Shortly before I turned 14 years old, I asked a friend from California for suggestions of songs to download, to further my exploration of country music. I had discovered the genre earlier that year, and being British had no idea where to begin on my musical journey, having never heard of the vast majority of the artists who were part of the scene. The Dixie Chicks were unfamiliar to me, but when my friend suggested I download a song called ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, I went ahead and did so. That summer myself and my family went on holiday to Wales and, armed with a home-made mix CD of illegally downloaded Dixie Chicks songs (I did later buy the CDs – promise), and my 1990’s Sony Walkman, I began my journey.
That’s probably why, then, that whenever I listen to the Dixie Chicks, I distinctly remember being in the back of our old Vauxhall Omega, staring out the window at the grey slate mines and miles of rolling hills. When I hear ‘You Were Mine’, I picture an old Welsh cottage, deep in a mountainside forest as we drove by on a winding lane. That year the Chicks released what would be their final album to date, ‘Taking The Long Way’, and I remember getting it for Christmas and spending most of the festive period blasting it in my bedroom on my shiny new silver CD player, singing along at the top of my lungs. I can still see the blue-grey carpet that I danced around on in bare feet, the second-hand wooden dresser that the CD player sat on, and the bright yellow walls that enclosed my safe creative space for nine years.
The Dixie Chicks are part of the fabric of my life, as they are for so many others, and were seminal in my personal growth. When I loaded up their Wikipedia page to learn more about them, I was shocked to hear of the incredible fallout that had occurred three years prior, and I felt angry that these strong, talented and intelligent women were abused for simply voicing their opinion. Freedom of speech and musical authenticity became important issues for me, the very concepts that formed the fabric of this blog when I set it up four years ago, and that in turn led to so many amazing experiences.
Two years ago, I got the chance to do something I never thought possible – I got to see the Dixie Chicks live. They played the second annual C2C Festival, penultimate on the bill with an hour-long set. Much to my boyfriend’s embarrassment, I stood up for the entire hour, singing along to every word, clapping and cheering and dancing. Most of my block was sat down and quiet, but I didn’t care. I stood out of respect for these incredible songwriters, musicians, singers and women who stood up for what they believed in and never, ever backed down, no matter what the cost.
To say the Dixie Chicks have been inspiring to me is an understatement. Their perfect mix of roots and country pop aided my listening transition from the charts to Americana, and their music is still as relevant now as it was all those years ago. When last year the trio announced that they would be heading out on tour in the UK, I jumped at the chance to get tickets, pulling in early birthday presents in order to secure tickets to both the Manchester and London shows. And when they revealed they would be re-issuing all four of their incredible Natalie Maines-led albums on vinyl, I was ecstatic and ever so grateful to be sent them by Sony (thank you, thank you, thank you).
Today, I pulled off the clear plastic packaging from each LP, lifted the lid on my record player, blew off the dust and guided the needle into place. With every note, I was transported back to those days when I whiled away the hours listening to ‘Wide Open Spaces’, ‘Fly’, ‘Home’ and ‘Taking The Long Way’, and once again I found myself singing along with every word. The sound is rich and clear as day, the artwork for each album is a bright and glossy re-hashing of the original CD booklets, and I will treasure each one of them. My only slight quibble is that it would have been nice to include updated liner notes for each, reflecting on the legacy of the Chicks and perhaps with quotes from them about the writing and recording processes. Still, they are pretty close to perfect as they are. I fall in love all over again every time I press ‘play’.
You can purchase the records here.
Originally posted here.
