Nicks, Hynde to showcase Hall of Fame voices
The sound of two of rock’s great voices will fill Pinnacle Bank Arena Monday when Stevie Nicks returns to Lincoln, bringing Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders along.
Contraltos both, Nicks, 68, and Hynde, 65, took divergent paths to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- Nicks becoming the embodiment of Southern California Laurel Canyon classic rock; Hynde moving from Ohio to England to meld ‘70s punk -- she was a member of The Clash before it was The Clash -- and new wave into The Pretenders’ edgy rock ‘n’ roll.
Nicks is on “The 24 Karat Gold Tour,” a 28-stop arena sojourn that is named after her most recent album, 2014’s “24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault.”
The release is a collection of songs that Nicks wrote from 1969 through 1995 -- most of them penned in her 1970s and '90s peaks -- but never recorded. “24 Karat Gold” is one of Nicks’ best solo outings.
Collecting songs like the rocker “Starshine,” the tribute to silent movie star “Mabel Normand,” who, like Nicks, was known to use a little cocaine, the harmony-drenched “Belle Fleur” and lots of her trademark broken-hearted ballads, the exquisitely produced “24 Karat Gold” finds Nicks’ voice a shade huskier and rougher than in her classic work, but utilizes it to full effect.
Based on published set lists, a handful of songs from “24 Karat Gold” will turn up in Nicks’ show Monday, along with songs from her first two, just-reissued solo albums, 1981’s “Bella Donna” and 1983’s “Wild Heart.”
That move to the new and revisiting her early work with Lindsey Buckingham takes the concert out of “greatest hits,” human jukebox mode, forcing a focus on the music -- songwriting and performance -- and on the voice that is delivering her songs.
The odds are good that many in Monday’s crowd will have already seen Nicks and her shawls at the arena in Lincoln when she was in great form and strong voice during the 90 minutes Fleetwood Mac performed in January 2015.
Drummer Mick Fleetwood got sick that night and the show ended abruptly, prompting Nicks to tell the disappointed crowd: “
We will come back. We will come back. You’ll get one-and-a-half full-on shows. We will come back. We’re so sorry.”
The Mac isn’t back. But Nicks will be, keeping that promise, this time with her fine band, led by her longtime musical collaborator and great guitarist Waddy Wachtel.
Nicks, her management and promoters really must have wanted to return to Lincoln, which is, along with Grand Rapids, Michigan, the smallest market on the tour that started in Phoenix last month and ends in Los Angeles Dec. 18.
The big plus is Hynde's first show in Lincoln -- a bit of a mind-boggler given that The Pretenders have been around for 38 years.
The Pretenders have a new album as well, appropriately titled “Alone,” for Hynde is the only Pretender on the album that was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, like Chrissie, an Akron, Ohio, native.
But on tour, she’s joined by drummer Martin Chambers, the only other original Pretender still living -- guitarist James Honeyman Scott and bassist Pete Farndon each having died from drug complications in the early '80s.
“Alone,” according to published set lists, will contribute three songs to The Pretenders set, which runs a generous hour.
That’s enough time for the band to deliver most of its hits and some material from “Stockholm,” Hynde’s solo album of a couple years ago -- all of which will highlight the smoky, sultry and soulful voice that has made her one of rock ‘n’ roll’s great singers for the past four decades.
Nicks fits that description as well, making Monday’s concert a showcase of great singers, songwriters and performers that’s not likely to be matched any time soon.
http://journalstar.com/entertainment...c8c291c59.html