The Dixie Chicks have resolved their legal dispute with Sony Music and will release their next album, Home, on August 27th. The album will be issued on Open Wide Records, a new label formed by the trio with Sony.

Home will be the Chicks' third album for Sony, and first since Fly three years ago. Fly and the group's Sony debut, 1998's Wide Open Spaces, have sold 9 million and 11 million copies, respectively, to date. But amid the hefty sales, the Chicks alleged that royalties were withheld and expressed their desire to leave the label. Last July, Sony filed a breach of contract complaint against the band, prompting the Chicks to fire back with a suit that accused the label of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other charges.

While their lawyers logged time in court, the Chicks spent that time in the studio working on Home with singer Natalie Maines' father, Lloyd Maines, co-producing. The album will feature Chicks originals, along with songs penned by Patty Griffin, Bruce Robison and Radney Foster. "I don't think it's that much of a departure," Natalie Maines told Rolling Stone this spring. "There's definitely some bluegrass songs on there, some acoustic things, an instrumental. It's a little more credible with the song selection. There's not really a ditty on it. When we made it, it wasn't, 'How long is this?' or 'Will radio play it?' Actually I think all the songs are too long for radio. We didn't have that pressure. It's my favorite album to date. I think it's an important step musically, and we want it out there."

ANDREW DANSBY
(June 17, 2002)