Hell hath no fury like a Chick scorned.
The Dixie Chicks’ penitence for criticizing the president might have seemed sincere in 2003, but the boycotts and bonfires that followed apparently got the trio saddled up for a fight. Their first post-“Incident” album, Taking the Long Way, is getting snubbed at country radio, but their daring radio single “Not Ready to Make Nice” proves these country music prodigals are still Dixie queens.
For the week ended May 24, Taking the Long Way debuted at number one on an impressive 526,000 copies. Likewise, the feisty “Not Ready to Make Nice” already reached number 23 on the Hot 100 pop chart, marking the trio’s fourth highest Hot 100 hit ever.
“The stakes were definitely higher on that song,” said the Dixie Chicks’ Emily Robison, commenting on the confrontational radio single. “We knew it was special because it was so autobiographical, and we had to get it right. And once we had that song done, it freed us up to do the rest of the album without that burden.”
Taking the Long Way, the first album for which the trio co-wrote every song, features a host of rock musician guest spots and production from living legend Rick Rubin (who, besides producing countless classics, helmed the new Red Hot Chili Peppers disc that the Chicks just displaced from number one). The Dixie Chicks previously opened at number one with 1999�s Fly (the first time a country group ever debuted atop the pop album charts) and 2002�s Home, the latter of which set the trio’s first-week sales benchmark with 780,000 copies.
With the Chicks on top, the Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped four spots to number five with Stadium Arcadium. The double-disc set sold nearly 113,000 more copies, bringing its three-week run to nearly 713,000 total copies sold. Tool’s 10,000 Days, which Stadium Arcadium unseated from the top spot three weeks ago, likewise skidded downward to finish at nine on 65,000 copies sold.
Though five brand new albums made the Top 10, it was a deluxe reissue that overtook the two spot. As the cable film came to DVD, the newly enhanced High School Musical soundtrack climbed a pair spots to number two on over 174,000 copies sold, up 93,000 from the week previous. The original soundtrack, which came out last January, now features an array of bonus material, including enough karaoke tracks to drive that older brother or sister out of the house for good.
(The latest installment in the Kidz Bop Kids series–More Kidz Bop Gold–likely hoped to piggyback sales on the High School Musical reissue, yet the new Bop disc barely cracked the charts at 187.)
With the new season coming to a close, the American Idol Season 5: Encores disc gets its start on the charts, selling 153,000 copies at number three. The disc, featuring songs by Top 12 finalists, includes Paris Bennett’s “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Chris Daughtry’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Elliott Yamin’s “Moody’s Mood For Love,” among other numbers. Meanwhile, season four champ Carrie Underwood made an appearance on last week�s Idol finale, which helped propel Some Hearts back into the Top 10 at 10 on nearly 65,000 copies.
Angels and Airwaves, the new band by Blink-182 alumnus Tom DeLonge, followed at four selling 127,000 copies of their debut, We Don�t Need To Whisper. The new band also features current and former members of The Offspring, The Distillers, Rocket From the Crypt and Box Car Racer. Coincidentally, former Blinksters Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker will soon debut their own post-182 project, Plus-44.
Wrapping up the Top 10 bows were Don Omar�s King of Kings crowning the seven spot on 68,000 copies and the WWE Superstars� theme music disc Wreckless Intent at eight on 66,000 copies.
Benefiting from last week�s Academy of Country Music awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Rascal Flatts weathered the slew of new debuts as Me & My Gang held at six selling an additional 21,000 copies for a 85,000-disc finish.
Other big ACM-powered gainers included Brooks & Dunn�s Hillbilly Deluxe up 55 spots to 39, Brad Paisley�s Time Well Wasted up 25 to 48, Little Big Town�s Road To Here up 38 to 52. Likewise, with country music�s celebrity marriage comparisons likely to heat up, future Nicole Kidman hubby Keith Urban climbed 16 spots to 31 with Be Here while ex-Renee Zellweger hubby Kenny Chesney was up 21 spots to 55 with Road & the Radio.
Ironically, Chesney and Urban both won big at the ACM awards. Chesney took home the highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, while Urban scored the Male Vocalist of the Year trophy.
While not breaking the Top 10, the Wreckers still sold an impressive 44,000 copies as Stand Still, Look Pretty opened at 14. The duo, featuring Grammy-winner Michelle Branch and Nashville singer-songwriter Jessica Harp, made their big impression on Carlos Santana’s hit “I�m Feeling You.”
With cover albums becoming all the rage (curse that Rod Stewart and his Songbook series!), Def Leppard’s Yeah! and Michael Bolton’s Bolton Swings Sinatra debuted at 16 and 51, respectively. Yeah! also helped push Leppard’s Rock of Ages hits disc back onto the charts at 181.
Finally, a collection of 49 recently unearthed Johnny Cash songs debuted at 108 under the title Personal File. Remarkably, these songs–primarily recorded between 1973 and 1982–seemingly anticipate the simple guitar-vocal style of his Grammy-winning American Recordings series in the ’90s.
Other notable debuts included Tye Tribett & G.A.’s Victory LIVE! at 64, Huey Lewis & the News’ Greatest Hits at 70, Less Than Jake’s In With the Out Crowd at 78, Yo Gotti’s Back 2 Da Basics at 84, the Walkmen’s Hundred Miles Off at 163 and the female-fronted Damone rocked up some fast times at 168 with Out Here All Night.
To recap, the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday included
1. Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks
2. High School Musical soundtrack, various
3. American Idol Season Five Encores, various
4. We Don�t Need To Whisper, Angels and Airwaves
5. Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Me and My Gang, Rascal Flatts
7. King of Kings, Don Omar
8. WWE: Wreckless Intent, various
9. 10,000 Days, Tool
10. Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood
Credit: E! Online