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COUNTRY
Dixie Chicks
"Taking the Long Way." Open Wide/Columbia/Sony BMG. 14 tracks.
Grade: C+

What's this? A popular musical act that has criticized George W. Bush? Why, in order to find another artist who's done that, we'd have to look all the way back to ... earlier this month, when Neil Young released a withering album called "Living With War," featuring such White House favorites as "Let's Impeach the President."

• What do you really think of the Dixie Chicks BLOG Mark J. Terrill/AP (ENLARGE)
1999: The Dixie Chicks accept their award for top new group or duo during the 34th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on May 5.
AP Photo (ENLARGE)
2003: The May 2 issue of Entertainment Weekly reflects how the Chicks are being viewed by Americans of various viewpoints.
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At this point, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines is hardly the only musician to have expressed displeasure with the president. In fact, in this week's Time magazine cover story she amped up the criticism saying, "I don't feel [Bush] is owed any respect whatsoever."

But in March of 2003, when she told a London audience she was ashamed to share a home state with Bush, Maines was far lonelier in her position, and the Chicks were cast out of the mainstream country kingdom. Atlanta country radio stations Kicks 101.5 and Eagle 106.7 haven't played a single Dixie Chicks song since.

It makes sense, then, that the new Dixie Chicks album is less eager to please than 2002's bluegrassy gem "Home." The new album, "Taking the Long Way," leads with a sharp-elbowed single called "Not Ready to Make Nice" and enlists production help from Def Jam Records co-founder Rick Rubin, who's known for his work with Johnny Cash and the speed-metal band Slayer. He and the band have made a courageous record that's neither especially country nor especially apologetic. But it's also not especially good.

In their efforts to make a serious statement, the Chicks have shed their delightful sense of whimsy. "Home" had a summery feel, with bright banjos and fiddles leading the way. Now dark guitars drive the music, making the album feel claustrophobic. Maines' voice used to sound girlish; now it sounds brittle.

The trio, which also includes sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, has every right to change its approach in response to "The Incident" — indeed, it would have been bizarre if the ladies simply carried on as though nothing had changed. But they can't seem to shake the chains of 2003. And as a result, neither can the listener. You can project the '03 event onto song after song here, whether that's what the band intended or not.

Maines spends the first song singing about "gettin' it back on the road" after "the top of the world came crashing down." Track two is a ballad about "the way you keep the world at bay for me." Track three is "Not Ready to Make Nice," a biting direct response to the controversy. On track four, Maines sings about "Steppin' out/Everyone can see my face/All the things I can't erase from my life/Everybody knows."

There's more. Even though press materials promise that "So Hard" addresses infertility, it's hard to hear Maines sing "Back when we started/We didn't know how hard it was" without thinking about her band's career.

A song called "Bitter End" could be about a personal fallout or a direct address to fans: "Farewell to old friends," Maines sings. "Will you forgive me when I see you again?"

We'll see. The Dixie Chicks are scheduled to perform at Philips Arena in October.

DIXIE CHICKS: FROM HOT ACT TO HOT TOPIC

1998: Dixie Chicks release major label debut album, "Wide Open Spaces," which was certified 12-times platinum.

1999: The Chicks' follow-up record, "Fly," is released — it's now 10-times platinum.

2000: The trio wins the CMA award for Entertainer of the Year.

2002: The band releases "Home." The Chicks' publicity firm says the album sold more than 6 million copies in seven months. Which brings us to ...

2003: In March, on stage in London, lead singer Natalie Maines told the audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

2006: The Chicks release a single called "Not Ready to Make Nice," which addresses the London incident. The chorus: "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."

2006: The saga continues. In a May Time magazine article, Natalie Maines continues to diss Bush saying, "I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."