Monday, April 22, 2013

My Music Monday

Natalie Maines is coming out with her first solo album and really her first new music since the Dixie Chicks' last disk seven years ago!

Technically, Maines has had a few songs out here and there - a cover of the Beach Boys' "G-d Only Knows" and she did something with Eddie Vedder, but most of the time she's been silent when it comes to singing.

Her (former?) band mates put out a marginal (at best) disk a few years back, The Court Yard Hounds, and it sounds like they're threatening to do another round.

Maines, however, feels the time isn't right to record another Chicks album and has only reunited with them a few times for live shows - as they are doing this summer in Canada. Maines also doesn't feel like country music will ever allow the Chicks back into that market yet that is what the rest of that band plays - country, so she not really jonesing to record new music with them.

That's a bummer because their last two albums were great.

Natalie's new disk (which, be forewarned, I will review in May) isn't country at all.  The title track, "Mother", is a Pink Floyd cover.

But I did pre-order the disk, because I like Maines' voice, but there is a certain wanting to stand with her after being vilified for stating she was embarrassed to be from the same state as the president.  Hardly treasonous, yet that is the way she has been portrayed since 2003.

With the pre-order, I got immediate access to her first track, "Without You".

I will admit not to really grabbing onto this first song she released, but it's grown on me quite a bit over the last few weeks.  It's not going to be hitting any airwaves of many stations, but it's a solid effort and yet it doesn't quite show off the true strength of what her voice can do.

"Without You", should not be confused with a Dixie Chicks song of the same name.


1 comment:

Erik Rubright said...

I'm totally excited about her putting out an album. *squee*

Okay, maybe not _that_ excited. But I've always loved Natalie's voice.