Album Review: Natalie Maines - Mother

Having conquered the world with her band the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines is finally out there promoting her first solo album. It has been a long time since the last Dixie Chicks album was released and a long time since her stoush with the media over that George Bush debacle. Of course, it could only have been the conservative American country music scene that could have turned on her. Here on Mother, Maines enlists friends and artists to create a diverse album in both sound and song choice.

The album tracks are mostly covers, and interestingly Ben Harper is producing these eclectic tracks. The title track is the famous song written by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters for The Wall. It's a brave song to tackle, and Maines squeezes as much emotion as she can from it. Another highlight is the recording of an Eddie Vedder song, Without You, which suits Maines' powerful style. Her influences are quite obvious and are at times a little overbearing. The version of Jeff Buckley's Lover, You Should Have Come Over is a little uninspired and not up to the high standard of her other choices.

With Ben Harper in tow playing and producing, you get to hear the roots of the songs in a new form. Apart from a few too many slide guitar parts, the album sounds exciting and fresh. The best track on the album is ironically the one most close to her country roots. Patty Griffin's Silver Bell is a rocking number where everything comes together. The two Jayhawks numbers hopefully remind people of what a great band they were.