didn't think this album was worth reviewing; but, the whiny single is so silly and pathetic it could not be helped. The NRTMN single is basically a temper tantrum insisting that the Chick's are just "not ready" to forgive the people who disagree with them. Excuse me, but I don't remember anyone apologizing to them in the first place. Apologize for what? Just as these ladies have the right to state their views; people have the right to react to it in any way they please. How ridiculous that these girls think someone is apologizing to them for disagreeing. Typical whiny Hollywood elitists who think they can state their opinions and no one can disagree. These girls are tired and angry.
Also, how offensive that severel reviewers say that "republicans are racist". Excuse me; but, I am black. I am a Republican. I can vote, think, believe whatever way I choose. I don't have to subscribe to the liberal dogma that I believe to be destructive to my people just because some uppity, white suburban housefrau (who's never been to my neighborhood or one like it) says some ignorant lie about a political party. (Pat) Please stop assuming that you speak for me. Your attempts to keep my people slave to one politcal party is your way of keeping us powerless. That's not happening anymore. We have the right to diversity of thought, too.
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