As the country trio once known as Dixie Chicks celebrate 20 years of their album Taking the Long Way, we count down the best of their catchy, sometimes controversial catalogue.
From Early Hits to Modern Anthems
20. If I Fall You're Going Down With Me (2001) - One of eight singles from the album Fly, this organ-driven rock track with a Nashville twang barrels along, rich with the confidence of a band who know they can't put a foot wrong.
19. Tights on My Boat (2020) - This accusation of nautical infidelity from Gaslighter is ferociously angry and very funny, with an understated, live-in-the-studio sound that compounds the sense of eavesdropping on tea being spilled among friends.
18. You Were Mine (1998) - Written by sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire about their parents' divorce, this country weeper is part of the Chicks' origin story. They invited Natalie Maines, daughter of producer Lloyd Maines, to sing on the demo, leading to a lineup change and vast success.
17. The Long Way Around (2006) - The opening track of Taking the Long Way suggests the band's war of words with President George W Bush and Nashville conservatives was par for the course, with a disinclination to 'kiss all the asses' and 'do it like everybody else'.
Controversy and Craft
16. Julianna Calm Down (2020) - Over a soft organ backing and something approaching a dancefloor pulse, the Chicks offer hard-won advice to the recently dumped: 'Put on your best shoes and strut the fuck around like you've got nothing to lose.'
15. Ready to Run (1999) - With Celtic motifs that may acknowledge Irish folk's influence on country or the Corrs' late-90s success, this breezy track carries a witty lyric that offers a middle finger to marriage and commitment.
14. Texas Man (2020) - Marooned in California post-divorce, Maines pines for the rough-hewn gents of her home county. The beauty is in the music's experimental bent: a tight, close-miked, new-wave-leaning sound with fuzzed-out guitar, unlike anything the Chicks had released before.
13. Cold Day in July (1999) - Five minutes of inconsolable misery, with Maines' voice at its most angst-ridden. The guitar-driven arrangement is simple but spot-on, working its sob-inducing magic without needing more.
Defining Moments
12. Sin Wagon (1999) - Named after a line in Grease, this thrilling blend of speedy bluegrass with raw, growling energy celebrates 'mattress dancin'.
11. Sleep at Night (2020) - Bearing the distinct influence of noted Chicks fan Taylor Swift, this track features the line 'My husband's girlfriend's husband just called me up – how messed up is that?' with a slapping rhythm track.
10. Easy Silence (2006) - The negative image of Not Ready to Make Nice, this details the downside of being the centre of a media storm, sounding utterly, affectingly weary.
9. There's Your Trouble (1998) - The Chicks' biggest UK chart hit offers the perfect example of why Wide Open Spaces catapulted the former bluegrass/western-swing combo to superstardom: beautifully turned songwriting, a fresh pop sheen, and tough, salty lyrics.
Legacy and Impact
8. Landslide (2002) - A bold cover of the Stevie Nicks song, stripped down to country basics, highlighting the trio's impeccable harmonies.
7. Long Time Gone (2002) - Darrell Scott's back-to-the-land saga includes a critique of modern Nashville – 'they got money, but they don't have Cash' – with no drums and a distinct bluegrass influence.
6. Gaslighter (2020) - The title track of the first Chicks album in 14 years is almost unsettlingly brutal in its frankness about Maines' ex-husband Adrian Pasdar, and insanely catchy.
5. Wide Open Spaces (1998) - Started life as a student's poem about returning to Texas from Montana and became a huge hit, the kind of Chicks song that one suspects sunk in deep with the young Swift.
4. Travelin' Soldier (2002) - Destined to be remembered as the track Maines was introducing in London when she criticised Bush, but the furore shouldn't overshadow how fantastic it is: stark and moving, a heartbreaking story entwined with the Vietnam war.
3. Cowboy Take Me Away (1999) - Based on a slogan from a US advert for Calgon bath products, this is a wistful paean to escape, balanced between uplift and melancholy.
2. Not Ready to Make Nice (2006) - The Chicks' musical response to the Bush incident is a thing of snarling wonder: 'It's too late to make it right / I probably wouldn't if I could.' A short, sharp burst of bitterness and bile.
1. Goodbye Earl (1999) - Twenty country stations refused to play this song about friends Mary-Anne and Wanda plotting to murder Wanda's abusive husband. It still sold a million copies. The chorus is a singalong monster, the lyric gripping and superbly written, with vocals switching from cold rage to gleeful celebration.
Taking the Long Way: 20th Anniversary Edition is released on 3 October via Legacy Recordings. The Chicks' anniversary tour begins on 30 September at Fox Theatre, Detroit.
