Mother (Natalie Maines album)

Mother is the first solo studio album by The Chicks (formerly known as Dixie Chicks) singer Natalie Maines. It was released on May 7, 2013.[2]

Mother
Studio album by Natalie Maines
Released	May 7, 2013 (2013-05-07)
Recorded	June–December 2012
Genre	Pop rock
Label	Columbia[1]
Producer	Ben Harper and Natalie Maines[1]

Background

Mother is Natalie Maines' first album since the Dixie Chicks' Grammy-sweeping Taking the Long Way in 2006, and comes ten years after the Dixie Chicks were boycotted and banned by country radio for Maines' criticism of U.S. President George W. Bush in 2003.[3][4] In her seven-year absence from the recording industry, Maines expressed a lack of interest in modern country music.[5]

In June 2012, Maines announced the project on a Howard 100 News broadcast, stating, "I'm making an album, I think."[3] On October 6, she confirmed on Twitter that it would be a rock album, and her first without the Dixie Chicks.[6] Recording completed on December 19.[7] It will include both original music and covers.

The title track, a cover of Pink Floyd's "Mother", debuted on the West of Memphis soundtrack on January 15, 2013.[8] On February 27, Maines and the album's producer Ben Harper performed songs from the album in a private concert at The Troubadour.

The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Daily News	[10]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[11]
Paste	7.9/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
The Salt Lake Tribune	C+[14]
Slant Magazine	[15]
Tampa Bay Times	B+[16]
USA Today	[17]

Mother has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album received a metascore of 70, based on 10 reviews.[18] At Daily News, Jim Farber called it "a flat-out masterpiece, an ideal match of singer and songs that moves Maines from being a skilled and decorative singer into one of the most emotive vocalists of our time."[10] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly evoked that the release is "full of muscular blues riffs and slide guitar, with nary a banjo breakdown — Natalie Maines is still going to bat for underdogs."[11] At Paste, Philip Cosores proclaimed that "Mother is a good, at times even great, start to a solo recording identity for Natalie Maines, but lacks only in the listener’s greatest desire, to learn more about Maines."[12] Sean Daly of Tampa Bay Times wrote that "if Mother isn't exactly a saucy return to her robust Dixie days, neither is she withdrawing into obtuse, difficult songs that muted her elastic voice like a shroud."[16] At USA Today, Edna Gunderson called the album "a collection of buffed roots-rock that veers sharply from the cheery twang that sent Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison into the sales stratosphere."[17] Maines' cover of "Mother" was praised by critic Ann Powers of NPR Music for its "unadorned singing" and "tender" interpretation of a vulnerable mother, in contrast to Roger Waters' "prissy and cruel" mother.[8]

However, AllMusic's Tom Jurek found that "the set's overly polished production and the scattershot curation of the material makes it feel like more like just a haphazard collection of songs than a cohesive album."[9] At Rolling Stone, Jody Rosen criticized the album because "too often, the music feels a bit limp, and the buttery harmony backups of her fellow Dixie Chicks are sorely missed."[13] David Burger of The Salt Lake Tribune stated that for fans "looking for the fun country shown by the Dixie Chicks will find primarily rock-influenced production that is serious to the point of dry earnestness."[14] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe wrote that "however welcome it may be to hear her voice again, it's ultimately her decision to play things so safe that keeps Mother from being a wholly satisfying return."[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Without You"	Eddie Vedder	3:51
2.	"Mother"	Roger Waters	5:52
3.	"Free Life"	Dan Wilson	5:02
4.	"Silver Bell"	Patty Griffin, Adam Steinberg	3:00
5.	"Lover, You Should've Come Over"	Jeff Buckley	7:01
6.	"Vein in Vain"	Ben Harper, Jesse Ingalls, Natalie Maines, Jason Mozersky	4:44
7.	"Trained"	Harper	2:40
8.	"Come Cryin' to Me"	Gary Louris, Martie Maguire, Maines, Emily Robison	4:33
9.	"I'd Run Away"	Mark Olson, Louris	3:31
10.	"Take It On Faith"	Harper, Ingalls, Maines, Mozersky	5:46

Personnel

• Kyle Crusham – electric guitar, keyboards
• Ben Harper – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, slide guitar, background vocals
• Jaya Harper – background vocals
• Jesse Ingalls – bass guitar, keyboards
• Tom Loo – cello
• Natalie Maines – lead vocals, background vocals
• Jason Mozersky – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Joel Pargman – violin
• Jordan Richardson – drums, background vocals
• Oleg Schramm – organ
• Aaron Sterling – drums

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19]	50
US Billboard 200[20]	17
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21]	4

References

1. "Natalie Maines announces new album MOTHER coming May 7". NatalieMainesMusic.com. Columbia Records. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
2. "Tweet by @1NatalieMaines". Twitter. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012. Good news! I made some calls and had them push the end of the world to sometime after the release of my album, #Mother 5/7/13. You're welcome.
3. Willman, Chris. "Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines Covers Pink Floyd's 'Mother' With Ben Harper (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
4. Fitzgerald, Michael. "Dixie Chicks axed by Clear Channel". Jacksonville Business Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
5. Dukes, Billy. "Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines Takes Jab at Jason Aldean". Taste of Country. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
6. "Tweet by @1NatalieMaines". Twitter. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012. It's true!
7. "Tweet by @1NatalieMaines". Twitter. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
8. Powers, Ann. "Hearing A Mother's Song After Tragedy". NPR: The Record. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
9. Jurek, Thom (May 7, 2013). "Mother – Natalie Maines : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
10. Farber, Jim (May 7, 2013). "Natalie Maines, 'Mother': Album review". Daily News. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
11. Anderson, Kyle (May 1, 2013). "Mother Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
12. Cosores, Philip (May 7, 2013). "Natalie Maines: Motherv". Paste. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
13. Rosen, Jody (May 7, 2013). "Natalie Maines: Mother (Columbia)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
14. Burger, David (May 7, 2013). "CD Reviews: Lady Antebellum, Pistol Annies, Natalie Maines". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
15. Keefe, Jonathan (May 7, 2013). "Natalie Maines: Mother". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
16. Daly, Sean (May 7, 2013). "Review: Natalie Maines back with a holler on new solo album". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
17. Gunderson, Edna (May 5, 2013). "Natalie Maines exits Dixie to be rock chick on 'Mother'". USA Today. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
18. "Critic Reviews for Mother". Metacritic. May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
19. "Australiancharts.com – Natalie Maines – Mother". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
20. "Natalie Maines Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
21. "Natalie Maines Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2020.