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Fans expect surprises from the Dixie Chicks’ lead singer. In 2002, Maines knocked fellow country musician Toby Keith’s song “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” as jingoistic and then criticized U.S. president George W. Bush over the Iraq invasion. Recently, the mother of two helped to free the wrongfully accused Memphis Three. Now Maines has made a solo debut that is more rock than country. Co-produced with Grammy-winning artist Ben Harper, the 10 songs are surprisingly edgy. “Free Life” and the title track, a Pink Floyd ballad, are connected to the Memphis Three case. And covers of Eddie Vedder’s “Without You” and Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” are emotionally rich. But...

The Dixie Chicks are pop’s ultimate crossover queens. The Texan group began in the 1990s as a bluegrass and country music outfit. But after singer Natalie Maines joined everything changed. Out went the cowgirl dresses and in came a more contemporary look and sound. By 2002, the Chicks, including sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, were sharing the stage with pop stars like Celine Dion, Cher, Shakira and Mary J. Blige in the VH1 Divas Show in Las Vegas. The crossover began with 1998’s Wide Open Spaces, which entered the pop and country charts in the top five and went diamond with sales of 10 million. The followup, Fly, repeated that achievement, making the Chicks the only female group t...

Lubbock, Texas is famous as the birthplace of Buddy Holly, the pioneering rocker who inspired The Beatles. It’s also the birthplace of the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines, who sings about her hometown on “Lubbock or Leave It,” a roadhouse rocker from the group’s latest album that conjures up images of both Holly and an unwelcoming redneck town. “Dust bowl, Bible belt, got more churches than trees/Raise me, praise me, couldn’t save me, couldn’t keep me on my knees,” Maines warbles. “Oh boy, rave on down loop 289/That’ll be the day you see me back in this fool’s paradise.” Although the song was triggered by a documentary about a Lubbock teenage girl who tried, unsuccessfully, to have sex educatio...