Dixie Chicks-- Not Ready To Make Nice

(MV) Nothing changes folks like babies and war, and since the release of their last album, 2002's Home, the Dixie Chicks have been forever altered by both. If that album showcased the trio as precocious young adults, Taking the Long Way finds them sobered and matured, and in a grown-up state of mind. Produced by the celebrated Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who saw the Chicks as "a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album," their new record impresses both as beautiful sonic tapestry (peppered with myriad Beatlesque hallmarks) and forthright yet vulnerable portrait of three women shaken by the personal and political events of the past few years. As they make clear in the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice," they still smart over the backlash from their 2003 Bushwhacking. But as they assert on the equally autobiographical "The Long Way Around," they could never "kiss all the asses that they told me to" and just follow others aimlessly--and silently--through life. This means that the Chicks are simultaneously prideful and scornful of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"), and that as new mothers they increasingly treasure the refuge they find in life with their families, out of the spotlight ("Easy Silence," "Lullaby," "Baby Hold On"). The push and pull of both passions drive this record, which also touches on the personal issues of infertility (with which sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both dealt) and Alzheimer's (from which Natalie Maines's grandmother suffers). The trio crafted all 14 cuts with the help of such writers as Sheryl Crow, Gary Louris, Mike Campbell, and Keb' Mo', laying out their lives as honestly and intimately as they might in their diaries. For that reason, on first listen, Taking the Long Way seems too somber--in need of a bit of levity and more than a couple of uptempo songs (like the sexy, '60s-flavored "I Like It") to resonate for the long haul. It also seems to lack the writing quality that Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Robison brought to Home. But on repeated plays, those concerns dissipate. By the last cut, the R&B/gospel offering "I Hope," the Chicks have chronicled their journey with as much spirituality as spunk, their pain deeply ingrained in their protests.





[ 此贴被leadking在2006-10-16 15:52重新编辑 ]

Dixie Chicks-- Not Ready To Make Nice

Lyrics

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and i'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting


歌手及歌曲介绍

作为目前为止史上销量最高的女子团体，Dixie Chicks绝非浪得虚名成名。不过，她们的成名路比大部分的艺人都要曲折漫长。19[屏蔽]在Texas就成军的Dixie Chicks最早由4人组成，姐妹花Martie Erwin和Emily Erwin，加上主音Laura Lynch和Robin Lynn Macy，并主攻清新优美的Bluegrass风格。尽管早在1990年他们就在[屏蔽]厂牌Crystal Clear Sound的支持下推出了自己的第一张专辑The Heavens Of Dale Evans，并赢得为诸如Gareth Brook和Reba McEntire这样[屏蔽]乡村音乐人暖场的机会。并且随后发行了更加具有主流乡村倾向的Little Ol' Cowgirl和Shouldn't a Told You That两张专辑，也得到了在不少大型场合表演的机会，但是她们除了获得了少数乡村界人士的关注之外，主流市场几乎好无收获。

1992年末Robin Lynch在第二张专辑完成之后乐队音乐风格的取向而退出，继续坚守纯粹Bluegrass的风格。1995年，新的主音Natalie Maine，Dixie Chicks的制作人Lloyd Maine的女儿，取代了Laura Lynch。Dixie Chicks也同时和当时全球五大唱片公司之一的SONY签下合约，进入了主流市场。Dixie Chicks从此悄然迎来了苦等了6年的春天。

1997年10月，单曲I Can Love You Better在乡村榜上开始崭露头角，引起了歌迷的注意。1998年1月，Dixie Chicks在重组后的Monument Records旗下发行了专辑Wide Open Space，凭借优良的制作和成为年度大热，拿下了乡村榜冠军和象征主流市场的Top200第四的耀眼成绩。至今全美销量超过1200万，成为为数不多的RIAA认证钻石唱片，还跻身全美史上销量最高的五十张专辑。此时正值整个90年代乡村音乐最为辉煌的时期，乡村艺人在主流市场逐渐走红，销量看涨，而Shania Twain和Dixie Chicks更成为其中佼佼者，不仅销量惊人，口碑也是一片大好。

1999年，Dixie Chicks再接再厉发行了Fly专辑，不出意料的蝉联乡村榜冠军，并且Top200的冠军也收入囊中。还因为杀夫之歌Goodbye Earl引起的话题在全美引起了广泛的讨论。因为该专辑全美销量迅速突破1000万，Dixie Chicks成为了史上销量最高的女子团体。短短两年多时间，又一张RIAA的钻石唱片也把Dixie Chicks推向了前所未有的高度，成为了绝无仅有的连续两张钻石唱片的获得者。随后进行的首次巡演Fly Tour更是爆棚，一票难求。
接下来后的两年成为了本来应该是Dixie Chicks更进一步的大好机会，但是此时她们和SONY在音乐上的分歧使得他们不得不[屏蔽]制作下一张专辑。在老朋友Lloyd Banks的帮助下，一张Bluegrass的唱片Home制作完成。13年后Dixie Chicks再次回到了最初的音乐风格上，尽管唱片公司认为这张唱片销量得不到保障，但是在双方调解后，最终得以发售的Home却依然好评如潮，大卖特卖，并产生了她们的第一支Hot100的Top10单曲Long Time Gone，此时Top200或者乡村榜冠军都不值一提，因为这张专辑又让她们成为了一个史上之最：首周破百万的销量让她们打败了R&B第一团Destiny's Child成为了历史上首周销量最高的女子团体，这一数字也说明她们在人气上甚至能和'N Sync或者Britney Spears这样的超级偶像平起平坐。并在短短几个月和唱片业整体萧条的情况下销售了惊人的600万张。同时第二单曲Landslide和第三单曲分别进入和Hot100的Top10和Top40。

但是此时Dixie Chicks却卷入了一场xx storm 中。因不满President Bush发动战争，Texas土生土长的Natalie在London的一场演出中说"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." （你瞧，我们为美国的总统来自Texas而感到羞耻）。这在被情绪被9.11情绪严重影响的美国引起了轩然大波，尤其是乡村音乐的大本营——保守中西部的地区。大量电台开始拒绝播放她们的歌曲，或者是拒绝为她们做宣传。听众也开始抵制她们的歌曲。大热的Landslide和Travelin' Solider在电台播放暴涨的情况下被撤下，排名Hot 100前20左右的歌曲竟然在不到两周内掉出了榜单。有人还组织了反Dixie Chicks联盟，号召人们销毁她们的专辑。 这让仍在宣传期专辑的销售受到了严重影响，尽管迫于压力Natalie公开对自己的过激行为表达了歉意，但是无济于事。这让Dixie Chicks非常愤怒，她们随后开始了反击，以非常少有的高调态度频频在媒体上表达自己的观点，甚至[屏蔽]登上美国着名娱乐杂志Entertainment Weekly以表达她们反战的坚定态度。但是这场风波依然让她们损失惨重，乡村界最重要的奖项CMT甚至把她们的奖项给了Toby Keith，并且公开批评她们。包括Toby Keith本人在内的众多乡村人士也纷纷对她们进行了抨击。稍后进行的巡演The Home Tour尽管在事件发生之前就迅速售出了全部gate票，这也让很多反对她们的歌迷有机会在现场捣乱，为巡演造成了不小麻烦，Natalie甚至自嘲没人捣乱的演出让她觉得很不适应。尽管她们也得到了很多艺人，诸如Madonna和Bruce Springsteen这样主流艺人的声援和Grammy的多项提名，4个包括“最佳乡村专辑”和“最佳乡村团体表演”的大奖的肯定，但在正统乡村领域她们仍是众矢之的。时至今日仍然余波未了，仍然有不少人在抵制她们的音乐和商业活动，Natalie甚至收到了死亡威胁信。

在将近四年之后，美国最受欢迎的当代乡村组合南方小鸡（Dixie Chicks）终于推出了她们最新的录音室专辑《Taking The Long Way》。这张《Taking The Long Way》在发行首周的单周销量达到52万6千张，力压同样由里克·鲁宾（Rick Rubin）制作的红辣椒乐队（Red Hot Chili Peppers）的最新双张专辑《Stadium Arcadium》，如愿登顶本周的Billboard 200专辑榜，成为Dixie Chicks第三张在Billboard 200专辑榜中折桂的专辑。Dixie Chicks此前两张冠军专辑分别是1999年发行的《Fly》和2002年发行的《Home》，而上张专辑《Home》在发行首周的销量更高，达到了78万张。

在这张专辑中，Rick Rubin不仅担当制作人，而且还为Dixie Chicks召集来了Red Hot Chili Peppers乐队的鼓手查德·史密斯（Chad Smith），为汤姆·佩蒂（Tom Petty）伴奏的“伤心者”乐队（Heartbreakers）的键盘手本蒙特·坦奇（Benmont Tench）和吉他手麦克·坎贝尔（Mike Campbell）等实力不俗的乐手为Dixie Chicks的三位女将助阵。另外，在专辑歌曲的创作名单中，还包括了著名民谣摇滚女歌手雪儿·克洛（Sheryl Crow），当代布鲁斯吉他手Keb' Mo'以及另类乡村摇滚乐队The Jayhawks的成员加里·罗里斯（Gary Louris）等创作高手。更多新鲜血液的注入使Dixie Chicks这张专辑显得更加的丰润，《Not Ready To Make Nice》，《Everybody Knows》，有Sheryl Crow参与创作的《Favorite Year》以及《Voice Inside My Head》都是十分有Dixie Chicks特点的优秀单曲。而从歌词上来看，Dixie Chicks这三位女将也是非常值得钦佩的，面对各种威胁恐吓丝毫没有任何妥协，依然光明磊落，兢兢业业的做着她们自己的音乐。

从各方面来说，这张《Taking The Long Way》都丝毫不比四[屏蔽]大卖的专辑《Home》逊色。相反，Dixie Chicks用实力证明了她们与Rick Rubin以及各界创作精英的合作是相当成功的。尽管已经四年没有新作问世，但Dixie Chicks用这张歌迷们已经期盼已久的专辑证明了她们仍是当今美国最有实力的乡村组合之一。

very nice song.

It's very nice

真的　很不错　呀　！

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could
very nice song,i like it ^^^