Street Angel Revisited

[michelej1]

[We know how the story ended, but it's fun to see what they were saying then. Here are some articles/reviews that came out during Street Angel that I hadn't seen online before]

HEADLINE: THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW STEVIE NICKS, NOW A SOLO ACT, SEES HER MUSIC AS HER LIFE

BYLINE: GARY GRAFF Free Press Music Writer, August 19. 1994

BODY:
Stevie Nicks can't stop thinking about the things she's given up to make music.

Because she stayed in Fleetwood Mac for 18 years, she feels she compromised her career as a solo artist.

And because she sustained both the band's and her own careers, Nicks says, she lost the opportunity to develop relationships and have children.

These are not complaints, mind you. Having just released her sixth solo album, "Street Angel" -- Nicks' first since leaving Fleetwood Mac in 1993 -- she's resigned to being a willing slave to her muse.

"The fact is, this is my first love," the 46-year-old songstress says. "I've pretty much given my life up for it -- my relationships, my friends, my parents in a lot of ways.

"It's my life. I'm probably not going to settle down and have children now; I gave that all up. So what else do I have to do but this? I'll probably go on doing this until I'm 70 or 80 years old."

If that's the case, "Street Angel" is the beginning of the rest of Nicks' career. And it does sound like a new beginning. Straightforward and rocking -- with songs about Greta Garbo, Jane Goodall and a guest appearance by Bob Dylan on Nicks' remake of his "Just Like a Woman" -- it's reminiscent of her first solo album, 1981's "Bella Donna." And it's hard not to hear the spirit of liberation in the 11 songs on "Street Angel."

"I wanted out of Fleetwood Mac for a long time," says Nicks, who quit after the group performed at President Bill Clinton's inauguration celebration in 1993. "But I am a chump, the one who -- when it came down to 'If you leave, you'll ruin the band, ruin our lives' -- just couldn't leave."

Not that her 18 years in Fleetwood Mac was a bad run. More so than Lindsey Buckingham, her then-boyfriend with whom Nicks joined the band in 1974, Fleetwood Mac made her a star, a bona fide rock sex symbol.

She still has fond feelings for the Mac. "They were my family for all those years," she says. But she adds, "We all sacrificed an awful lot to be that band everyone remembers as a good rock 'n' roll band. Hopefully, the world got a lot out of it, because everybody got hurt by it. My parents would call, or someone else in my family, or anyone else who needed me, and I wasn't available; Fleetwood Mac came first, no questions asked."

Some of this rubs former band mates the wrong way. "I was never horribly aware she was that unhappy," says Mick Fleetwood, who insists he's remained on good termswith Nicks. "To hear things that are slightly on the down side from her doesn't make any sense; she never had any trouble being in Fleetwood Mac when she became incredibly successful."

But Fleetwood does understand the pull of Nicks' solo career.

"She was really running out of gas to run her career and Fleetwood Mac's and try to keep us happy in terms of what we needed out of our singer," Fleetwood says. Or, as Nicks elaborates, "I had to think of me a little bit."

But even with "Street Angel" out, Nicks still thinks of other aspects of her life. Children are one. She did "give up" several children over the years -- Nicks doesn't elaborate on exactly what that means -- and a few years back she talked about wanting to adopt.

"I've already been so disappointed about not having the children I wanted," explains Nicks, who dotes on her 2-year-old niece. "If I went and searched and did all the work that's entailed and was then turned down or something, I don't think I could have handled that. I probably could have been the best mom around . . . so I try not to think about it. If I do, I get upset."

Nicks hasn't given up the idea of having a child, but once again the career rears its head. "I don't have time to meet anybody or go anywhere or do anything except work," she says.

So she bears her desires and buries them in the work -- not just music but also painting and handicrafts.

"My whole thing is getting better, whether it's writing or painting or hand-knitting or photographs or writing songs for other people," Nicks says. "My life is made up of staying up all night and doing that stuff. It's not for the money. I can always make money -- I can go get a job if I have to."

ON STAGE: Stevie Nicks and Darden Smith perform at 7:30 tonight at Pine Knob, Sashabaw Road at I-75, Clarkston. Tickets are $22.50 pavilion, $12.50 lawn. Call 1-810-377-0100 anytime.

[jwd]

ON STAGE: Stevie Nicks and Darden Smith perform at 7:30 tonight at Pine Knob, Sashabaw Road at I-75, Clarkston. Tickets are $22.50 pavilion, $12.50 lawn. Call 1-810-377-0100 anytime.

Okay, I'm there!! :laugh:

[michelej1]

Washington Post, August 5, 1994

BYLINE: Geoffrey Himes

BODY:
STEVIE NICKS has been an easy target for critics in recent years, what with her dreamy schoolgirl poetry and sprawling, tuneless songs. If you go back and listen to her songs on the "Buckingham Nicks" album and the first two Fleetwood Mac albums, though, you'd be surprised how well they hold up. She has a thrilling mezzo-soprano voice and given a sturdy musical structure she can really shine. Providing the guitar riffs and arrangements in those early days was Lindsey Buckingham, and on her new solo album, "Street Angel," Nicks gets similar help from guitarists Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers), Bernie Leadon (of the Eagles) and Andy Fairweather Low.

The results aren't as strong as her 1973-'77 efforts, but they're better than anything since. Nicks's songs no longer float in like the mist but now boast actual hooks and beats. The three best originals were co-written with Campbell, who keeps pushing the songs ever forward with punchy, pithy guitar figures. When Nicks wails that she's addicted to love and wants to "Kick It," Campbell puts the kick into the chorus. "Greta," her tribute to Garbo, starts out like one of her blob-songs, but Campbell and drummer Kenny Aronoff give it a spine. "Blue Denim," a surprisingly earthy meditation on an old lover's jeans, boasts the best Buckingham-esque guitar riff Nicks has enjoyed in years.

Most of the other songs are less memorable; the title track is an especially glacial, ripe-for-parody number about "walking under rainbows." Nicks finally recorded two songs she wrote more than 20 years ago, but they should have stayed in her trunk. The album's highlights are Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" (with the author himself on guitar and harmonica) and Trevor Horn & Betsy Cook's "Docklands." Nicks's ability to inhabit these stories with her moody voice suggests that she'd be better off as an interpretive singer than as a songwriter.

[michelej1]

Billboard, June 18, 1994

** STEVIE NICKS
Street Angel
PRODUCERS: Thom Panunzio & Stevie Nicks
Modern/Atlantic 92246

Like that cherub of the title track, Nicks' ethereal drift on her new album is firmly tethered to an altogether solid collection of pop-rock songs. That always pretty, gritty voice is perfectly paired here with attractive melodies and grumbling guitars, as on highlights "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind," "Blue Denim," and slightly offbeat "Rose Garden" a country-flavored ballad lightly peppered with Hammond organ.

Billboard, May 28, 1994
*** STEVIE NICKS Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind (4:12)
PRODUCERS: Thom Panunzio, Roy Bittan
WRITERS: S. Stewart, R. Nowels
PUBLISHERS: MMA/Sweet Talk/EMI-Virgin/Future Furniture, ASCAP
REMIXER: Chris Lord-Alge
Modern 5638 (c/o Atlantic) (cassette single)

Enduring rock poetess is back with a breezy, finger-poppin' pop gem. That raspy voice is like a visit from an old friend, and she twirls her way through this sing-along preview from the forthcoming "Street Angel" with a playful energy that will leave die-hard fans smiling from ear to ear. Already picking up play at album rock radio, single is light enough to make the grade at top 40 and AC formats as well.

[michelej1]

Los Angeles Times, June 12, 1994

BYLINE: By JEAN ROSENBLUTH

BODY:
** 1/2 Stevie Nicks, "Street Angel," Modern/Atlantic. Fleetwood Mac's New Age songstress inhabits a world without rap, Nirvana or even, apparently, a radio. But the considerable influence she has had on others -- Tori Amos springs to mind -- can be heard on such tuneful, archetypal Nicks songs as "Blue Denim." The utterly soulless version of "Just Like a Woman" is none the less regrettable for the guitar and harmonica playing on it of its creator, Bob Dylan.

Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1994

Stevie Nicks' "Street Angel" album is now due June 7 and includes one song about Greta Garbo, another about Jane Goodall and a version of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" -- with the lyrics changed to make it a first-person narrative and Dylan himself on guitar and harmonica. The album also has appearances by David Crosby and Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell. . . .

[michelej1]

Billboard, March 26, 1994

HEADLINE: Nicks Returns With 'Street Angel'; Modern Set Finds Singer In Classic Form

BYLINE: BY LARRY FLICK

DATELINE: NEW YORK

BODY:
Eyeing the May 3 release of her fifth solo album, "StreetAngel," Stevie Nicks views her status in the music industry with a seasoned, philosopical sensibility -- and a dash of good humor.

"I have no false illusions," she says with a chuckle. "Iknow that I'm like this little dinosaurette, truckin' and stompin' around. And you know, every once in a while I have to come out and have tea with my fellow dinosaurettes, Ann and Nancy [Wilson] and Pat [Benatar]. But I am not going anywhere. I've earned my place as an enduring woman in rock'n'roll, and I'm not about to give it up -- not as long as I still feel inspired by music."

Actually, Nicks' rich musical history is a key element in the promotional campaign behind her latest effort for the Atlantic Records' Modern imprint. At a time when veteran rockers are sprucing up their sound and image to link up with current trends, "Street Angel" shows Nicks in classic and familiar form. She co-produced the set with Thom Panunzio, weaving her signature pop poetry into a familiar fabric of steady rock rhythms and fluttering melodies.

Val Azzoli, executive VP/GM of Atlantic Records, says the release "will be a dream to work. Album rock radio loves Stevie Nicks -- and so does AC and pop. The direction is clear with a record like this. You give them a great song, do a beautiful video for VH-1 and MTV. You let the word out, and a lot of people are instantly interested."

Retailers appear to agree. Neil Connor, senior buyer for Record Runner in San Francisco, says he has been answering consumer requests for "Street Angel" for months now. "As soon as people started to catch wind that Stevie Nicks had something new coming, they started popping into the store and phoning regularly to see if it had arrived. Her fans are really devoted. This record cannot come out soon enough for them."

Nicks fans have not only been phoning retailers. According to Paul Fishkin, Modern's president and cofounder, the label gets "an extraordinary amount of fans calling daily, wanting to know how Stevie is doing and when the record will be release."

He adds that Nicks has captured a "particular sound and feeling that was a trademark of her earlier records, yet fits perfectly with today's market. 'Street Angel' will sit quite nicely next to the numerous multiplatinum, 25-plus artist successes that we have seen recently on the charts."

While everyone handicaps and interprets Nicks' musical choices, the artist herself says she simply does what comes naturally. "You can't calculate art and stories and life experiences -- or, at least, I can't. It has to be real or it just doesn't. I also think people come to expect certain things from you after a while. They want you to be honest and sincere with them, and they want to connect with you. It's like they're visiting an old friend. They love all of those beautiful old shawls and platform boots, and so do I."

In assembling "Street Angel," Nicks visited with a number of her own old friends, using such a veteran session players as Waddy Wachtel and Kenny Aronoff, as well as Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, who co-wrote the first single, "Blue Denim."

"This album reminds me of when I was manager with Bonnie Raitt," says Atlantic Records president Danny Goldberg. "You have an artist who is still an extremely recognizable figure, and she has a reservoir of good will from a lot of different stations. She is also someone with whom people continue to have a strong emotional connection. This album proves that she's really grown and matured as an artist. Our job is to market this album to best reflect that."

To that end, Atlantic is forging a multimedia campaign that focuses as much on television and print as it does on radio. "Blue Denim" arrives April 11 at album rock radio, with add dates at AC and top 40 formats tentatively planned for shortly thereafter.

An additional component in the push behind "Street Angel" is a lengthy concert tour. Although no dates have been confirmed, word has it the tour will begin early summer, and will likely take the singer to amphitheaters throughout the U.S. and various parts of Europe.

"I absolutely cannot wait to get back out there," Nicks says. "The fact there are people interested in me coming to play for them means so much to me. The thrill never goes away."

For Doug Morris, Co-chairman/co-CEO of the Atlantic Group, the return of Stevie Nicks strikes a personal chord.

"She is the first artist I ever signed to this label," he says, "She holds a very special place in my heart. It's great to see her in shape and ready to roll. I can't wait for her to go back on tour. I'll be at the opening date."

[michelej1]

Daily Variety, August 29, 1994

HEADLINE: Stevie Nicks (Greek Theater, Hollywood; 6,197 seats; $ 32.50 top)

BYLINE: Troy J. Augusto

BODY:
Promoted by Nederlander. Band: Stevie Nicks, Russ Kunkel, Rick Vito, Carlos Rios, Don Boyette, Marty Grebb, Michael Ruff, Lenny Castro, Sharon Celani, Sara Fleetwood, Liza Edwards. Reviewed Aug. 25, 1994.

A Los Angeles-area concert from longtime local Stevie Nicks is almost always a special event, and this show, the first of two nights at the breezy Greek, was made even more memorable by the fortysomething singer's spiritual attitude of late, not to mention the show's numerous guest-star turns.

Nicks' fifth solo album, the recently issued "Street Angel" (Modern/Atlantic), is full of the same simply composed, touching music that marked her early-'80s work, music that speaks volumes while often employing little more than a raspy whisper.

Though this 100-minute concert contained only a few songs from the new album, it was newer material, particularly the heart-breaking "Destiny," that helped make the evening a memorable one.

That song, a beautiful, country-flavored confessional of love's power, was written by Nicks in the early '70s, yet played like a perfectly timed bridge for the diminutive singer to cross at this stage of her professional life. Capitol sax star Dave Koz frosted the number with his elegant, soaring performance.

Most in the crowd came for the classic material from Nicks' Fleetwood Mac days, as well as her earliest solo efforts, and that seemed just fine with the shawl-covered vocalist. Smooth favorites like "Rhiannon," which featured a haunting new ballad intro, "Edge of Seventeen" and "Dreams" brought the expected applause and were surprisingly affecting, more so when one considers the abrasive style of many of the latter-day female rock singers dominating the current music scene (Liz Phair, Courtney Love, etc.).

The show, which came within a couple hundred tickets of being a sellout, ended on a high note, as Nicks and band (by now featuring old friend Waddy Wachtel and show opening-act Darden Smith on guitar) tore through a cover of Tom Petty's fiery "I Need to Know," then closed the affair with a tear-filled version of 1985's "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You," a song of undying love inspired by one father's grief for a lost child.

Though Nicks' straightforward, soul-baring style and vulnerable personality seem irrelevant next to the bitter rage that marks contemporary modern rock, the enthusiasm she continues to instill in her adoring fans (who still shower the singer with all manner of gifts, by the way) is testament to the singer's enduring appeal.

[michelej1]

Associated Press, September 28, 1994

Stevie Nicks has often felt that Greta Garbo desire to be alone.

On her latest album, Nicks wrote the song Greta just for her.

''I have often thought, maybe I'll just go paint, or maybe I'll go and write that book that everybody wants me to write about my life, or maybe I'll just go do something else really creative for a while, and I have never been able to quite do that,'' said Nicks, who made her name with Fleetwood Mac.

''So I've always been fascinated to know why. What drove her away?''

The song is on the album ''Street Angel.''

[michelej1]

Dallas Morning News, September 11, 1994

Section: OVERNIGHT

Gold Dust Woman a bit tarnished: '70s Chanteuse Nicks tries to go with the flow
Teresa GubbinsStaff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News

Swirling eccentric Stevie Nicks may have a new solo record, Street Angel , to tout, but she played it safe Saturday night at the Starplex Ampitheatre by sticking to older hits, including a couple of songs from her days with Fleetwood Mac.

The place was a regular Victorian girl-fest, with a good chunk of the 9,000 in attendance suited up in lace-and-gauze homage. And you'll surely never see as many rose bouquets presented at any other show.

For Ms. Nicks, lace and gauze hide a multitude of sins, which unfortunately will not appear in photo form. Ms. Nicks was unwilling to allow a photographer at the show - too distracting, was the word.

Appearance aside, it's tough to flow with the decades when you've got an identity as distinctive as Ms. Nicks'. Her heyday occurred in the 1970s, but here in the '90s, she comes off as someone rooted in the 18-70s, what with the shawls and the gauze and the new, crimped 'do.

But flowing was not a problem during the show. Changing shawls at least half a dozen times, her performance contained only a little less flourish than a magic act.

A canvas backdrop featuring a gold-framed painting of some mountainous scene lent a baroque air. The seven-piece backup band of guitars, keyboards and percussion looked fairly typical, but the trio of witchy-women backup singers was more in line with Ms. Nicks' persona.

Ironically, Destiny, one of the few songs she performed from her new record, is actually a song she wrote in 1973. Guess the creative wellspring's run dry. The song was a real chugger and needed to stay in the '70s.

Hits from prior solo records included Rooms on Fire, but probably the most popular numbers were the Fleetwood Mac tunes, including Dreams and Gold Dust Woman.

Ms. Nicks unfortunately stuck to the mid-range, vocally speaking, with none of the highs or lows that Dreams usually has. Plenty of vibrato, though.

Rhiannon began slowly, torchily, with Ms. Nicks emerging from backstage in a gauzy shawl, her arms upraised. The tempo stepped up, with a to-the-note solo by guitarist Rick Vito, who played with Fleetwood Mac.

Mr. Vito made for a nice distraction, but the show really rested on Ms. Nicks, on her shtick as much as her voice. She seems to fashion herself the heroine of her own romance novel. It's a wonderful luxury to be at a point where you can live in a fantasy world, where everything's colored crimson when it's really just plain old red.

[michelej1]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), August 18, 1994

Section: EVERYDAY MAGAZINE

STEVIE NICKS FANS NOSTALGIA FLAMES

Dennis Jacobs

WITH ALL the anniversary, reunion and comeback concerts this summer, it seems music-nostalgia madness has gripped the country. Stevie Nicks helped this highly contagious but seldom fatal malady reach epidemic proportions Tuesday night at Riverport Amphitheatre.

Although Nicks performed some songs from her current album, " Street Angel ," it was the infectious pop/rock beat of the '70s and early '80s that seduced the crowd into a rocking, shaking delirium. This began with the second number she performed, "Dreams," from her days with Fleetwood Mac. With Nicks singing lead, the song hit No. 1 in 1977, becoming the only chart-topper for the now virtually legendary group.

A couple of songs later, Nicks unleashed the Fleetwood Mac virus again with "Rhiannon," from 1976. She started with a very slow beat, showcasing the sultry, raspy voice that vaulted her to stardom. But then she sped up to a pace fast enough to rev up the crowd and get it moving.

A rousing rendition of "Stand Back," from her 1983 "The Wild Heart" LP, kept the crowd feverishly ecstatic and marked probably the high point of the concert. The audience members returned to their seats for the next song, the slow-moving "Destiny." Nicks actually wrote this tune more than 20 years ago, but recorded it only this year.

Nicks seemed to give her older fans a chance to recuperate with her new works. The crowd did not seem even to recognize "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind," her current single. She performed the catchy, tight refrain well, but meandered all over the looser verses.

Of course, Nicks was very successful with meandering, open-formated songs early in her solo career. A prime example is "Edge of Seventeen," from her 1981 solo debut album, "Bella Donna." The song peaked at No. 11 on the charts, but earned Nicks a Grammy nomination for best female rock vocal performance.

Nicks used "Edge of Seventeen" to close her set. Then, after several minutes of sustained applause, she returned for an encore.

"We'd like to dedicate this song to Elvis Presley," Nicks told the crowd before rendering her version of "I Need to Know."

She then left the stage again, but returned for a second encore after more applause. Eschewing fan favorites such as "Leather and Lace," "Gypsy" and "Rooms On Fire," she made another curious encore choice, the beautiful ballad "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You."

The encores proved a rather disappointing anticlimax to an otherwise entertaining show.

Nicks delivered strong vocals with surprising clarity, considering that it sometimes sounds as if she is incoherently mumbling nonsensical lyrics on some of her recordings. She rested her voice during long instrumental breaks, which contributed to the low output of only 15 songs in a 90-minute show, but she made the waiting worthwhile with fervent performances.

She appeared to draw energy from the crowd, leaving the audience weary, yet happily suffering from incurable music-nostalgia madness.

[michelej1]

Atlanta Journal and Constitution (GA), August 8, 1994

Section: FEATURES

CONCERT GUIDE Nicks' mysticism may be legendary, but so's her music

Miriam Longino, staff writer

Who: Stevie Nicks .

When: 8 tonight.

Where: Chastain Park Amphitheatre.

Tickets: $22.50, $19.50. 249-6400.

Why go? Because it's Stevie Nicks. The 46-year-old rock goddess practically defined the often decadent, guitar-fueled era of late '70s music. With lilting, dreamy songs such as "Rhiannon," she helped Fleetwood Mac become one of the biggest selling rock groups in history. Her solo work ("Stand Back," "Edge of Seventeen") got steady airplay throughout the early '80s but tottered on the brink of anachronism by the end of the decade. But this summer, she's back with a new CD, "Street Angel," that's getting good reviews for its fresh batch of midlife songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" and the single "Blue Denim."

What to expect: It depends on Nicks' mood, the sign of the moon or maybe the Psychic Hotline. But that's the appeal. Nicks' mystical, gypsy image - stoked by lyrics about "crystal visions" and "timespace" - is as alluring as the music. Once the personification of cool, she still wears those platform boots and gauzy, beaded shawls. But these days the hair is tinged with gray, and she's heftier. The voice is in great shape, contrary to longtime rumors that she is heavily produced. In her last solo Atlanta appearance at Lakewood, in 1991, she left the stage after nearly every song for an unexplained pause. But she packs power into a show that's half greatest hits (including Fleetwod Mac's "Dreams" and "Landslide") and half new material.

Nicks in the '90s: "I'm a much happier person now," she recently told the Boston Globe, describing her reclusive life in the Arizona desert. "It's a good time for me." Nicks abandoned the Hotel California lifestyle last year when she moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix after the earthquake. Although her rock 'n' roll romances are legendary (with Don Henley, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Joe Walsh), she's single and says she has no one special in her life. She no longer tours with Fleetwood Mac, so this is your only chance to catch her this year.

Concert trivia: Look for backup singer Sara Fleetwood, ex-wife of drummer Mick Fleetwood.

Recommended recordings: "Timespace: Best of Stevie Nicks" and "Bella Donna," probably her best solo LP. Also Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" and "Greatest Hits."

[michelej1]

Richmond Times Dispatch (VA), August 8, 1994

Section: Entertainment & TV

THE NICKS MYSTIQUE HOLDS FANS


BILL LOHMANN Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Stevie Nicks must hire a separate tour bus to haul her costumes.

The veteran singer appeared at the Classic Amphitheatre at Strawberry Hill on Saturday night in all of her glory -- and all of her clothes.

On a pleasantly cool evening, Nicks carried an audience of nearly 6,000 through a 90-minute set that featured her solo work as well as hits from her Fleetwood Mac days.

Her habit of disappearing from the stage every couple of songs to change outfits might be disrupting, even annoying to some, but not to her devoted fans. It's all part of the Nicks mystique: the hair, the voice, the shawls.

Stevie wannabes danced and sang along, including one very good facsimile who cavorted beneath a security light at the top of the lawn. She had Nicks' act down, twirling and floating in a billowy skirt.

Nicks offered Fleetwood Mac hits such as "Dreams," "Stand Back" and a slow-at-first but then full-throttle version of "Rhiannon," which was a highlight.

She served up a healthy portion from her sixth and latest solo album, "Street Angel," including the catchy "Blue Denim" (during which she appeared to forget the words) and "Destiny," a song she wrote more than 20 years ago but has never recorded.

She was supported by a solid band that spotlighted former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito and journeyman drummer Russ Kunkel.

For an encore, she covered Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "I Need to Know." She closed with "Has Anybody Ever Written Anything for You?" -- a soft, sorrowful tune that might have been her best of the night.

Nicks' production -- seven-piece band, three backup singers, giant doily draped over the edge of the stage -- was in stark contrast to opening act Darden Smith.

Smith, a 32-year-old Texan whose work features strong lyrics and a knack for storytelling, stood alone before a simple, black backdrop and played guitar on eight songs. He sat at the piano for a ninth.

The personable Smith bantered with the crowd in the front rows -- "Do I want a cigarette? No thanks, I'm working" -- as he delivered five tunes from his most recent album, "Little Victories."

[michelej1]

that why Lindsey's hair stands on end?]

Fresno Bee, July 29, 1994

Section: WEEKEND

ECCENTRIC NICKS LIKES HER FREEDOM; THE EX-FLEETWOOD MAC SINGER ISN'T BOUND BY TRENDS OR TIES TO HER FORMER GROUP.


Jim Farber New York Daily News

Stevie Nicks believes in angels. In fact, she believes they helped arrange her current concert tour.

''The angels cleared everything in my life so I could concentrate on this,'' she says matter-of-factly. ''I believe angels protect us all.''

And that's not all Nicks believes. When talking to the singer, she's never far from expressing some kind of New Age faith. No matter what you ask, she ends her answer with something like:

''If you keep a positive attitude, things will work out.''

Or: ''When one door closes, another one opens.''

Or: ''We all go back to the sea.''

All of which only further endears the ethereal singer to her fans.

With a new album just out -- ''Street Angel,'' her fifth -- and a year-long tour, Nicks has sustained the most productive solo career of any former member of Fleetwood Mac.

This despite being a figure of easy ridicule. For years, Nicks has been lampooned in some circles as a kind of rock dinosaur, at 46 still writing badly embroidered school-girl poetry while wearing the same suede platforms and elaborate shawls as in her '70s heyday.

Still, Nicks wears her lack of trendiness as a badge of honor.

Nicks says the lacy look always appealed to her.

''Even when I was little, I loved the idea of seeing grandmother's clothes,'' she says. ''I'm fascinated by garments that are 100 years old. And being in Fleetwood Mac, I got to travel the world and buy these beautiful things.''

Not that Fleetwood Mac was all joy and shopping sprees. In fact, Nicks says she's glad the superstar era of her life with the group has ended so she can concentrate ''on singing and writing. I don't need to headline massive arenas. I need to make music and entertain -- to find an intimacy with people.''

It also pleases Nicks that she no longer has to balance a solo career with any Fleetwood Mac duties. Before the group's final breakup in 1991, Nicks says that whenever she returned from a solo tour, the rest of the band already would be working in the studio ''and they wouldn't be very happy with me.''

Worse, Nicks had to endure the barbs of ex-lover and Fleetwood Mac producer Lindsey Buckingham.

''I make Lindsey cringe,'' Nicks says flatly. ''He says, "How can she be so popular? She can't sing or write music.' Everything I did that was successful would make his hair stand on end.''

Still, what has long embarrassed some about Nicks -- her exaggerated femininity, her vague and dainty lyrics -- makes others swoon. If anything, the singer knows that the last thing her fans want is a trendy Nicks.

''I think people like the fact that I don't change,'' she explains. ''They think, "If she stays the same, then it means she'll always be with us.'' '

1 Photo

Even at 46, Stevie Nicks still is partial to the elaborate shawls she's worn since Fleetwood Mac's '70s heyday.

[michelej1]

Newsday (USA), July 26, 1994

The Misty Miss Nicks Rocks Out


Steve Matteo. Steve Matteo is a free-lance writer.

STEVIE NICKS . The ex-Fleetwood Mac witch-queen of L. A. pop-rocks a whole lot. Sunday at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh. Darden Smith opened. **

FOR AN ARTIST usually portrayed as some pre-new-age waif, a singer and songwriter whose records set mystical visions and broken hearts to slick, mellow Southern California pop, Stevie Nicks came across more like a female Tom Petty Sunday at Jones Beach.

On the second date of Nicks' summer tour, her taut backing band - which featured Russ Kunkel on drums and onetime Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito - exhibited the same kind of rock muscle for which Petty's Heartbreakers are famous. Meanwhile, the solid, well-paced show - a surprisingly brief hour-and-a-half - was careful to spotlight Nicks' voice, as seductively throaty as always, yet clear and steady - particularly on the edgier rock songs.

Opening with "Blue Denim," a song about lost love from her striking new solo album, "Street Angel," Nicks then dredged up one of her vintage Fleetwood Mac hits, "Dreams." Although it lacked the subtletly of the chart-topping 1977 studio original and missed the unbeatable rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the song still had an otherworldly power. "Rhiannon," another Mac hit of Nicks', began as an almost unrecognizable, dreamy hymn, but she eventually kicked it closer to the original; even after a million radio plays, it's still a moving song.

Nicks' rendition of 1983's "Stand Back" was a bit overwrought; the bombastic musical backing at times risked drowning out Nicks' vocals. "Gold Dust Woman" began with an almost techno feel and benefitted from the terse, rhythmic combination of Kunkel and percussionist Lenny Castro. "Talk to Me," from 1985's "Rock a Little" album, and "Edge of Seventeen," were done in barn-burning rock fashion and led the way for her first encore, a faithful reading of Tom Petty's old rave-up, "I Need to Know."

There were a few Mac songs missing: "Landslide," "Gypsy" and especially "Sara"; such Nicks solo material as "Bella Donna" and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," her first hit duet with Petty, would also have fit in well.

With an album as strong as "Street Angel" and a live show this confident and fiery, Nicks seems beyond the occasionally synth-heavy indulgences of her past. Not only did Stevie Nicks rock a little on this clear summer night by the water, she rocked a lot.

[michelej1]

Boston Globe (MA), July 23, 1994

Section: LIVING

STEVIE NICKS TOUR GETS OFF TO PERFECT START


Steve Morse, Globe Staff

MANSFIELD Rock 'n' roll has many special rituals, but none more extraordinary than when Stevie Nicks receives gifts from the audience at the end of her show. The affectionate moment always comes during the song "Edge of Seventeen," and it always yields a booty that has to be seen to be believed. As Nicks walked the front of the stage last night, she was handed all manner of stuffed animals, hats, flowers, wreathes and even a book entitled "Angel Voices."

"I'll look at it all," Nicks promised to an intensely loyal and rabid following of 10,000 fans last night at Great Woods. Many of the fans, in another ritual that surrounds her shows, treated the night like a summer Halloween party, dressing in diaphanously witchy, lacy black outfits just like Nicks.

We're happy to report that Nicks justified the audience kudos last night. It was the opening date of her first tour in three years, but she sounded as strong as she has in a decade. She's unfortunately famed for blowing her voice out during some tours (dating back to her days in Fleetwood Mac), but her voice was a model of resilience and power last night, as she really belted though such revved-up tunes as "Rhiannon," "Stand Back" and a scorching version of Tom Petty's late-'70s garage-rock gem, "I Need to Know."

Nicks also won points for her gracious honesty. "I'm very nervous. We haven't played a show in a long time," she said. "But I'm very glad to be in Boston. Boston has been a special place for me."

She made it special by really pouring her heart out last night. She played fashion icon with nine costume changes (most were accessorized additions of rock-princess scarves, robes and crystal-bedecked shirts), but what stood out was the emotional commitment to her music, from the opening "Dreams" (a Fleetwood Mac hit) to soft piano ballads and several midtempo songs from her new disc, "Street Angel."

As solid as the show was, though, she could have chosen better tunes from the new album. The hazy "Docklands" and vacantly poppy "Blue Denim" were performed, but this listener, at least, would have preferred more deep-meaning new tracks "Greta," "Jane" (a tribute to nature scientist Jane Goodall) and Nicks' exalted cover of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman."

But there was no quibbling with Nicks' emphatic vocal energy last night, nor with her chomping-at-the-bit band, featuring cut-loose guitarist Rick Vito (a Fleetwood Mac alumnus), dual keyboardists Marty Grebb and Dan Garfield, drummer nonpareil Russ Kunkel (formerly with James Taylor) and a trio of lively backup singers that included Sara Fleetwood, the former wife of Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood.

The show belonged to Nicks, however, whose regal tastes extended to stage design as well. The stage looked like a Victorian mantle, with floral-colored furniture chests out frong and a large, gold-framed picture of a Sulamith Wulfing painting (a bizarre scene of a dragon fighting a mermaid at sea) in the back. Not your average rock set, but Nicks, as she proved dramatically last night, is hardly your average rock singer.

Opening act Darden Smith played subtly tuneful solo acoustic and solo keyboard songs, but they should have put up a curtain so he could have created his own mood and not be confused with the Victorian setting in the back.

[michelej1]

Hartford Courant, July 21, 1994

Section: CALENDAR

NICKS' HIP RETURN, ROGER CATLIN, Courant Rock Critic

POP / ROCK

STREET ANGEL

Stevie Nicks

Modern/Atlantic Records

Stevie Nicks has been in rock so long, she's due for a kitschy comeback of backhanded hipness. With all the ethereal females fronting rock bands these days, the woman behind the twirling veils with Fleetwood Mac must be something of a spiritual godmother. Sandra Bernhard did a famous routine involving a Stevie fantasy. Even currently hot chanteuse Tori Amos closes her shows with a cover by Nicks instead of Nirvana. Hey, even platform shoes are back.

All of this may make `` Street Angel ,'' Nicks' first solo album in six years, more welcome than her work has been in some time.

Who's to deny, for example, the opening ``Blue Denim'' -- rocking, simple with her pinched voice lending authority? And what a band she amasses here -- Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, L.A. session leaders Bernie Leadon and Waddy Wachtel, Kenny Aronoff on drums, David Crosby singing harmonies and Roy Bittan playing piano. Even Bob Dylan is persuaded to lend almost inaudible guitar and harmonica on Nicks' loopy treatment of ``Just Like a Woman'' (which changes from first to third person at will).

Some of these things, of course, are messes -- a wrongheaded disco beat to ``Greta,'' a revival of a song she wrote in 1965 (that's not so far removed from a lot of these lyrics).

Yet throughout, you're pulling for her, making her local live show (Friday at Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass.) sound interesting at least.

[michelej1]

New Jersey Record, July 10, 1994

Stevie Nicks, "Street Angel" (Modern Records/Atlantic; running time: 57:34, 13 tracks) ***

If Steve Nicks' new album is an indication, she made a good move severing her ties with Fleetwood Mac. "Street Angel" is Nicks' best solo album in a decade.

For starters, she's abandoned the mystical lyrics that often made interpreting her work, both as a soloist and as a member of Fleetwood Mac, a maddening, often fruitless effort. She's also ditched the intense seriousness that made her 1989 album "The Other Side of the Mirror" such a depressing listen.

On "Street Angel," Nicks is clear about what she's singing about, and that's love. And often, it's not the unrequited type. Why, Nicks sounds downright cheerful singing such upbeat lyrics as those in the tuneful "Blue Denim" and "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind."

Even when a certain sadness creeps into the lyrics, as it does on the country-tinged "Rose Garden" and the more rocking "Kick It," the power and conviction in Nicks' voice tells you she's not going to be a victim any longer.

On "Street Angel," Nicks also has abandoned the cheesy synthesizers that filled her recent solo efforts and replaced them with guitars. They perfectly complement Nicks' dusky voice, which is at home on both the rockers and the ballads, particularly the stand-out title track.

Nicks' only misstep is an utterly soulless rendition of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman." Rather than slavishly repeat Dylan's version, she would have done better to bring her own style to the song. Dylan also appears on the track, but his guitar and harmonica are not distinguished.

[michelej1]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), July 8, 1994

Section: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT


TRACY COLLINS

STEVIE NICKS STREET ANGEL (MODERN) three and a half stars

In a year marked by lackluster comeback efforts of '70s mainstays like Boston, Jackson Browne and Traffic, Stevie Nicks brings polish and spunk to her first release in six years, and scores the solid hit that has eluded her aging compatriots.

Nicks has avoided the trap of depending on her name to sell the music. That's probably because her name wasn't worth much, with bad performances, bad press and personal problems tarnishing the most recognizable voice of the quintessential '70s supergroup, Fleetwood Mac.

That group collapsed when Lindsay Buckingham took his immense talent and even greater contempt for Nicks and went his own way. But Nicks obviously knows the key to success as practiced by Buckingham: taking her time to work for quality. And if Lindsay wasn't going to be around anymore, well, she'd just find some friends to help out.

She got some of the best. On guitar, she's supported by two studio legends, Andy Fairweather Low and Waddy Watchel. David Crosby sings harmony on the title track, and for a solid pop cover of Dylan's "Just Like A Woman," who better to play guitar and harmonica than Dylan himself?

But Nicks does more than just rely on significant others. Besides co-producing the disc, she wrote or co-wrote nine of the 13 songs, all of which shine -- from the Mac-ish pop of "Blue Denim" to the anthemic "Destiny" to the rocking "Love Is Like a River." She even tosses in the country-sounding "Rose Garden," which she wrote almost 30 years ago. It's a terrific collection that shows off her range.

Finally, we cannot ignore the most important instrument of any Nicks effort -- that smoky-bar-at-3-in-the-morning voice. It proves itself again a formidable weapon, glorious in its inability to hit all of the notes, and captivating in the feeling it conveys.

Stevie Nicks -- one of the most-dissed performers of our time -- shows there's no better way to shut up one's detractors than through a dynamite effort.

[michelej1]

Richmond Times Dispatch, July 7, 1994

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't make Stevie Nicks' latest a worthy listen. All is the operative word. On "Street Angel" (Atlantic), Nicks is championed by singers and musicians such as Bob Dylan, David Crosby, Waddy Wachtel, Bernie Leadon, Michael Campbell, Andy Fairweather Low, Benmont Tench and Roy Bittan. Stalwarts all, but they're not enough to carry inadequate lyrics and a voice that bleats as though it inhaled a dozen party balloons. Campbell is game. For those selections on which he composed the music, it is a guitar power punch reminiscent of his work with Tom Petty. When Nicks steps to the microphone and spews gibberish with unbearable vocals, all is for naught. Whether simpering or grandstanding, Nick's "Street Angel" is headed for a roast.

[michelej1]

Atlantic Journal and Constitution, July 2, 1994

Street Angel Stevie Nicks

Modern Records/Atlantic. 13 tracks. CD/cassette. ***

Russ DeVault, staff writer

Stevie Nicks's ambitious "Street Angel" takes flight thanks to her willingness to tackle tough subjects, her stellar guest list, and her voice - sometimes sweet, sometimes raspy - which shines through.

The former voice of Fleetwood Mac is adept at being wistful ("Listen to the Rain"), downright sad ("Rose Garden," which brings to mind the country classic "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden") or properly respectful - in the case of two of her heroes, actress Greta Garbo and naturalist Jane Goodall, who are the subjects of different songs.

The guest list is an impressive one topped by Bob Dylan, who helps out on his song "Just Like a Woman," which Nicks decorates with some Dylanesque inflections. Guitarists Bernie Leadon and Waddy Wachtel make shimmering/ ringing contributions and David Crosby effectively sings backup, but no one gets in the way of Nicks's generally understated delivery.

Longtime fans may be ambivalent about the two tribute songs - the lyrics are rather lightweight - but Nicks makes them listenable, although neither is as interesting as the title track, a semiromantic anthem for the homeless. It's a reach for Nicks to move into social commentary - and to tackle a Dylan song in his presence - but her singing and the music make "Street Angel" an entertaining flight.

[SortaSavageLike]

So, to summarize the last 19 posts:

Music critics as a whole hated just about everything she did from 1975 to 1983, but thought that Street Angel was a good enough album to warrant three stars, and that it was her best solo album ever made.

Ummm....yeah. :rolleyes:

Also, she'd take a lot less shit if she'd just dress like a butch motodyke on stage.

[David]

HEADLINE: THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW STEVIE NICKS, NOW A SOLO ACT, SEES HER MUSIC AS HER LIFE

BYLINE: GARY GRAFF Free Press Music Writer, August 19. 1994

"I don't have time to meet anybody or go anywhere or do anything except work," she says.

So she bears her desires and buries them in the work -- not just music but also painting and handicrafts.

"My whole thing is getting better, whether it's writing or painting or hand-knitting or photographs or writing songs for other people," Nicks says. "My life is made up of staying up all night and doing that stuff. Oops. There's that pesky discrepancy again. Why not take off one of those nights from writing, painting, hand-knitting, photographs, & baking sugar cookies & do something else you say you have never had the time to do? News flash: You have -- & had -- time to do all sorts of things "except work."

It's not for the money. I can always make money -- I can go get a job if I have to."Graveyard shift?

[michelej1]

Oops. There's that pesky discrepancy again. Why not take off one of those nights from writing, painting, hand-knitting, photographs, & baking sugar cookies & do something else you say you have never had the time to do? News flash: You have -- & had -- time to do all sorts of things "except work."

Graveyard shift?

I would suggest that since only her nights are free that limits what she can do. But I guess in the entertainment world that's not true. Night time is the right time.

I did laugh at the "hand-knitting." Michele

[Bella Figura]

I always feel that her Street Angel interviews are some of her most honest...believe me, take it from someone who knows, not having kids whether by biology or those pesky twist of fates is very devasting...it's very painful and takes a long time to work through whether you end up adopting or choose to be childfree...those years in the middle of trying and waiting and being disappointed drain you emotionally, physically, financially and do all sorts of damage...

at least now, she's back to her old flaky self-centered self...;)

[vermicious knid]

Fleetwood Mac's New Age songstress inhabits a world without rap, Nirvana or even, apparently, a radio.

Remember that interview from around this time where the interviewer mentioned Sarah McLachlin and Sheryl Crow? Stevie was like "I don't know who they are".

[vivfox]

Billboard, March 26, 1994
"I have no false illusions," she says with a chuckle. "Iknow that I'm like this little dinosaurette, truckin' and stompin' around. And you know, every once in a while I have to come out and have tea with my fellow dinosaurettes, Ann and Nancy [Wilson] and Pat [Benatar].

For Doug Morris, Co-chairman/co-CEO of the Atlantic Group, the return of Stevie Nicks strikes a personal chord.
"She is the first artist I ever signed to this label," he says, "She holds a very special place in my heart. It's great to see her in shape and ready to roll. I can't wait for her to go back on tour. I'll be at the opening date."

Funny how she spent years ranking on Pat and now(1994) that she's not dominating the charts away from Stevie she's cool in Stevies' book. And Doug Morris claiming she was in such good shape?? She was excellent when I saw her on tour but she was also the fattest I'd ever seen her and according to her-kolonopined out.
Thank you Michele for all these interesting articles. Also I notice whenever anybody releases a new album it's usually touted as their best album ever. I enjoyed Street Angel very much with only a couple of tracks I didn't care for, but this album carried me thru good and bad times. My favorite track was and still is Love is Like A River.

[jwd]

Richmond Times Dispatch, July 7, 1994

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't make Stevie Nicks' latest a worthy listen. All is the operative word. On "Street Angel" (Atlantic), Nicks is championed by singers and musicians such as Bob Dylan, David Crosby, Waddy Wachtel, Bernie Leadon, Michael Campbell, Andy Fairweather Low, Benmont Tench and Roy Bittan. Stalwarts all, but they're not enough to carry inadequate lyrics and a voice that bleats as though it inhaled a dozen party balloons. Campbell is game. For those selections on which he composed the music, it is a guitar power punch reminiscent of his work with Tom Petty. When Nicks steps to the microphone and spews gibberish with unbearable vocals, all is for naught. Whether simpering or grandstanding, Nick's "Street Angel" is headed for a roast.

I never "realized" just how many great musicians were on this record until I read this. What a shame it turned out to be Stevie's most sub par album to date.

[jwd]

Funny how she spent years ranking on Pat and now(1994) that she's not dominating the charts away from Stevie she's cool in Stevies' book.

I never heard or read Stevie being negative about Pat. :shrug:

[michelej1]

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), June 23, 1994

Section: L.A. LIFE

RETREAT TO DESERT CAME IN NICK OF TIME FOR NICKS


Steve Morse Boston Globe

Finding inner peace has taken years for Stevie Nicks . She didn't find it in her longtime base of Los Angeles, which she left after the Jan. 17 Northridge Earthquake. She didn't find it in the later years of Fleetwood Mac, which she left after the group sang at President Clinton's inauguration.

Finally, though, Nicks has found a measure of peace from living in the desert beauty of Phoenix - and from concentrating on a solo career that for years she had to juggle with Fleetwood Mac commitments.

"I gave it the old college try. I gave it everything you could give it," she said of Fleetwood Mac, for which she sang such hits as "Rhiannon," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Dreams."

Nicks is back with a new album, "Street Angel," which is rich in rock-survivor wisdom and features a haunting version of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman," with Dylan on guitar and harmonica. There also is a passionate tribute to biologist Jane Goodall and several of the straight-from-the-heart love songs for which Nicks is known.

"I'm a much happier person now," Nicks, 46, said recently from Arizona. "My life is easier and I'm really looking forward to going on the road this time. Probably that has a lot to do with the fact I haven't just come off the road with Fleetwood Mac. Whenever I'd come off the road from Fleetwood Mac, I'd be exhausted.

"Not being with Fleetwood Mac has made more of a change than I ever expected," Nicks said. "To not be on call to Fleetwood Mac is really something, because up until the inauguration, I was. There was no getting out of a call from Fleetwood Mac. If they needed you, you had to go, no matter what else was in your life or what was planned. There was nothing else that came first.

"I look at that now and I'm kind of amazed that I let that go on for so long. And I don't mean 'Why didn't I leave?' I just mean that I could have been not as wimpy a person."

Nicks has a new song, "Greta," about a restless wanderer who "packs her bags and she goes back to the Valley of the Sun." Which is what Nicks did after the Northridge Earthquake. "There was no possible way I was going to wait around for another earthquake," Nicks said.

Nicks still maintains a home in Los Angeles, but her heart clearly is in Arizona. "It's hot here - it's 106 degrees today. But when the sun goes down, I sit outside and it's so beautiful. If you have any problems, you go outside and they disintegrate. I've grown to really depend on my desert-sky time. . . . I guess that's why the Indians became very spiritual, because it's very easy to get into a spiritualistic kind of mode here."

Her more relaxed life also has enabled Nicks to feel better about the aging process. "I'm enjoying the wisdom of getting older," she said. "I look at it that you've become a wiser woman, more of a teacher, more of an adept person. . . . I really dislike all the 'I'm getting old' complaints from people who are bothered by it. In other cultures, the older people were the most revered.

"Personally, I still feel that I can do all the things I could when I was young and still have just as good a time, like riding around the desert in a Jeep or climbing Camelback Mountain. I can still do all that, but there's a certain wisdom I didn't have before. Like the thing about going outside. Rather than going to a psychiatrist, I can look up at this incredible red mountain, watch the sky and feel how good the air feels on my face. And (unlike therapy) it doesn't cost $150."

[michelej1]

Columbia State (SC), STATE-RECORD CO. , June 10, 1994

Section: WEEKEND

STEVIE NICKS RETURNS TO TOP FORM IN STUDIO ALBUM


HOWARD COHEN, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

''Understanding me is not an easy thing to do,'' sings Stevie Nicks in ''Blue Denim,'' the vibrant lead track from '' Street Angel '' (Modern/Atlantic 4-stars) her first studio album in five years.

No kidding.

Interpreting Nicks' confessional, sometimes mystical, lyrics has often been a formidable task -- both in her solo work and her days with Fleetwood Mac. So it's a relief to find Nicks sticking to a common theme on ''Street Angel'' -- love. And plenty of it.

There's ''Kick It,'' the set's most infectious track, a spry, harmonious number with an uplifting sing-along chorus. And ''Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind,'' the first single, is another charmer, thanks to Nicks' relaxed vocals and its seizing and chipper pop-rock nature.

But the CD's standout is its title track, a haunting ballad that ranks among the songwriter's finest moments on record. ''Street Angel'' tells of a homeless woman who must choose between the love of a wealthy man and her family on the streets. The exquisite melody and detailed harmony by David Crosby lend the tune a grace you don't often find in today's pop market.

Nicks' only misstep here is an unnecessary and overly reverent cover of Bob Dylan's ''Just Like a Woman'' (with the man himself playing harmonica behind her Dylan-aping vocals).

''Street Angel'' is Nicks' most consistently tuneful solo set to date. Moreover, it equals her first two -- and previous best -- LPs, ''Bella Donna'' and ''The Wild Heart.'' (Three cuts -- ''Greta,'' an ode to screen legend Greta Garbo, and the country songs ''Destiny'' and ''Rose Garden'' -- predate 1981's ''Bella Donna'' and find a fitting home here.)

With ample guitars erupting all over ''Street Angel,'' Nicks finds her wings as a rocker and reminds us why we fell in love with her when first she spun her tale of a Welsh witch named ''Rhiannon'' 19 long years ago.

[jwd]

Columbia State (SC), STATE-RECORD CO. , June 10, 1994

Section: WEEKEND

STEVIE NICKS RETURNS TO TOP FORM IN STUDIO ALBUM


HOWARD COHEN, Knight-Ridder Newspapers

''Understanding me is not an easy thing to do,'' sings Stevie Nicks in ''Blue Denim,'' the vibrant lead track from '' Street Angel '' (Modern/Atlantic 4-stars) her first studio album in five years.

No kidding.

Interpreting Nicks' confessional, sometimes mystical, lyrics has often been a formidable task -- both in her solo work and her days with Fleetwood Mac. So it's a relief to find Nicks sticking to a common theme on ''Street Angel'' -- love. And plenty of it.

There's ''Kick It,'' the set's most infectious track, a spry, harmonious number with an uplifting sing-along chorus. And ''Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind,'' the first single, is another charmer, thanks to Nicks' relaxed vocals and its seizing and chipper pop-rock nature.

But the CD's standout is its title track, a haunting ballad that ranks among the songwriter's finest moments on record. ''Street Angel'' tells of a homeless woman who must choose between the love of a wealthy man and her family on the streets. The exquisite melody and detailed harmony by David Crosby lend the tune a grace you don't often find in today's pop market.

Nicks' only misstep here is an unnecessary and overly reverent cover of Bob Dylan's ''Just Like a Woman'' (with the man himself playing harmonica behind her Dylan-aping vocals).

''Street Angel'' is Nicks' most consistently tuneful solo set to date. Moreover, it equals her first two -- and previous best -- LPs, ''Bella Donna'' and ''The Wild Heart.'' (Three cuts -- ''Greta,'' an ode to screen legend Greta Garbo, and the country songs ''Destiny'' and ''Rose Garden'' -- predate 1981's ''Bella Donna'' and find a fitting home here.)

With ample guitars erupting all over ''Street Angel,'' Nicks finds her wings as a rocker and reminds us why we fell in love with her when first she spun her tale of a Welsh witch named ''Rhiannon'' 19 long years ago.

This guy needs to listen to this record again. Either that or he needs to have his hearing checked. The only other possibility is that he was paid a lot of money to write those things. Amazing.

[David]

This guy needs to listen to this record again. Either that or he needs to have his hearing checked. The only other possibility is that he was paid a lot of money to write those things. Amazing.I don't think so, Joe. Howard Cohen has always considered himself somewhat of a fan of Nicks & of Mac in general. His views of STREET ANGEL pretty much match my own. I like that album the most of all her solo albums.

[jwd]

I don't think so, Joe. Howard Cohen has always considered himself somewhat of a fan of Nicks & of Mac in general. His views of STREET ANGEL pretty much match my own. I like that album the most of all her solo albums.

Maybe that's why he was lenient on Stevie when he reviewed this record. He wanted to see her spread her wings and fly again so to speak. So that may be it. There might be a little bias in his review. Clearly you and he are in the minority in how most people, critics and fans alike, feel about this record. I consider myself a very big fan of Stevie and FM and think SA is her worst. To each his/her own. David, how are you on this fine Sunday? :wavey:

[strandinthewind]

I don't think so, Joe. Howard Cohen has always considered himself somewhat of a fan of Nicks & of Mac in general. His views of STREET ANGEL pretty much match my own. I like that album the most of all her solo albums.

I think the critics were kind to her. I like the record for the most part, though it was clear to me at the time something had changed in her life, and IMO for the worse. Her voice was, however, splendid on the record compared to the last two IMO.

[jwd]

I think the critics were kind to her. I like the record for the most part, though it was clear to me at the time something had changed in her life, and IMO for the worse. Her voice was, however, splendid on the record compared to the last two IMO.

Not this one. He ripped her to shreds. If anyone is given credit for anything good about the record, it's certainly not given to Stevie. It hurts my everything. :laugh:



Richmond Times Dispatch, July 7, 1994

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't make Stevie Nicks' latest a worthy listen. All is the operative word. On "Street Angel" (Atlantic), Nicks is championed by singers and musicians such as Bob Dylan, David Crosby, Waddy Wachtel, Bernie Leadon, Michael Campbell, Andy Fairweather Low, Benmont Tench and Roy Bittan. Stalwarts all, but they're not enough to carry inadequate lyrics and a voice that bleats as though it inhaled a dozen party balloons. Campbell is game. For those selections on which he composed the music, it is a guitar power punch reminiscent of his work with Tom Petty. When Nicks steps to the microphone and spews gibberish with unbearable vocals, all is for naught. Whether simpering or grandstanding, Nick's "Street Angel" is headed for a roast.

[strandinthewind]

^^^

Let me rephrase that - for the most part, the critics were kind to her.

Remember, the male critics (there were not really any femal one to any significant degree) - HATED that she did not fit their mold.

And, when I read things like the review you posted, I just think that critic is unprofessional and more interested in his own alleged pith than providing an interesting review.

[bellagypsy79]

I have the "Street Angel" cd that is the Japan version. Inside the cd it has a pink fold out with the lyrics to the songs on the album all in Japaneze, and 2 bonus tracks...
"God's Garden", and "Inspiration". Does anyone have that version of the album? It's pretty nice to keep especially when you're a Stevie fan!:blob1:

[David]

I think the critics were kind to her.Well, some were & some weren't. That's how it always is with criticism. This critic likes your film but that critic doesn't. It isn't a matter of being kind (if a critic is a responsible critic, he presents his views honestly, irrespective of the effects those views might have on the artist). The oft-heard claim that bias or partiality has crept into a critic's review is baffling: That's exactly what criticism is -- a personal opinion expressed judiciously. There's no such animal as "impartial criticism." Every opinion is subjective -- that is, it's particular to a specific person. An opinion cannot be substantiated in a laboratory or a test tube. Nor can you derive a logical syllogism from your critical opinions that has universal validity. The opinion has to be argued, & argument is a method of suasion.

I like the record for the most part, though it was clear to me at the time something had changed in her life, and IMO for the worse. Her voice was, however, splendid on the record compared to the last two IMO.Well, I like her singing on that album (I wouldn't call it splendid, but that's just your style of praise) & I like a lot of the songs. There's some shoddy craftsmanship in the engineering & in the design of the package in general, but that doesn't ruin for me what I like about the album (for example, the uncompressed bass in the opening of DOCKLANDS & the annoying dropouts later in the track don't affect my esteem for that song).

[jwd]

^^^

Let me rephrase that - for the most part, the critics were kind to her.

Remember, the male critics (there were not really any femal one to any significant degree) - HATED that she did not fit their mold.

And, when I read things like the review you posted, I just think that critic is unprofessional and more interested in his own alleged pith than providing an interesting review.


Well, I can't remember what every critic said about the record. And for the most part it doesn't matter what the critics say. Bottom line is that SA tanked, BIG. Most of her fans don't like it. Stevie, doesn't even like it. Maybe because it did fail so miserably, I don't know.

Every once in awhle I like to pull that record out, when I'm in the mood for it, and give it a listen. It's not all bad. I do like "Blue Denim" and "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind". And I've really come to love "Unconditional Love". So, to me, it has it's worthwhile moments. I do love Stevie.

[jwd]

It isn't a matter of being kind (if a critic is a responsible critic, he presents his views honestly, irrespective of the effects those views might have on the artist). The oft-heard claim that bias or partiality has crept into a critic's review is baffling: That's exactly what criticism is -- a personal opinion expressed judiciously. There's no such animal as "impartial criticism."

I think there's some contradiction in your post David. A critic can be irresponsible, but he can't be biased? Isn't that, or couldn't that be construed as one and the same thing?

[strandinthewind]

Well, I can't remember what every critic said about the record. And for the most part it doesn't matter what the critics say. Bottom line is that SA tanked, BIG. Most of her fans don't like it. Stevie, doesn't even like it. Maybe because it did fail so miserably, I don't know.

Every once in awhle I like to pull that record out, when I'm in the mood for it, and give it a listen. It's not all bad. I do like "Blue Denim" and "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind". And I've really come to love "Unconditional Love". So, to me, it has it's worthwhile moments. I do love Stevie.

Yes - I like, if not love, some of the tracks. Then, I hear Docklands and wonder what the hell was she thinking when God's Garden was out there and, though I like it as it is, it could have re tolled fairly easily and, IMO, been a hit as that kind of power ballad was still around, though fading to be sure.

I also think the 180 pounds Nicks touring in a Nirvana era did nothing to help sales.

In the end, the record is still IMO heads above most other artists' records (they have one hit and filler) -- but it was not up to snuff for La Nicks.

[jwd]

Yes - I like, if not love, some of the tracks. Then, I hear Docklands and wonder what the hell was she thinking when God's Garden was out there and, though I like it as it is, it could have re tolled fairly easily and, IMO, been a hit as that kind of power ballad was still around, though fading to be sure.

I also think the 180 pounds Nicks touring in a Nirvana era did nothing to help sales.

In the end, the record is still IMO heads above most other artists' records (they have one hit and filler) -- but it was not up to snuff for La Nicks.

I love "God's Garden". Just another one of those songs that were left off in place of something so inferior. "Joan Of Arc" comes to mind when thinking of TITN. Don't even get me started on "Docklands" or "Jane" or "Destiny". I cringe when I hear those songs. However, "Destiny" on the Enchanted box set sounds better to me.

Surely her weight didn't help, especially in our vain society. Everyone was looking for that super foxy vixen she used to be. Truly women, especially when it comes to singers and actresses, are held to a much higher standard than men. What a shame. Nobody cares what Bob Dylan or Mick Jagger looks like these days.

[David]

I think there's some contradiction in your post David. A critic can be irresponsible, but he can't be biased? Isn't that, or couldn't that be construed as one and the same thing?I'm not following you. Responsible criticism is honest criticism -- that is, an honest statement of a critic's opinion. (A critic who, for example, gives his wife's new play a great review but who actually despises the play is a dishonest, irresponsibile critic.)

There is no such thing as bias-free criticism. A bias is merely a preference or an inclination. The bias is in the critic's subjective opinions. Subjectivity = bias, QED.

When I say I don't like ROOMS ON FIRE, I am expressing my bias, my preference. There's no way to test that opinion so that the same results (dislike of ROOMS ON FIRE) are derived in all circumstances & among all test subjects. The acceleration of gravity on the surface of the Earth is the same on every continent, but opinions about ROOMS ON FIRE are as varied as the number of people who have an opinion about it. If an Indonesian scientist claims that gravity is 4.5 meters per second squared, he is incorrect. But when it comes to whether & how much you like or dislike ROOMS ON FIRE, concepts of correct & incorrect are inapplicable.

[strandinthewind]

^^^

I LOVE Destiny and was thrilled when she did it live on that tour!

I like Jane as well. I think the vocal, esp. the three part harmony - is tight and Bel Canto. I also think it is moving tribue. But, people can't get past the chimpanzee line - sucks for them IMO :woohoo:

There used to be, I think, a video on youtube of Destiny live - but I can't find it. But, I found this one of TTM, which I think is a splendid vocal!

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GzO__vA9fKc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GzO__vA9fKc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Ditto for MLWCYM

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFmj66ba9Us&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFmj66ba9Us&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

and - to me, she was heavier in parts of the SYW your :shrug:

[jwd]

I'm not following you. Responsible criticism is honest criticism -- that is, an honest statement of a critic's opinion. (A critic who, for example, gives his wife's new play a great review but who actually despises the play is a dishonest, irresponsibile critic.)

There is no such thing as bias-free criticism. A bias is merely a preference or an inclination. The bias is in the critic's subjective opinions. Subjectivity = bias, QED.

When I say I don't like ROOMS ON FIRE, I am expressing my bias, my preference. There's no way to test that opinion so that the same results (dislike of ROOMS ON FIRE) are derived in all circumstances & among all test subjects. The acceleration of gravity on the surface of the Earth is the same on every continent, but opinions about ROOMS ON FIRE are as varied as the number of people who have an opinion about it. If an Indonesian scientist claims that gravity is 4.5 meters per second squared, he is incorrect. But when it comes to whether & how much you like or dislike ROOMS ON FIRE, concepts of correct & incorrect are inapplicable.

I think we're going a little too deep here. :laugh: You took the word bias and just had a field day with it, being the intellectual that you are. So, if I were to rephrase my initial statement and say that Howard Cohen was dishonest or irresponsible(based on his feelings for Stevie and FM), in his criticism of SA, instead of using the word "bias", you would "understand" or concur with that(at least in me stating MY opinion)?

[PenguinHead]

I have the "Street Angel" cd that is the Japan version. Inside the cd it has a pink fold out with the lyrics to the songs on the album all in Japaneze, and 2 bonus tracks...
"God's Garden", and "Inspiration". Does anyone have that version of the album? It's pretty nice to keep especially when you're a Stevie fan!:blob1:

I've got the Japanese version too. The bonus tracks make the album more substantial.

[StreetAngel86]

DAYYYYYYYYYM you michele :mad: :shocked:
i was so excited i thought this was a new thread
and ma lil heart started beating so fast at all this Street Angel lovin' i'd missed in the past week :D

[Dodfather]

Street Angel is a strange album. There are a few songs on it that I really like (Blue Denim, Maybe Love, Kick It) but the production is just so weird. I think Thom Panunzio did a bad job on songs like Jane, Unconditional Love, Listen to the Rain and worst of all Docklands. Those are really pretty bad.

[starshine]

[We know how the story ended, but it's fun to see what they were saying then. Here are some articles/reviews that came out during Street Angel that I hadn't seen online before]

HEADLINE: THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW STEVIE NICKS, NOW A SOLO ACT, SEES HER MUSIC AS HER LIFE

BYLINE: GARY GRAFF Free Press Music Writer, August 19. 1994

BODY:
Stevie Nicks can't stop thinking about the things she's given up to make music.

Because she stayed in Fleetwood Mac for 18 years, she feels she compromised her career as a solo artist.

And because she sustained both the band's and her own careers, Nicks says, she lost the opportunity to develop relationships and have children.

These are not complaints, mind you. Having just released her sixth solo album, "Street Angel" -- Nicks' first since leaving Fleetwood Mac in 1993 -- she's resigned to being a willing slave to her muse.

"The fact is, this is my first love," the 46-year-old songstress says. "I've pretty much given my life up for it -- my relationships, my friends, my parents in a lot of ways.

"It's my life. I'm probably not going to settle down and have children now; I gave that all up. So what else do I have to do but this? I'll probably go on doing this until I'm 70 or 80 years old."

If that's the case, "Street Angel" is the beginning of the rest of Nicks' career. And it does sound like a new beginning. Straightforward and rocking -- with songs about Greta Garbo, Jane Goodall and a guest appearance by Bob Dylan on Nicks' remake of his "Just Like a Woman" -- it's reminiscent of her first solo album, 1981's "Bella Donna." And it's hard not to hear the spirit of liberation in the 11 songs on "Street Angel."

"I wanted out of Fleetwood Mac for a long time," says Nicks, who quit after the group performed at President Bill Clinton's inauguration celebration in 1993. "But I am a chump, the one who -- when it came down to 'If you leave, you'll ruin the band, ruin our lives' -- just couldn't leave."

Not that her 18 years in Fleetwood Mac was a bad run. More so than Lindsey Buckingham, her then-boyfriend with whom Nicks joined the band in 1974, Fleetwood Mac made her a star, a bona fide rock sex symbol.

She still has fond feelings for the Mac. "They were my family for all those years," she says. But she adds, "We all sacrificed an awful lot to be that band everyone remembers as a good rock 'n' roll band. Hopefully, the world got a lot out of it, because everybody got hurt by it. My parents would call, or someone else in my family, or anyone else who needed me, and I wasn't available; Fleetwood Mac came first, no questions asked."

Some of this rubs former band mates the wrong way. "I was never horribly aware she was that unhappy," says Mick Fleetwood, who insists he's remained on good termswith Nicks. "To hear things that are slightly on the down side from her doesn't make any sense; she never had any trouble being in Fleetwood Mac when she became incredibly successful."

But Fleetwood does understand the pull of Nicks' solo career.

"She was really running out of gas to run her career and Fleetwood Mac's and try to keep us happy in terms of what we needed out of our singer," Fleetwood says. Or, as Nicks elaborates, "I had to think of me a little bit."

But even with "Street Angel" out, Nicks still thinks of other aspects of her life. Children are one. She did "give up" several children over the years -- Nicks doesn't elaborate on exactly what that means -- and a few years back she talked about wanting to adopt.

"I've already been so disappointed about not having the children I wanted," explains Nicks, who dotes on her 2-year-old niece. "If I went and searched and did all the work that's entailed and was then turned down or something, I don't think I could have handled that. I probably could have been the best mom around . . . so I try not to think about it. If I do, I get upset."

Nicks hasn't given up the idea of having a child, but once again the career rears its head. "I don't have time to meet anybody or go anywhere or do anything except work," she says.

So she bears her desires and buries them in the work -- not just music but also painting and handicrafts.

"My whole thing is getting better, whether it's writing or painting or hand-knitting or photographs or writing songs for other people," Nicks says. "My life is made up of staying up all night and doing that stuff. It's not for the money. I can always make money -- I can go get a job if I have to."

ON STAGE: Stevie Nicks and Darden Smith perform at 7:30 tonight at Pine Knob, Sashabaw Road at I-75, Clarkston. Tickets are $22.50 pavilion, $12.50 lawn. Call 1-810-377-0100 anytime.
I was at this show....it was my first solo Stevie concert & it was awesome!!! I won't ever forget it. The merchandise booth didn't have much of anything though. For some reason they didn't sell much for this concert /tour? Not sure why either? I think vocally Stevie was her best....The power went out for Blue Denim...bummed so we got a shortened version of the song. We DID get The Chain during the encore's that night. I know cause I remember it. I think it was added because of the storm that night. It was awesome!! I know I have that article some place.....what a night!!:thumbsup: