E-Spire Entertainment News

DIXIE CHICKS WILL RELEASE HGHLY-ANTICIPATED FOURTH ALBUM “TAKING THE LONG WAY” ON MAY 23, 2006

Superstars, renegades, innovators, heroes, villains, and moms - over almost a decade, the Dixie Chicks have grown from a band into a phenomenon. Now more than ever, the eyes of the world are on them, and with TAKING THE LONG WAY, they come out swinging, surpassing the pressures and expectations history has placed upon them. The nine time Grammy-Award winning Sony Recording artists will release this highly-anticipated fourth album (Open Wide/Columbia/Sony BMG) on May 23, 2006

The album’s producer Rick Rubin assembled an impressive band including Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, session hero Larry Knechtel, and Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, and matched the Chicks with co-writers including Dan Wilson (who wound up collaborating on six of TAKING THE LONG WAY's songs), Pete Yorn, and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks.

Not just "big for a country band" or "big for a big female band," the Dixie Chicks are a multi-platinum selling act in North America, Europe and Australia as well as one of a mere handful of acts with multiple albums achieving "diamond" status (meaning sales over 10 million copies) - both WIDE OPEN SPACES (1998) and FLY (1999) hit that stratospheric landmark - and have won nine Grammy awards.

Their defiant new single, “Not Ready to Make Nice” was inspired by the controversy that was created by Natalie Maines’ comments about a fellow Texan, President George W. Bush, during a London appearance in March 2003. It was this comment that earned the Dixie Chicks an uneasy new reputation, along with death threats and boycotts, but it also gave them the chance to let the world know who they really are. Their new album takes this a step further as they earnestly explore the personal issues that matter to them.

Audio streams of their new single “Not Ready to Make Nice” are below:

Quicktime

Real Player

Windows (hi)

Windows (lo)