This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks confirmed today that she will release her debut solo album "Mother" on May 7.
Excerpt from the press release:
On MOTHER, people will hear a new direction from the singer. Heavily influenced by the more rock-based, edgy and intense sound of title track, and Pink Floyd cover, "Mother," Maines teamed up with friend and Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitar wizard Ben Harper, who co-produced the record with Maines. The album was recorded in Harper's studio. "I wanted this music to be very different from the Dixie Chicks," she says. "Lots of albums by lead singers might just as well have been made by the band, but I think this is very different from anything the Chicks could make. That separation and distinction was important." "Mother" was initially released on West of Memphis: Voices for Justice, the soundrack to the documentary West of Memphis, a film which chronicles the story of the three wrongly-imprisoned Arkansas teenagers known as the West Memphis Three whose cause Maines has tirelessly championed in recent years. Song "Free Life" is also included on the album because of its connection to the case, Natalie performed the song at a rally when the young men were still in prison, and it became a favorite of the wife of Damien Echols, one of the WM3 ... Even her fellow Dixie Chicks Martie Maguire and Emily Robison still kept a hand in the new project ... She discovered "Without You" on her friend Eddie Vedder's ukulele album.
More Information at http://www.nataliemainesmusic.com