The Dixie Chicks Fly (review)

music recor· Reviews by GavinJames Campbell, MusicEditor The Dixie Chicks Fly Sony/Monument, 1999 CD 69678, $17.98 For those who wondered whether the Dixie Chicks were a flash in the pan, wonder no more. Fly surpasses Wide Open Spaces. Melding pop's lush instrumentais with country's emotional intensity, the Dixie Chicks craft a sound diat should appeal to a wide cross-section of listeners. From honky-tonk tear-jerkers like "Hello, Mr. Heartache" to hard-driving bluegrass-tinged songs like "Sin Wagon," the album takes on the problem of love and betrayal—staples of the country repertoire—often in a new way. The Dixie Chicks do succeed, albeit with mixed results, in attempting to put a female spin on familiar themes. The song "Goodbye Earl," destined to generate the most attention, tells of killing an abusive husband, and with its rocking beat and triumphant tone the song seems to herald a new liberation. Yet even at their most controversial, theirwork echoes familiar themes already explored in the film Thelma and Louise and in Martina McBride's song "Independence Day." Though occasionally falling between the barstools, as it were, of social commentary and tired cliché, die Dixie Chicks work hard to bring a fresh perspective and succeed admirably in performing a lot of really entertaining music. 91 ...