The Dixie Chicks have been off my radar since 1998’s single There’s Your Trouble. They never really established themselves in the UK after that, unfortunately. Off course, a couple of years ago they hit the headlines worldwide when singer Natalie Maines openly criticised George Bush with the now infamous statement:

We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.

The Long Way Around is the lead track from their latest album after those remarks, and a number of the songs address that issue.

In essence, The Long Way Around is a song about asserting your independence and choosing the harder path. I’d go a step further than that: it’s virtually a modern-day anthem. The opening lyrics set the tone especially well:

My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents lived
But I, I could never follow…

This kind of theme really speaks to me in music. The girls come across as brilliantly anti-establishment on this one, free spirited and determined. A great start to an album which follows a major controversy that could have killed the groups careers. They reference Natalie’s anti-Bush comments in the line “It’s been two long years now, since the top of the world came crashing down…”

You’ve got to appreciate their ballsy approach – they could easily have caved in to the threats (yes, threats) to shut up and sing, but they’ve chosen not to walk away from their remarks. Makes me like them even more :)

With this new album, the Dixie Chicks have retained their country sound, but it’s evolved in a more radio-friendly rock direction. Possibly a sensible move, since they received a lot of criticism from the Country Music establishment. Widening their appeal by reaching out to the mass market may have been the sensible thing to do. However, as one pundit remarked, with the rest of America seemingly waking up to George Bush, those critics should go out and buy a copy of the new Dixie Chicks album in penance!

OK, I’ve said my piece, given the track a huge thumbs up, now check out a live video of the Dixie chicks performing The Long Way Around: