When I moved away to go to college, my parents came and helped me get everything set up and then we went out to eat. After dinner, they were going on a short vacation before they headed back home. I was headed to my first apartment with a girl I hardly even knew. They got in the truck and drove off and I cranked my car and Dixie Chick’s “Wide Open Spaces” was playing on the radio. I, ever the sap, burst into a bucket of tears. I’m not generally a country music fan, but that song stuck with me and I bought the CD. (Remember when you had to go to a store to buy a CD? Just thinking about that makes me feel old. Today’s college students have probably never purchased a CD.) I liked the bright sounds and the harmony. The words of many of their songs fit right where I was in that season of life.
When I found out that two of the Dixie Chicks were releasing a new album I was intrigued. I thought of how much I’d changed since those “Wide Open Spaces” days and wondered if they’d grown up like I had. And oh, yes, they have. This album has a mature sound. Not old-lady, for sure! But all-grown-up. There a bit of nostalgia and sadness and certainly some wit and wisdom. They really have created something that feels familiar but fresh, which I think is a great combo!
The opening song, “Sunshine”, is a fun, peppy-sounding song and I laugh every time I hear these lines: Hey, don’t rain on my parade and kill a perfect day, wasting my time. Hey, you always find a way to bring me down when I feel fine. We call you sunshine. (We all know someone like this, don’t we?)
And then there’s the resilient and determined-to-be-happy lyrics of “The World Smiles”: If I believe in the good stuff and open my eyes up…the world smiles.
And on the other end of the spectrum you have “Divided” and “Gets You Down”, which deal with hard moments that we’ve all known at one point or another while still adding a dash of hope.
Overall, it’s a well-rounded album and it’s become a regular in my rotation of favorites.
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Heather!
September 27, 2013 at 12:04 am*Wide Open Spaces* always makes me think of my folks helping me move into my first apartment! Such a great song, especially for singing in the car all by yourself. 😉 I have loved everything I have heard from this album, so I think I’ll need to buy it. Thanks for the great review!