The second record, many would contend, is the hardest one to make. Nothing can ever replace the fresh start of a debut; some artists become superstitious about a “sophomore slump”; and there’s Elvis Costello’s old observation that you have twenty years to write your first record and six months to write the next one.
But a case could also be made that the second record is a piece of cake — especially from the enviable position the Dixie Chicks are in. The multiplatinum sales of their 1998 disc Wide Open Spaces gave them the clout to do whatever they want this time around. Furthermore, there’s no real shame in making a second record that follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessor; it’s not really until the third record that concerns can legitimately develop about an artist getting stuck in a rut.
Fly finds the Dixie Chicks coasting comfortably on the breeze of success, for the most part. Certainly there’s plenty more here to make country radio happy, from the obligatory movie-soundtrack single “Ready To Run”, to the bombastic ballad “Cold Day In July”, to the bubbly and bouncy “If I Fall You’re Going Down With Me”. They’re still boldly asserting their womanly pride as well, chasing the last record’s “I Can Love You Better” with this disc’s saucy “Sin Wagon” and the Thelma-&-Louise-like revenge tale “Goodbye Earl”.
The Costello principle also doesn’t really apply to them, given that Wide Open Spaces contained only one original song. To their credit, they’ve upped the ante to five this time, most fruitfully on fiddler/mandolinist Martie Seidel’s two collaborations with Marcus Hummon. Less memorable are three numbers co-written by frontwoman Natalie Maines, two of them also involving multi-instrumentalist Emily Robison (nee Erwin, recently betrothed to Texas singer-songwriter Charlie Robison).
Musically, the Chicks continue to be more adventurous than much of the Nashville system — witness the album’s final three tracks, plucked from the catalogs of Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Darrell Scott, and Patty Griffin — but still aren’t nearly as interesting as they could be. Lead singer Maines resorts too often to histrionics, while her producers remain determined to smooth off the backing vocals of her bandmates all too precisely. The picking is all good, of course, but it’s all gloss as well.
Whether this trio is willing to explore the potential they possess to transform the mainstream country world remains to be seen. In the meantime, this relatively predictable follow-up clearly will sell a few more millions — which will leave them even more poised to bust through some barriers on album number three, if they’ve got the gumption to do it.
