Dixie Chicks Put 'Chicks Sound' On A Cover Tune

[Johnny Stew]

Dixie Chicks Put 'Chicks Sound On A Cover Tune'
Fri Nov 22, 6:57 PM ET

(11/22/02, 6 p.m. ET) -- When the Dixie Chicks were gathering songs for their new album, Home, they each brought their favorite album cuts from other artists to the table for consideration. Lead singer Natalie Maines had Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" at the top of her wish list; however, group member Martie Maguire wasn't sold on the suggestion.

The musician says she was hesitant to record the song because she didn't want to mess with such a familiar tune, she tells LAUNCH. "At first, I kind of thought, 'Well, you know, that's great, but, you know, let's kind of put that on the bottom of the list and let's really do some more obscure things,' and once we started playing that song, I don't know whether it was the banjo--the approach with the banjo--or the dobro or our harmonies, or what it was, but I felt like we were doing it differently and paying tribute to the integrity of the song."

Maguire says that putting the Dixie Chick's signature sound on "Landslide" was of the utmost importance, she explains. "One thing you never want to do is lose the integrity of the song by doing a cover. You either have to do it better or put your own twist on it, and I don't think we did it better than Stevie Nicks. Nobody could do that, but I do think we put a Chicks sound on a cover tune."


The Dixie Chicks will be releasing a special version of Home on November 26. The new release will feature a totally redesigned package, including new cover, more than 50 rare and unseen photos, gatefold center spread, one extra track (the Sheryl Crow remix of "Landslide," produced by Crow), and a second disc--a DVD--featuring the videos for "Landslide," "Long Time Gone," "Wide Open Spaces," and "Goodbye Earl."


"Landslide" sits at Number Three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and Number 16 on the Hot 100.


-- Margy Holland, Nashville