Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks Brings Us Mother, Her Debut Solo Album
Fans have been anxiously waiting for new music from the always provocative, multi-platinum, Grammy-Award winning Natalie Maines ~ and on May 7, 2013, after much anticipation, Natalie Maines will release her debut solo album, Mother, on Columbia Records. The album will be released on Columbia Records May 7, 2013.
The new direction the singer has chosen comes through loud and clear on Mother. Heavily influenced by the more rock-
based, edgy and intense sound of title track ~ and Pink Floyd cover ~ “Mother,” Maines co-produced the album with friend and Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitar wizard Ben Harper, even recording the album in his studio.
“I wanted this music to be very different from the Dixie Chicks,” Maines says. “Lots of albums by lead singers might just as well have been made by the band, but I think this is very different from anything the Chicks could make. That separation and distinction was important.”
As a member of the Dixie Chicks ~ the best-selling female group of all time ~ Maines has sold over 30 million albums and has won 13 Grammy awards. But the ten songs on Mother reveal different facets of one of the most acclaimed voices and outspoken artists of our time.
One of the initial songs Maines and Harper tackled was the soaring, tortured ballad from Pink Floyd‘s The Wall that ultimately gave this album its title. The result is a cover which NPR’s Ann Powers described as “…a tender acknowledgment of how fear can entrap all of us, even when we want to do nothing but love.”
“Mother” was initially released on West of Memphis: Voices for Justice, the soundrack to the documentary West of Memphis, a film which chronicles the story of the three wrongly-imprisoned Arkansas teenagers ~ known as the West Memphis Three ~ whose cause Maines has tirelessly championed in recent years. “Free Life” is also included on the album because of its connection to the case; Natalie performed the song at a rally when the young men were still in prison and it became a favorite of the wife of Damien Echols, one of the WM3. “Free Life” was written by Dixie Chicks collaborator and Grammy-Award winner Dan Wilson.
As much as this new music is a departure from her Dixie Chicks roots, the songwriting credits on “Come Cryin’ to Me” reveal that her fellow Dixie Chicks Martie Maguire and Emily Robison still had a hand in the project. “That was a song we decided was too rock for Taking the Long Way,” Maines explains, “but it really felt right to have a piece of them on here.”
All of the album’s 10 songs were selected because of personal connections to Natalie. Jeff Buckley’s “Lover You Should Have Come Over” was a reminder for Maines of the early days of the relationship with her husband, actor Adrian Pasdar. She discovered “Without You” on her friend Eddie Vedder’s ukulele album and heard a groove that she thought might fit.
What started out as a fun session with friend Ben Harper quickly matured and morphed into the solo debut from one of our generations most coveted voices. And while this solo offering does not mean the end for The Dixie Chicks (the group has some Canadian dates booked this summer), Natalie Maines is committed to Mother and excited to share it with her fans. “I want to put all my efforts toward this album. I feel completely dedicated to it, and I want to give it everything I can.”
Mother Tracklisting:
- Without You
- Mother
- Free Life
- Silver Bell
- Lover You Should’ve Come Over
- Vein in Vain
- Trained
- Come Cryin’ To Me
- I’d Run Away
- Take It On Faith
Find more information at www.nataliemainesmusic.com.
Special thanks to PMK*BNC