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Topic: The Chicks latest CD |
Pete Finney
From:
Nashville Tn.
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 2:33 pm |
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I guess I stand corrected on the production credits, and apologies to old pal Steve Fishell for leaving him out! I was only counting the CDs since Natalie Maines joined and they signed with Sony...
Their new album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, Pop AND country, and is now there for a second week... People can reasonably disagree about everything else about them , but that IS a fact! |
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erik
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 2:42 pm
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I continue to find their vocals shrill and grating. It seems they've locked onto a mic or technique that continues this trend. Or maybe it's just MY ears.
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-johnson
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 4:52 pm
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I've only heard "Not ready to make nice" no steel. Not a fan before, certainly not one now and they've certainly slammed country music and it's fans.
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Bill Llewellyn
From:
San Jose, CA
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 6:57 pm
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Great thread so far. A civil exchange, pretty much just what I was hoping for.  Let's keep it up that way so we don't get closed! 
I really liked the Chix when they came out with their first CD with Natalie. Very country to my ears, very sincere, no upheavals in the meat of it. Even their own hand-written tunes spoke to me. Just a lot of heart and soul. To me, that's country. I don't know what they're up to from a message standpoint on this new CD, though the TV airwaves have been filled lately with soundbites and micro interviews about their resilience against the political recoil to Natalie's past comments. The embattlement is kind of sad. (Do I agree with Natalie? Let's just say she has a right to her opinion, as we all do.) They are talented, capable, focused ladies who have shown their musical mettle. If one could somehow set aside any underlying social directive in the songs, I really would like to see how folks here feel about the effort just on the musical side. The Chix have done pretty well in that vein in the past, and perhaps they've continued with that in their craft. I hope.
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Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | MSA U12 | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 11 June 2006 at 07:58 PM.] |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 8:31 pm
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I heard one song on the radio that sounded a lot like a Beatles production. It was like 3 or 4 different Beatles songs combined, but with girl singers and forgettable lyrics. I wouldn't have known it was them if someone hadn't announced it.
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 Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6) My Blog |
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Dan Sawyer
From:
Studio City, California, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2006 10:19 pm
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June 1, 2006. The new album, "Taking the Long Way," took the No. 1 spot Wednesday on the country albums chart and the Billboard 200 overall chart — which are based on sales rather than radio airplay — with 526,000 units sold in its first week.
Seems like they can write some hits on their own.
Quote from Yahoo;
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Dixie Chicks appear to be more popular than the president these days. President Bush's approval rating has plummeted, but the Chicks are on top of the pop and country charts with their first album since publicly criticizing Bush three years ago. |
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Smiley Roberts
From:
Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 1:20 am
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From the Nashville "Tennessean" newspaper:
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Wednesday, 06/07/06
Dixie Chicks generate 'disappointing' show sales
Only about half the tickets to the Dixie Chicks Oct. 3 GEC show were sold in the first weekend tix went on sale, arena chief Hugh Lombardi confirmed yesterday.
Half-sold is usually a pretty good opening weekend of ticket sales for an arena show, but back in 2003, the Chicks nearly sold out a GEC date in the first weekend of sales.
The story isn't playing out just in Nashville. About 20 Dixie Chicks shows went on sale this past weekend, and a source close to the tour called nationwide sales "disappointing."
Still, there were bright spots. Toronto, for instance, added a second show.
Neither a Chicks' publicist nor a publicist for their record label could be reached yesterday.
Slow concert ticket sales were a little surprising for some because the Chicks' just-released album, Taking the Long Way, has been No. 1 in sales for all genres for the past two weeks, selling a total of about 775,000 copies so far.
But others weren't surprised at all. Wade Jessen, Billboard magazine's director of country charts, pointed to the fact that the Chicks' two new radio singles both failed to break into the top 30 on country charts.
"There's absolutely no radio penetration on anything for this new album," Wade said. "Here's an act off the radio and without a studio album for three years, so I can't say that's entirely surprising" that they have slow concert ticket sales.
Still, the GEC expects the Nashville show will sell out, in part because it's still four months away.
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~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 2:34 am
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The Sales number for the CD release was announced the same day or the next day, and I am thinking, just like BOOKS and every other CD that comes out, it is NOT based on RETAIL sales but rather SALES to Distribution.
How would anyone know on the next day that they sold, or anyone else for that matter, 560,000 units in retail ?
Does Wallmart have a little counter that gets downloaded minute by minute ?
How does the NY Times rate a BOOK #1 the day of or the day before release ?
Pretty good trick...
I'm not sure who came up with this philosophy of pre-release and release date SALES but I think it's totally misleading.
But then again, if I had a CD out I wouldn't mind if it was #1 two or three days before it was released either !
Without a single blazing the top of the charts, this CD, and every other one, will just sit on the shelf.
I have read on other Political based Forums where they are getting lots of support from folks that agree with them or support them, but also in most instances none of those folks have ever purchased a Chicks CD and are not fans of there Music. Crossing over from Texas Country gals to POP Rock is a tuff thing, especially with that whinny Steel Guitar in the mix !
They ain't Sheryl Crow...
That can't help with the drive to the bank.
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TPrior
TPrior Steel Guitar Homesite
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 12 June 2006 at 03:36 AM.] |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 3:10 am
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two points
1- The Chicks have been on the receiving end of the biggest backlash since the Beatles after John Lennon's remark about them being more popular than Jesus. Much of the country audience has rejected them. It's only natural that they would move over towards the pop/rock market.
2- what would you rather hear, a country influenced rock band with steel, fiddle and banjo (sorry b0b) and 3 or 4 singers singing in harmony? or some band with an out of control vocalist screaming at the top of his or her lungs while some guitarists on steroids turns on the fuzz box, cranks the amp up to 11, and plays the 3,000 notes per second?
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My web site
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 4:35 am
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| I'm with Mike on this one. Country fans have not been mistreated by the Chicks, but they have certainly been mistreated by the fans. The change of direction is to align themselves with the fans that appreciate their talents, and don't want to censor them. I'd have done it too. |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 5:01 am
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I'd rather hear OTHER country/rock influenced bands with no banjo!
No STEEL on "I'm not ready to make nice"! |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 5:22 am
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| No sellouts for sellouts. |
Politically or musically speaking?
(Country Joe and the Fish would have sold out had they put out an album of 'My Favorite Marching Tunes' in order to sell more records, for example.)
As it is, the Chicks are hitting harder on social issues, such as an examination of small-town life and how it influenced their music and their thinking, rather than retreating from their political views.
Country music has not been a home for social protestation,unless one considers Woddy Gutherie country. I his day, country and folk were more similar.
Since the medium is the message, the Chicks would have to seek a new genre to put their message out there.
Did Elvis and Miles sell out when they switched styles? It all depends on whether you liked what they were doing, and objected to where they wanted to go with their music.
It's possible that the DC have reached a point where their music and their politics can't be separated, and they've taken the road less travelled.
Or, you could say that they've taken the road more travelled, but that would depend on your definition of 'mainstream.' I myself want to see where they go next. |
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Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 5:46 am
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The Chicks are not selling tickets at the same venues that Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy fill!
I think that says more about the demographic fan base than it does the Chicks.
The new CD is very good.
Terry |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 5:54 am
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Once you soil your britches, it's almost
impossible to get rid of the stink!  |
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Mike Ester
From:
New Braunfels, Texas, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 6:10 am
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The only mistake that Natalie made was a marketing error.
It is not a good business model to make a public statement that disses the political/personal beliefs of the majority of your fan base (read: customers).
Unfortunately, it appears that she is suffering from the following:
(Insert name of favorite celebrity here) Syndrome
The absolute belief that celebrity achieved in one arena confers the right to give forth on any subject whatsoever.
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 7:00 am
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| Oh, right! `Soil your britches`. I misread it first time. Phew... |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 7:13 am
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I wouldn't mind hearing the Banjo in there somewhere !
Actually, before this recent re-vist of her statement about W, Natalie got herself in trouble with the Buddy Holly Texas folks, a line in one of her songs eludes, "Your were from Texas and they didn't like you either"
along those lines, well the Holly Family came out in full force reminding Natalie that she ain't no Buddy Holly...and he is still LOVED in Texas.
And Natalie did refer to the Southern fans as Rednecks , a few other words mixed in but you get the drift.
So basically, shes an artist, a good one, has a product to sell, probably an ok one..but took on Bush, Texans with regard to Buddy Holly and Redneck Southern Fans...and she wants to sell records and be heard on the radio...
pretty good plan..
t |
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Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 7:48 am
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| Quote: |
| and she wants to sell records and be heard on the radio... |
records - yes
radio - not necessarily.
They are selling records without the help of country radio.
Terry
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Pete Finney
From:
Nashville Tn.
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 8:08 am
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| To answer an earlier question: there IS a system to register actual sales, not wholesale orders; it's called "Soundscan" and it's what the charts are based on in Billboard; actual sales to actual customers... |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 8:32 am
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Well here’s a sweet dilemma. Can you like someone’s music if you hate their politics? It’s an old problem. Richard Wagner was anti-Semitic, although not nearly so much as the Nazis who later took him to heart for their theme music. Yet many Jews appreciate his music, and it has been played in Israel. I like middle-Eastern music, but don’t care for Islam. I also like various traditional musics from all over the world, but don’t subscribe to any of the traditional believes of the artists. For that matter, I like Western sacred music, from Bach to gospel, but I don’t believe in Christian or any other religious doctrine. I know a huge number of classical musicians are gay. I’m not. Who cares?
To really bring it home, I live up here in Yankee-land and work with a bunch of elite Ph.D. highbrow country music haters, yet I love country music. These days I disagree with liberals almost as much as I disagree with conservatives. But having grown up in the South, I know what the predominant rural and small town Southern beliefs were during the 40’s and ‘50s, and I completely disagree with the ultra-conservative political, social, and religious views of the vast majority of country music artists through the decades. I don’t care. I still love their music. A lot of radical leftist hippie musicians in the ’60s loved traditional country music, even stuff like Haggard’s Okie from Muskogee. That’s how we got country rock.
I haven’t really listened to their new album, but I watched the Chicks interview on Larry King Live. They have the guts to stand by their well thought out (but perhaps poorly spoken and poorly timed) views, in spite of it being a business problem. The original statement was in a small venue, not a major one. Someone in the audience asked them about Bush, and Natalie responded off the cuff with her true feelings, personally to that person in that small audience, not to the media. Stupid business mistake? Obviously. But frankly, some things are more important than business. Natalie honestly stated her embarrassment about what she felt was the incompetence of her fellow Texan, Bush, a feeling about 60% of Americans now have in common with her. The Chicks support our troops, and would play for them. They disapprove of the poor leadership of politicians they didn’t vote for, which is their right as Americans. That has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their music. I can’t stand Toby Keith’s America right-or-wrong attitude. To me the unquestioning support of politicians is antidemocratic, anti-American, and unpatriotic. But I kinda like a few of his songs and have one of his CDs. I play with some black musicians who support some radical black political figures I don’t care for. It’ll never happen, but I would play with Tobie Keith too if the occasion ever arose.
I listen to musicians for their music. Their politics are no more important to me than the politics of the next guy I pass on the street. I don’t like any kind of censorship. But of course everyone is always free to keep their money in their pocket. . Politics and religion are personal – they are our fallible human beliefs and prejudices. Music is transcendent and speaks to our common human feelings, which are the same everywhere and throughout all time.
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 8:39 am
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Dave good post,I too watched a bit of the LK thing with the Chicks.
I think the entire BUSH issue would have gone completley away if she didn't start with the I TAKE BACK my Apology thing...then refer to the South as Rednecks, and then the B Holly phrase which Natalie tried to reverse on..
For me, If the CD was to my liking I would buy it...time will tell if I hear something that musically connects or not...
In one sense you are asking that the folks who listen keep it to the MUSIC..but to the folks that are listening and perhaps buying they are asking the same thing..KEEP IT to the MUSIC..would ya !
t |
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Rick Garrett
From:
Tyler, Texas
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 9:04 am
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You just can't thumb your nose (ie Not Ready to make nice) at your fans no matter how talented you may be. John Lennon is a prime example of that. Nobody's THAT good.
They're still banned here on local radio stations. At least I haven't heard them on in a long time with the exception of Not ready to make nice and that was just so the disc jocks could have people call in with their opinions. Now THAT's entertainment. I loved their early stuff but have no plans to buy this album or the next until she IS ready to make nice. My choice just like the knob on a radio.
Rick[This message was edited by Rick Garrett on 12 June 2006 at 10:10 AM.] |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 9:13 am
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We have strayed from the topic, which is the musical attributes of their latest CD.
Let's get back on track, okay? Does anyone besides me hear the echos of George Martin in this record?
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 Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
System Administrator
My Blog |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 9:29 am
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Um, Tony has a point. There is some music that is intentionally political. Until the Bush statement, the Chicks music itself was not political, although maybe the Earl song could be called feminist. But now with the Not Ready to Make Nice, and the small town bashing, they have put the politics directly into their music. Of course there is a long tradition of political music, on the right and the left. What about that, b0b? Can we not discuss that, even if we try to keep it civil? I realize it's a tough call - it's music and politics together. Maybe we're not capable of keeping it civil.  |
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Terry Edwards
From:
Florida... livin' on spongecake...
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Posted 12 Jun 2006 10:05 am
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b0b, I think the George Martin influence is very strong in this record - because Rick Rubin's style of producing is heavily influenced by Martin/Beatles. Not very "original" but a style that I personally love.
The "Lulliby" song they wrote for this CD is for their children (the 7 peeps) and it is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and the production/engineering first rate.
Terry |
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