Review Roundup: Natalie Maines Releases New Album ‘Mother’

Natalie Maines has just released her first solo album and she’s receiving some rave review.

Jim Farber of the the NY Daily News called the Dixie Chicks singer’s new album Mother has been called a “masterpiece.”

Farber writes: Mother is a flat-out masterpiece, an ideal match of singer and songs that moves Maines from being a skilled and decorative singer into one of the most emotive vocalists of our time.”

Maines may be best known for being a country singer with the Dixie Chicks but her latest album steers away from familiar territory. Maines and the Dixie Chicks were shunned by country stations after the singer criticized George W. Bush and the war in Iraq and it doesn’t seem like Maines is eager to get her songs back on country channels. Instead, Maines new album is a “provocative form of polished adult rock.”

The Sacramento Bee writes: “Maines sets aside the cheeky playfulness that marked her success in country music. Instead, she carefully curates an album of covers and originals by other writers-with one strong original, “Take It On Faith.” She leans hard on philosophical lyrics about self-identity and the importance of strong relations. Much like Maines’ public persona since her fallout with the conservative right after speaking out against the Iraq War, the songs waver between gutsy stands and seeking shelter with those who care for and understand her.”

Rolling Stone Magazine wasn’t too impressed with Maines’ first solo effort. The magazine gave the album three stars out of five and said that the absence of her fellow Dixie Chicks is apparent on most of the album.

Rolling Stone writes: “Too often, the music feels a bit limp, and the buttery harmony backups of her fellow Dixie Chicks are sorely missed.”