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RockALittle250

03-29-2007, 06:13 PM

Let's make a thread with all of the Crystal Visions reviews that are/will be written from major sites/publications. Here is a review from All Music Guide:

All Music Guide
The first American single-disc Stevie Nicks compilation since 1991's Timespace, Reprise's 2007 Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks bests that previous set even if it falls just short of being truly definitive. The problem area lies in the place where it clearly attempts to distinguish itself from its predecessor: the inclusion of Fleetwood Mac songs. Where Timespace never attempted to explore this territory, Crystal Visions does, but with the exception of "Silver Springs," all of the Mac songs are re-recordings -- "Dreams" is performed with Deep Dish, there's a live version of "Rhiannon," and a version of "Landslide" performed live with the Melbourne Symphony. None of these is necessarily bad, but it's hard not to wish that the original versions of these hits were alongside the original versions of "Edge of Seventeen," "I Can't Wait," "Stand Back," "Talk to Me," "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and "Leather and Lace," since that would have resulted in a perfect Nicks retrospective. With the live versions, this merely becomes a near-perfect compilation, representing the scope and range of Nicks' career, as a solo artist, as a member of Fleetwood Mac, and as a duet partner. The big songs from all of her career are here, along with some sharply chosen lesser-known tunes -- including a live version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" and "Sorcerer" -- that, along with good annotation by Nicks (and in the case of the deluxe edition, a DVD of 13 of her videos), help paint a full portrait of Nicks' career so well that it makes it all the more obvious that this compilation needs the originals of the Mac songs to be perfect, but as it stands, Crystal Visions is very good (indeed, it's the best Nicks retrospective assembled to date). Stephen Thomas Erlewine

What I don't understand is why doesn't the reviewer see how great the live tracks are, and the fact that he would rather them be substituted for the original songs? I think the live tracks make it more appealing, and we all have the originals anyway. This was a nice review, but not particularly flattering towards the new stuff on the album.

tothegypsy

03-29-2007, 08:03 PM

i agree with the reviewer, if you look at it from the perspective of a true summary of stevie's achievements, then you would want the original tracks to be there

if you look at it as something for the die hard fans to buy, then you will prefer that the new live tracks be there

Livia

04-01-2007, 01:22 PM

From a blogger, but still, a great review (from the same guy who ignored Christine McVie - it's on the CMV board is you wanna check that one out).

Music Review: Crystal Visions:
The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (CD/DVD Double Disc Edition)
Written by Glen Boyd
Published April 01, 2007

It might surprise some of you who saw all of the trouble I got myself into by leaving Christine McVie out of my recent Rockologist column on Fleetwood Mac, that I would venture back into that possibly hostile territory this soon. Hell, to be honest I'm a little surprised myself.

But this isn't a review about Fleetwood Mac at all. Rather, it is about the work of one of it's most visible members as a solo artist. The truth is, like her band and one-time life mate Lindsey Buckingham, I've always preferred Stevie Nicks solo work over her stuff with Fleetwood Mac anyway.

Within the confines of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks just always struck me as but one element (albeit perhaps the most visible one) within that particularly well oiled, hit making machine. Besides, as a solo artist, Stevie just always seemed to rock a bit more. As much as I can appreciate the pop craftsmanship and witchy spell cast by a song like "Rhiannon" for example, I'll take her duet with Tom Petty on "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" first every single time.

In it's deluxe CD/DVD version, Crystal Visions: The Very Best Of Stevie Nicks summarizes Nick's solo work in a marvelously put together package. Included here are all of her greatest hits, all of her videos, and loads of great extras. For starters, there is 30 minutes of never before seen video footage of the recording sessions for the Bella Donna album. There is also a booklet that includes tons of great photos, as well as liner notes by Stevie herself on each of the CD's sixteen tracks. On the DVD, Stevie also provides commentary on each of the videos included.

Speaking of those videos, watching old MTV mainstays such as "Stand Back" quickly reminds just why Stevie Nicks was once regarded as the "first lady of rock and roll."

The rarely seen "Scarlett Version" of that song is also included here in addition to the more familiar "Stevie sings with windblown hair" version seen on MTV in the eighties. The key difference here, aside from the "Gone With The Wind" storyline, is that the track features a completely different vocal take. If you listen closely, you can hear different vocal inflections, and Prince's famous backing keyboard track (the song was modeled after "Little Red Corvette") also seems just a pace faster. That along with the more commonly seen videos for songs like "If Anyone Falls In Love" show exactly why Stevie Nicks was such an MTV staple back in the eighties.

The other thing you notice watching these videos is just how much Stevie Nicks and her band really do rock, particularly in a live setting. On live versions of "Whole Lotta Trouble" and especially "Edge Of Seventeen," Stevie Nick's touring band, led by guitarist Waddy Wachtel, display an edge that is not always as apparent on the studio records. Wachtel's solo and intro on "Edge Of Seventeen" in particular are both ferociously delivered.

Like the DVD, the CD likewise features all of Stevie Nicks hits — from "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" to more recent work like her duet with Sheryl Crow on 2001's "Sorcerer". Best of all, there is also more previously unheard rare and live stuff. The "Deep Dish" mix of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" gives the well known hit something of a facelift for the dancefloor. "Silver Springs," the original B-side of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" shows up here as well.

On the live side, "Rhiannon" is given a more dramatic reading here, begining with a moody sounding intro that eventually segues into what is again a version that rocks quite a bit more than the original. On a live cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll," Stevie summons the spirit of Robert Plant himself, as Wachtel and the band shred away with Zep like intensity. On live versions of both "Landslide" and "Edge Of Seventeen" recorded just last year in Austrailia, Nicks is backed by no less than the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Whether you are a new fan looking for a great package of all her best stuff, or a hardcore Nicksaholic salivating for all those juicy extras, Crystal Visions sums up the very best of Stevie Nicks as a solo artist. It also shows her to be an artist who is just as vital now as she was then.

Livia

04-02-2007, 01:19 PM

Not only did Stevie Nicks lend her voice and songwriting talents to Fleetwood Mac, but she enjoyed fantastic success as a solo artist particularly from the 1980's through the early 1990's. Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks compiles 16 of her biggest hits, including live performances of "Rhiannon", and Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll", plus "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen" recorded with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The package includes a 20 page booklet with photos and liner notes written by Stevie for every track on CD.

Also included is a DVD with 13 videos with voice-over commentary by Stevie Nicks. Four songs on the DVD are not on the CD: "Whole Lotta Trouble," "Sometimes It’s A Bitch," "Blue Denim," and "Every Day".

Sure, you could nitpick about missing gems like "Maybe Love Will Change You Mind" (#57) from 1994's Street Angel or the beautiful "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" (#60), but otherwise all her popular tunes are here from 1981's #1 Bella Donna, The Wild Heart (1983), Rock A Little (1985), 1989's ode to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Other Side of the Mirror, and her most recent release Trouble in Shangri-La (2001).

If you saw her on March 30th in the Today Show studio singing "Rhiannon" and "Landslide", you got a mere taste of this extraordinary performer. So, stop draggin' your heart around and own this unique career retrospective by filling out the form below to enter our contest here at The Trades for Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks.

Click the link to enter the giveaway contest:

http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=5392&print=yes

MacMan

04-09-2007, 03:53 PM

http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=5415&print=yes

Stevie Nicks's Crystal Visions joins that ever growing collection of "Best of..." CDs from once popular artists that add very little to your library since the last time you bought their "Best of..." CD. Nicks released her last collection, Timespace, in 1991 and, to be frank, there's been nothing new in her career since then. To be so bold as to call Crystal Visions the "Very Best" of Stevie Nicks is, in fact, pushing the boundaries of truth. Seven of the songs on Crystal Visions also appear on Timespace (not counting the live version of "Edge Of Seventeen"). And at least one song that should be on Crystal Visions, "Whole Lotta Trouble", is missing, even though it can be found on the prior collection. Filling out Nicks's new collection are covers of her best hits with Fleetwood Mac: "Dreams", remixed by techno-producers Deep Dish, live versions of "Rhiannon" and "Landslide", and the original version of "Silver Springs", in addition to a few more recent songs - "Sorcerer" and "Planets of the Universe" from Nicks's 2001 album, Trouble in Shangri-La - a live cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll", and the aforementioned live version of "Edge of Seventeen".

But to question the necessity of the album is not to question its actual content. The seven songs that migrated from Nicks's original collection are all anthems of a lighter, more energetic era in music. The synthesizers at the forefront of these older tracks are ever present and are a wonderful throwback to the music of the 1980's. And when the drum machine kicks in, you get totally lost in a sense of nostalgia. "Planets of the Universe" and "Sorcerer" add nothing to the CD, serving only to remind us that Nicks fashions herself something of a witch (really!) with a sense for the occult. From all the songs Nicks has performed with Fleetwood Mac, "Silver Springs" is an unusual choice to add to this album, but at least it's not alone. The techno remix of "Dreams" is an utter disgrace. The live cover of "Rhiannon" starts off somewhat frightening. The slow start with Nicks accompanied only by a piano makes you question Nicks's ability to sing without heavy studio production... but then the bass and guitars start up and you're as relieved as everyone in the crowd. Finally, "Landslide" is a necessity given its recent popularity after it was covered by the Dixie Chicks.

What should be the crowning achievement of this album is the live version of "Edge of Seventeen" with the Melbourne Symphony but the song never reaches its full potential. Already, "Edge of Seventeen" is one of the album's strongest songs, and to hear it with full brass and string accompaniment should be an absolute pleasure, but the performance starts slowly, with the symphony hardly noticeable, marked only by a thundering bass line. But clocking in at a whopping nine minutes - also twice as long as the studio version - the song has plenty of time to build, and around the time the violins chime in, you really start feeling the potential of the song. The song builds to its ultimate cressendo, but you never really feel the layers adding on, one by one. You're just left wishing that the whole symphony was present from the beginning.

Too many "Best of..." CDs can be relegated to the "only for the die-hard fans" category. That can't be said for this collection from Stevie Nicks. In the 80's, Nicks was a major player in the music industry. Her duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather And Lace") are testament to her standing during that era. And her contributions to Fleetwood Mac cannot be questioned. But her output since then has been sparse and unremarkable.

One key benefit to Crystal Visions over Nicks's last collection is that a double-disc version is available including a DVD with video versions of the songs on the album (plus a few more, including "Whole Lotta Trouble"). Granted, most of these videos can be obtained freely - and legally - on the Internet, and seeing some of these 80's-era videos may leave you scratching your head as to what was in good taste only two decades ago, but the DVD includes some choice extras, including commentary by Nicks, and a featurette on the making of Bella Donna, Nicks's breakthrough solo album (little more than poor quality home video footage of the recording sessions.) The commentary is very insightful and informative but the featurette could have used some remastering (although the cost was likely prohibitive.)

No, Crystal Visions isn't just for die-hard fans of Stevie Nicks. There's some milestone moments in recent rock-n-roll history on this album. But if you already have Timespace, then you should think twice about buying this album.

sparky

04-09-2007, 04:02 PM

What should be the crowning achievement of this album is the live version of "Edge of Seventeen" with the Melbourne Symphony but the song never reaches its full potential. Already, "Edge of Seventeen" is one of the album's strongest songs, and to hear it with full brass and string accompaniment should be an absolute pleasure, but the performance starts slowly, with the symphony hardly noticeable, marked only by a thundering bass line. But clocking in at a whopping nine minutes - also twice as long as the studio version - the song has plenty of time to build, and around the time the violins chime in, you really start feeling the potential of the song. The song builds to its ultimate cressendo, but you never really feel the layers adding on, one by one. You're just left wishing that the whole symphony was present from the beginning.

WORD.

That is a fair review. All of it.

Phoenix

04-09-2007, 04:47 PM

WORD.

That is a fair review. All of it.

THat was a fair review,especially the part about edge. but
I dissagree with the "all of it". THis portion especially....
"Planets of the Universe" and "Sorcerer" add nothing to the CD, serving only to remind us that Nicks fashions herself something of a witch (really!) with a sense for the occult. From all the songs Nicks has performed with Fleetwood Mac, "Silver Springs" is an unusual choice to add to this album, but at least it's not alone. The techno remix of "Dreams" is an utter disgrace. The live cover of "Rhiannon" starts off somewhat frightening. The slow start with Nicks accompanied only by a piano makes you question Nicks's ability to sing without heavy studio production... but then the bass and guitars start up and you're as relieved as everyone in the crowd. Finally, "Landslide" is a necessity given its recent popularity after it was covered by the Dixie Chicks.

Nicks fashions herself something of a witch (really!)
as stevie says...GET A LIFE
"Dreams" is an utter disgrace
according to who> :rolleyes:
and you're as relieved as everyone in the crowd
hey buddy... SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
it was covered by the Dixie Chicks.
ahh yes, "the dixie chicks" do add instant credibility:rolleyes:
"Planets of the Universe" and "Sorcerer" add nothing to the CD
he said shes done nothing since 91' these two songs alone prove him wrong
"Silver Springs" is an unusual choice to add to this album
uhh, not really. that is if you know anything about Stevie Nicks, which this reviewer doesn't seem too.
but he does complain twice that "whole lotta trouble" is not on the cd...
...again, I say...:rolleyes:

sparky

04-09-2007, 05:34 PM

Nicks fashions herself something of a witch (really!)

That was a silly comment.

"Dreams" is an utter disgrace
according to who> :rolleyes:

To anyone who hates bad gay disco remixes, probably. I think it is silly, but fun.
and you're as relieved as everyone in the crowd
hey buddy... SPEAK FOR YOURSELF

I'm relieved when it is over and I have returned from peeing. Actually I will listen to the intro, then leave. He was nicer than I would be about it. If the word disgrace is gonna be used, it would go for the present day live Rhiannon performances. The Today show version was interesting at least, however.
it was covered by the Dixie Chicks.
ahh yes, "the dixie chicks" do add instant credibility:rolleyes:

I think he means it was a huge hit single for them, which it never was for her. Historically it makes sense to include it, on that count.

"Planets of the Universe" and "Sorcerer" add nothing to the CD
he said shes done nothing since 91' these two songs alone prove him wrong

They weren't hit singles, but he obviously doesn't think they are good songs regardless.

"Silver Springs" is an unusual choice to add to this album
uhh, not really. that is if you know anything about Stevie Nicks, which this reviewer doesn't seem too.

I think it is a horrific choice. This is a solo package. No Mac songs should have been included.

but he does complain twice that "whole lotta trouble" is not on the cd...
...again, I say...:rolleyes:

That's questionable taste, to be sure.

strandinthewind

04-09-2007, 05:40 PM

I think she grossly underutilized the symphony on EO17. But, such is life and I like the reording.

foxyluva

04-09-2007, 05:41 PM

In the 80's, Nicks was a major player in the music industry. Her duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather And Lace") are testament to her standing during that era. And her contributions to Fleetwood Mac cannot be questioned. But her output since then has been sparse and unremarkable.

I have three words for this idiot. Trouble in Shangri-La. That is all.

carrie721

04-09-2007, 05:45 PM

That's questionable taste, to be sure.

i love WLT. :D

I have three words for this idiot. Trouble in Shangri-La. That is all.

i would call that 4 words.

:D

of course, maybe with the NZ conversion it's different. :D

i love youuuu

foxyluva

04-09-2007, 05:48 PM

i would call that 4 words.

:D

of course, maybe with the NZ conversion it's different. :D

i love youuuu

I couldn't figure out if it was 3 or 4 - but Im pretty sure shangri-la is one word :p :D

i love you too

sparky

04-09-2007, 05:49 PM

i love WLT. :D

I have SO many questions. About Ohio and about loonys, as only Carrie can explain it to me.
I have one request for you: A Carrie version of the song, but with the title "Whole Lotta Rehab."

If you sing it I will write the lyrics.

carrie721

04-09-2007, 05:58 PM

I have SO many questions. About Ohio and about loonys, as only Carrie can explain it to me.
I have one request for you: A Carrie version of the song, but with the title "Whole Lotta Rehab."

If you sing it I will write the lyrics.

OMG. i will ABSOLUTELY do it. like you even had to ask.

well this could be a whole lotta conshohocken.

sparky

04-09-2007, 07:05 PM

OMG. i will ABSOLUTELY do it. like you even had to ask.

well this could be a whole lotta conshohocken.

I will commence work on the lyrics when I get home tonight.

PenguinHead

04-09-2007, 07:11 PM

I'm surprised by the utter disdain some people have for the Dreams remix. Granted I'm no fan of techno dance music -- I find it tedious, vacant and souless, and it has a limited shelve life. Yet, as one reviewer mentioned, it did give Dreams a facelift. And more importantly, it brought Stevie into the clubs, where her music is rarely played. It gave the Crystal Visions compilation added value -- it would have been tedium if she just plucked the original version on the collection. And it made her current again --something she really needs.

Most dance music has the vacuous, cliched and recycled lyrics of no-name artists. Dreams is a solid classic, and I give credit for Stevie making the effort to re-record the vocals. Every time I heard it I was not sure if it was the original vocal or not. It just goes to show you that she still has that voice -- and she can still hit the high notes when she wants to.

AliceLover

04-09-2007, 07:27 PM

Phoenix

04-10-2007, 12:21 PM

That was a silly comment.

To anyone who hates bad gay disco remixes, probably. I think it is silly, but fun.

I'm relieved when it is over and I have returned from peeing. Actually I will listen to the intro, then leave. He was nicer than I would be about it. If the word disgrace is gonna be used, it would go for the present day live Rhiannon performances. The Today show version was interesting at least, however.

I think he means it was a huge hit single for them, which it never was for her. Historically it makes sense to include it, on that count.

They weren't hit singles, but he obviously doesn't think they are good songs regardless.

I think it is a horrific choice. This is a solo package. No Mac songs should have been included.

That's questionable taste, to be sure.

NOW! i compleetley agree.:thumbsup: sheesh, that guy shouls pay you to translate his articles.:lol:

skcin

04-10-2007, 03:29 PM

This says absolutely nothing of substance. But I found it in the university paper here, and that's what I found hilarious:

Crystal Visions…The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
AIDAN KEAVENEY - Staff Writer

In her remarkable career, Stevie Nicks has gone multi-platinum, produced over twenty Top 40 hits, won multiple Grammy awards, and in 1998 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Reprise Records newest release "Crystal Visions...The Very Best of Stevie Nicks" is a compilation CD that features her biggest hits as well as some previously unreleased and live recordings.

In 1991 Modern Records released "Timespace," another Stevie

Nicks compilation. Unlike its predecessor, "Crystal Visions" features Fleetwood Mac songs, as well as songs from Stevie's long career as a solo artist.

The album is a sixteen song collection that features early hits like "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," in addition to some of Nicks' more recent work, like her 2001 duet with Sheryl Crow "Sorcerer."

The standout tracks on the album are the previously unreleased live versions of "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen," which were recorded in Australia with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The 104-member orchestra complements Stevie Nick's voice, offering a mellower rendition of the classics.

Also intriguing is the Deep Dish dance cover of Fleetwood Mac's hit song "Dreams," for which Stevie re-recorded the vocals, and "Silver Springs," the original B-side of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way."

This album represents the scope and range of Stevie Nicks, highlighting her success with Fleetwood Mac as well as her achievements as a solo artist and duet partner.

Livia

04-11-2007, 06:11 AM

http://www.ifmagazine.com/review.asp?article=1721 (I love the last sentence)

Review: CRYSTAL VISIONS: THE VERY BEST OF STEVIE NICKS

The good witch of hard rock gets another best of treatment and it's a treasure trove for die-hard fans
Grade: A-
Artist(s): Stevie Nicks
Label: Reprise Records
Suggested Retail Price: $24.98

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By CARL CORTEZ, Contributing Editor
Published 4/11/2007

At a certain point, the record industry might stop repurposing their artists catalogs with brand-new "Best Of's," "Millennium Editions," "Super Special Mini-Collections" and so on, but hopefully if they’re going to continue this practice, they make it worthwhile for die-hard fans.

CRYSTAL VISIONS: THE VERY BEST OF STEVIE NICKS is a perfect example of an artist taking pride in reissuing their material yet again to savvy fan base. Although her last true "Best Of" was 1991’s TIMESPACE, and 1998 saw the release of the box set ENCHANTED, Nicks has only released two official solo albums in the interim (not counting her work with Fleetwood Mac), which doesn’t give a whole heck of a lot to add to the mix of what was already there back in 1991.

Yet surprisingly, this set is very cohesive, featuring not only recent live versions of some of her top hits, but also including several signature Fleetwood Mac tracks to offer up a true 16-song encapsulation of who Stevie Nicks is as an artist.

All the hits are here, from "Edge of Seventeen," "Stand Back," "If Anyone Falls" and "Talk To Me," mixed with two of her most popular duets "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" (with Tom Petty) and "Leather and Lace" (with Don Henley). Her time with Fleetwood Mac is represented by the tracks "Silver Springs," a pretty groovy techno remix from the group Deep Dish of "Dreams" (which features brand new vocals from Nicks), a live recording of "Rhiannon" and an awesome live recording of "Landslide" with the Melbourne Symphony. She even throws in an obligatory cover, a live version of Led Zeppelin’s "Rock and Roll" that does truly rock. Although there were some great songs from 1994’s underrated STREET ANGEL, no tracks from that disc are represented, while only "Rooms On Fire" from 1989’s THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR gets disc-time.

Even more illuminating are the songs from her 2001 release TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA. "Sorcerer" and "Planets of the Universe" may be some of her recent recordings, but as the liner notes point out, they were written back in the ‘70s where she first began her colossal climb to rock goddess stature and which totally adds to the cohesive nature to the sound and style of the songs picked for this collection.

CRYSTAL VISIONS is released in both single CD set and a double disc CD/DVD package, but the latter is the one to buy since it compiles all of Nicks’ music videos starting in the '80s with "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" and finishing up to the present with "Sorcerer." Even cooler are the honest audio commentaries from Nicks’ about the making of the videos and the quality of the video themselves. She also talks condidly about her drug addiction and how she came very close to losing her life, but found her way out of the darkness to sing another day.

Another interesting thing about this retrospective is to see how little Nicks has changed over the years. She's always maintained her mystique, style and solid musicianship during the radically changing musical landscape throughout the decades and she's ALWAYS looked fantastic even when her weight tended to fluctuate up and down.

Also included on the DVD are personal behind-the-scenes video during the making of her first solo album BELLA DONNA which gives insight into those legendary sessions.

With a nice booklet filled with photos throughout her career, CRYSTAL VISIONS bucks the trend of thread-bare "Best Of" compilations and gives something meaty to fans as they wait for an album of new material from Nicks. It’s also a reminder of what a potent musical force she’s been over the decades and how her signature singing style has never wavered through the good and bad times. And to think, she didn’t have to have two kids with a deadbeat husband and shave her head in public to prove it either.

strandinthewind

04-11-2007, 08:29 AM

. . . And to think, she didn’t have to have two kids with a deadbeat husband and shave her head in public to prove it either.

OMG :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

thanks, as always, for posting!

Livia

04-12-2007, 08:15 PM

04/12/07
The Goddess Of Rock Releases 'Crystal Visions... The Very Best Of Stevie Nicks' CD/DVD

The voice and songwriting talent of Stevie Nicks as a solo artist as well as a member of Fleetwood Mac is truly the stuff of legend. Indisputably one of the most successful female artists in rock history, Nicks' extraordinary career includes multiple Grammy awards, numerous gold and platinum records, induction into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and unforgettable performances across the stages of the world for over three decades.

From her unforgettable Fleetwood Mac classics including "Landslide", "Dreams" and "Rhiannon" to the release of her five times platinum solo Bella Donna and her most memorable songs such as "Edge of Seventeen" and "Stand Back," Stevie Nicks is unique among the pantheon of rock icons. Her Trouble in Shangri-La CD returned Ms. Nicks to the top of the charts and a box set career retrospective, Enchanted reflected the breadth of her tremendous talents.

Nicks' new release, Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks was released on March 27 on Reprise Records. The mega-star is slated to tour the country late Spring and Summer. Stevie Nicks is the embodiment of the transcendent power of music.

Highlights:
-Live performances of "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen" recorded with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
-Classic hits including "Stand Back", Leather and Lace" with Don Henley, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" with Tom Petty, "Sorcerer" with Sheryl Crow, "If Anyone Falls In Love"
-Live version of "Rhiannon"
-Knock-out live version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll"
-Deep Dish dance remix of "Dreams"
-"Silver Springs" from the original master of rumors - a cult favorite and originally the "B" side of "Go Your Own Way"

The DVD Component:
- 13 Stevie videos with voice-over commentary by Stevie Nicks
- Never before seen home video filmed during the making of five-times platinum "Bella Donna" album
- Original Nicks art work, photographs and personal pictures and liner notes written by Stevie for every track on CD.

Enter Here To Win A Signed Stevie Nicks Poster!
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/04/12/the_goddess_of_rock_releases_crystal_vis

Tracklisting:
CD (16 tracks)
1. Edge of Seventeen 5:29
2. I Can't Wait 4:36
3. Sorcerer 4:55
4. If Anyone Falls In Love 4:07
5. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (with Tom Petty) 4:03
6. Silver Springs (with Fleetwood Mac) 4:46
7. Dreams (with Deep Dish) 3:47
8. Rhiannon (Live) 7:02
9. Rooms On Fire 4:35
10. Talk To Me 4:10
11. Landslide (Live with The Melbourne Symphony) 4:14
12. Stand Back 4:48
13. Planets Of The Universe 4:46
14. Rock And Roll (Live) 4:03
15. Leather And Lace (with Don Henley) 3:55
16. Edge Of Seventeen (Live with The Melbourne Symphony) 9:12

DVD (13 tracks):
1. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (with Tom Petty)
2. Edge Of Seventeen
3. Stand Back (Scarlett Version)
4. Stand Back
5. If Anyone Falls In Love
6. Talk To Me
7. I Can't Wait
8. Rooms On Fire
9. Whole Lotta Trouble
10. Sometimes It's A Bitch
11. Blue Denim
12. Every Day
13. Sorcerer (with Sheryl Crow)

Also includes video commentary by Stevie on all videos and over 30 mins of never-before-seen home video of the Bella Donna recording sessions and personal behind-the-scenes footage.

Package includes 20 page booklet with photos and liner notes written by Stevie for every track on CD.

MacMan

04-14-2007, 07:46 AM

By Jeff Swindoll Apr 13, 2007, 17:05 GMT
http://music.monstersandcritics.com/reviews/article_1291069.php/Album_Review_Stevie_Nicks_%96_%91Crystal_Visions_-_The_Very_Best_of_Stevie_Nicks%92__CD_DVD_

First off, Stevie Nicks is not a witch…she just dresses like one. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way (so that she won’t turn me into a newt), Warner Brothers and Reprise records bring out this excellent collection of songs and puts on some great bonus material sure to please the fans.

Nicks first came to fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac and is one of the few artists who has a dual career as a band member that also has a thriving solo career (Mick Jagger springs to mind as well). The first disc is a 16 track compilation of her solo hits, including “Edge of Seventeen.”

It also includes “Silver Springs (with Fleetwood Mac),” “Stop Draggin’ my Heart Around (with Tom Petty),” “Dreams (with Deep Dish),” “Leather and Lace (with Don Henley),” and live performances of “Landside,” “Edge of Seventeen” (both with the Melbourne Symphony), “Rhiannon,” and “Rock and Roll (the Led Zepplin song).” If those tunes were not enough there’s a DVD full of bonus material.

The DVD has over an hour of music videos that include commentary on each one from Nicks. There’s also a 30-minute “making of” feature about making her first solo album “Bella Donna.” The video is pretty crappy VHS quality but is welcome nevertheless to catch a glimpse of Nicks at work on the album.

A great set for her fans or just the casual listener wanting an “instant” Stevie Nicks collection.

‘Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks’ (CD/DVD) is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information.

MacMan

04-16-2007, 01:32 PM

Nicks croons '80s best with 'Crystal Visions'
http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/16/Scene/Nicks.Croons.80s.Best.With.crystal.Visions-2842668.shtml

Self-billed as the most successful woman in rock 'n' roll history, Stevie Nicks has roller-coastered through a career with rock legends Fleetwood Mac and ventured out on her own to a very successful solo career. With the recently released "Crystal Visions," Nicks comprises the highs - and lows - of her musical history. She joins with musical greats Tom Petty, Don Henley and former bandmates Fleetwood Mac on this mostly stellar, sometimes mediocre album.

Opening with the hit "Edge of Seventeen," Nicks holds nothing back with her most famous of songs. Crooning in perfect '80s rock style about the white wing dove, Nicks realizes what teenagedom was about. Remade famous by Joan Cusack's impromptu signing in "School of Rock," this '80s ballad will always remain iconic.

The heavy chords of "I Can't Wait" keep the rock juices pumping with some edgy and flamboyant guitars that match perfectly to the techno beats in the background. The '80s are encapsulated in this rock/techno jam that will make any child of that blessed decade yearn for a comeback of John Hughes, Bon Jovi and Van Halen. Nicks roughs up her voice and weaves through the guitar solos showing why this song was an instant classic.

Following the one-two punch that "Edge of Seventeen" and 'I Can't Wait" make up, she brings in rock legend Tom Petty to help on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." This is one of the weaker songs on the album because it can't decide if it wants to be a Petty or Nicks song. It tries to be both, but doesn't do either very well. Petty's guitar is prominent and it tunes up a fairly decent rhythm. But the chorus transitions into an '80s riff more akin to Nicks. The dichotomy between the two parts doesn't fit and brings down a song that could have been great.

What didn't work with Tom Petty works marvelously well with Don Henley on one of the closing tracks, "Leather and Lace." This track delves into Nicks's folk side while not ignoring her rock side. Nicks sings in a very competent country style that listens to country greats before the pop revolution that is now overtaking the genre came into effect. Don Henley's calm yet moving guitars complement Nicks perfectly. As do the sections when Henley exercises his soothingly edgy voice that wouldn't normally seem at home amongst a folk song.

The album closes with a live version of "Edge of Seventeen" that rocks harder than the studio version. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra plays alongside Nicks that is far more a successful combination that it would seem. The orchestra sound next to the electric guitar brings memories of Metallica's foray into orchestra rock. Obviously not the same, this version still brings some rock power next to a equally powerful strings section.

All in all, this album is for any Nicks fan - her career is very well summed up in this good compilation. Eighties rock is still alive and well with the edgy Nicks, and as long as people still remember what "The Breakfast Club" was all about, Nicks will still have a relevant place in the American music scene. Where more music has gone the way of the pop talent eraser, Nicks holds nothing back and puts violins next to her big hair.

Livia

04-18-2007, 04:51 PM

http://www.edgenewengland.com/index.php?ci=&ch=entertainment&sc=music&sc2=reviews&sc3=cd&id=6269

"Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks" by Stevie Nicks
by Rick Dunn
EDGE Community Editor
Wednesday Apr 18, 2007

All that twirling has clearly paid off, because Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks - arguably the most prolific, and certainly one of the most influential women in rock music - has successfully maintained parallel careers as a big time solo artist and as a member of a big time band. Other charismatic, iconic performers have tried, but none other than Nicks have managed to pull-off con-current careers.

As one of Mac’s three singer/songwriters, Nicks was only able to contribute three or four songs per album, leaving her with a wealth of unrecorded material. In 1981, while FM was taking a break following an arduous world tour, she released her first smash solo album, Belladonna, which hit number one and featured four Top 40 singles. In ’82, FM released Mirage featuring her smash, Gypsy. The following year, Nicks issued another smash solo disc, The Wild Heart, featuring Stand Back. This release cycle continues to this day, although there’s a much greater gap between CD releases, even though both she and the band continue to tour aggressively.

Her output as a solo artist and as a member of Fleetwood Mac are so intertwined that she’s always struggled to assemble an appropriate greatest hits disc. Contractual issues prevent the inclusion of original FM recordings, but for Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, she’s found a compromise that permits the inclusion of a handful of her signature Fleetwood compositions. She’s included newly recorded live versions of Rhiannon and Landslide, which features the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She’s swapped out the Fleetwood Mac version of the number one hit Dreams, with Deep Dish’s dance-inflected cover version with re-recorded vocals.

One Mac recording is included - the original version of Silver Springs, which was cut from the band’s biggest seller, Rumors. Ten years ago, a live version was a hit for the band, but the original is equally riveting.

Most of her top 40 solo hits are accounted for, including Edge of Seventeen, Stand Back, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, Leather & Lace, Talk to Me, Rooms on Fire, I Can’t Wait, If Anyone Falls, and there’s an additional, epic live version of Edge of Seventeen with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Crystal Visions is available as a single CD or as CD/DVD package. The DVD contains 13 music videos, including a clunky Civil War-themed video for Stand Back that was shelved. Nicks provides illuminating, and sometimes hilarious, commentary for every video. The real revelation is an unreleased, 30-minute home video documenting the recording of Belladonna. Unconcerned with the superficial and equally unaware of an upstart MTV, there’s something remarkably pure about this footage. It’s a testament to her dedication and evidence of her enduring appeal.

Available as single disc or CD/DVD package.
Reprise Records

Rick Dunn’s writing has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Windy City Times, Washington Blade and Bay Windows. He is a member of Ryan Landry’s Gold Dust Orphans theatrical troupe. He was the editor of in newsweekly from 1996 to 2003.

Livia

04-19-2007, 11:28 PM

http://www.dvdinmypants.com/hotpants/sub/music/crystal_visions_snicks.php

There's a contest to win a copy: http://www.dvdinmypants.com/hotpants/sub/contests/stevie.php

Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
By Cary Christopher

As a music geek, Stevie Nicks has always been an artist I had very mixed feelings about. Her contributions to Fleetwood Mac are without a doubt masterful. Artistically, she brought an element to the band that resonates in their catalog to this day. Emotionally, she was oneof the catalysts in that band creating their masterpiece Rumors album. On her own though, Stevie Nicks has been one of those artists that seemed to walk a fine line just this side of parody. All of the lace, candles and gypsy imagery just begs a sarcastic son of a bitch like me to take potshots at her.

So, reviewing Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks is an interesting endeavor. The set contains one audio CD and one DVD. The CD track listing immediately made me dread putting it in because about a third of the songs on here are not the popular versions once played on your favorite radio station. They are instead alternate mixes ("Dreams" club mix) or live versions ("Landslide", "Rhianon", etc.). That's not surprising when you actually separate the Fleetwood Mac hits from Nicks' solo career and realize how few she actually has that she can call a "Stevie Nicks hit". That's not to say she hasn't written great songs. It's just saying that buying a CD called The Very Best of Stevie Nicks which focused only on her solo career would be underwhelming for casual fans.

And that is where the problem with this disc lies. The live and alternate versions of the Fleetwood Mac hits on this CD aren't nearly as good as their originals. Additionally, the live version of her covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" is flat when you compare it to Heart's version. As for the hits on here that are hers, many suffer from the sound of the times. For example, the big 80s drums and keyboards on "Stand Back", "Talk To Me" and "If Anyone Falls" are almost cringe inducing now. "Leather and Lace" has become cliché as it's so overplayed on adult contemporary radio. Of all the songs on here, the only two that hit me just as hard as when I first heard them are "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "Edge of Seventeen" (the studio version, not the live symphony version also included here).

Still, if you are buying this set, chances are you are already a huge fan and getting those alternate versions will be a boost to your personal Stevie Nicks collection. You know, the group of CDs you keep on a separate shelf, sitting on a crocheted doily, surrounded by deep crimson candles and guarded by your cat.

That said, let's move on to the DVD because really, that's where the meat on this collection is. The DVD contains every single video from Nicks' solo career and while that's reason enough for a fan to buy it, each video also comes with commentary by Stevie Nicks herself. That's huge. Nicks talks pretty candidly about each one, beginning with "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" where she rightly points out how poorly she's lip syncing. In fact, she barely knew the song when they were filming and if you watch, there are moments when she's not even mouthing the right words. It's pretty funny. Her sense of humor is pretty good on most of these. At the same time, she shares some pretty personal moments about songs like "Edge of Seventeen" (she was in tears from stagefright before the show) and "If Anyone Falls". She comes off as warm and open and while she doesn't really address anything on a "Behind the Music" level, she doesn't seem to shy away from anything either.

Additionally, the DVD contains home movie footage of the recording of Bella Donna (Nicks' first solo album). The quality is pretty awful but there are some truly funny and enlightening moments on here that give you a good glimpse of how Nicks works in the studio.

Finally, I can't wrap up this review without mentioning the packaging. The set comes with a booklet where Nicks has written notes for each of the songs on the CD and included personal photographs with many of the musicians who accompanied her. The notes are going to be great for fans and do add some insight into where she was when she wrote each song and where she is now in comparison.

All in all, it's easy to take this set and say, "Well, it's not really the best of Stevie Nicks" but I'd venture to say that's not the point. The point was to give her fans something that truly said, "Thank you" for years of support. In that regard, Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks is a fine collection.

3.5

Johnny Stew

04-22-2007, 03:50 PM

This is from one of my favorite websites -- MusicTAP (http://www.musictap.net/).
I especially love that last sentence. :thumbsup:
_______________________________________________________________________

Stevie Nicks
Crystal Visions...
The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
4 (out of 5) Stars

Reviewed by - Matt Rowe

From Stevie Nicks’ beginnings with her as-yet-unreleased-on-CD, Buckingham/Nicks duet recording to her eventual introduction, with Lindsay Buckingham, into a re-re-revitalizing Fleetwood Mac (resulting in the band’s most popular incarnation) to her successful solo career, she has mesmerized a wide audience with her gypsy-like presentation. After the disruption of the Fleetwood Mac parade (before her current rejoining), Ms Nicks knew how to take much of her unrecorded writings to the next stage, and, along with a myriad of followers from her Fleetwood Mac days, turn them into music demanding to be heard.

Crystal Visions is a recently released collection of the best that came from her solo work as well as her penned Fleetwood Mac b-side, “Silver Springs” and a few live recordings and a remix. Crystal Visions is an excellent revue of her work although I have to admit surprise that she didn’t tease fans with a cut from the highly coveted Buckingham/Nicks album. The contrast between her 1991 ‘best of’, the Modern Records/Atlantic issue of Timespace with its 14 tracks and this new Crystal Visions compilation with its 16 tracks and a DVD of 13 videos, is a lot of included songs – you’ll find 6 songs on Timespace not on Crystal Visions and 7 on Crystal Visions not on Timespace. It may have been to avoid extreme replication or it is a rethink of what were really ‘best’ cuts from here career. Regardless, both sets offer a sincere overview of Stevie Nicks with Crystal Visions doing the better job because of the wider career sweep and the added DVD. Both sets provide Nicks commentaries on the songs contained therein.

The real deal on this set is the DVD with the videos that add to the luxury of this special Edition collection. A few of the songs on Crystal Visions (“Landslide,” “Edge of Seventeen”) are live, a practice that I detest when they replace the original in a compiled ‘best of.’ I like live inclusions but only if they are added as the best live cut of an original in addition to the original - fortunately done here with "Edge of Seventeen." There are a few other live cuts including a very good version of Led Zeppelin’s classic “Rock and Roll” that works very well.

All in all, Crystal Visions…The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, is a very good overview of what Stevie Nicks has produced. With live tracks, originals, videos, and an excellent booklet with commentaries, Crystal Visions represents.

I recommend her excellent 1985 Modern Records/Atlantic release of Rock a Little, of which 2 of her big hits, (“I Can’t Wait,” “Talk to Me”) are inevitable inclusions on any collected set.

Copyright © 2002-2006 Matthew Rowe.

AliceLover

04-22-2007, 08:23 PM

This is from one of my favorite websites -- MusicTAP (http://www.musictap.net/).
I especially love that last sentence. :thumbsup:
_______________________________________________________________________

Stevie Nicks
Crystal Visions...
The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
4 (out of 5) Stars

Reviewed by - Matt Rowe

From Stevie Nicks’ beginnings with her as-yet-unreleased-on-CD, Buckingham/Nicks duet recording to her eventual introduction, with Lindsay Buckingham, into a re-re-revitalizing Fleetwood Mac (resulting in the band’s most popular incarnation) to her successful solo career, she has mesmerized a wide audience with her gypsy-like presentation. After the disruption of the Fleetwood Mac parade (before her current rejoining), Ms Nicks knew how to take much of her unrecorded writings to the next stage, and, along with a myriad of followers from her Fleetwood Mac days, turn them into music demanding to be heard.

Crystal Visions is a recently released collection of the best that came from her solo work as well as her penned Fleetwood Mac b-side, “Silver Springs” and a few live recordings and a remix. Crystal Visions is an excellent revue of her work although I have to admit surprise that she didn’t tease fans with a cut from the highly coveted Buckingham/Nicks album. The contrast between her 1991 ‘best of’, the Modern Records/Atlantic issue of Timespace with its 14 tracks and this new Crystal Visions compilation with its 16 tracks and a DVD of 13 videos, is a lot of included songs – you’ll find 6 songs on Timespace not on Crystal Visions and 7 on Crystal Visions not on Timespace. It may have been to avoid extreme replication or it is a rethink of what were really ‘best’ cuts from here career. Regardless, both sets offer a sincere overview of Stevie Nicks with Crystal Visions doing the better job because of the wider career sweep and the added DVD. Both sets provide Nicks commentaries on the songs contained therein.

The real deal on this set is the DVD with the videos that add to the luxury of this special Edition collection. A few of the songs on Crystal Visions (“Landslide,” “Edge of Seventeen”) are live, a practice that I detest when they replace the original in a compiled ‘best of.’ I like live inclusions but only if they are added as the best live cut of an original in addition to the original - fortunately done here with "Edge of Seventeen." There are a few other live cuts including a very good version of Led Zeppelin’s classic “Rock and Roll” that works very well.
All in all, Crystal Visions…The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, is a very good overview of what Stevie Nicks has produced. With live tracks, originals, videos, and an excellent booklet with commentaries, Crystal Visions represents.

I recommend her excellent 1985 Modern Records/Atlantic release of Rock a Little, of which 2 of her big hits, (“I Can’t Wait,” “Talk to Me”) are inevitable inclusions on any collected set.

Copyright © 2002-2006 Matthew Rowe.

OMG all the reviewers say this. If the album versions of Dreams, Rhiannon, and Landslide were on this collection I would VOMIT. Thank god that didn't happen.

Livia

05-03-2007, 10:23 AM

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=12&screen=news&news_id=55980

Stevie Nicks
The Very Best Of Stevie Nicks
(Reprise)

Stevie Nicks has enjoyed a consistently stellar solo career outside the Fleetwood Mac armada, proving both a delightful and stylish vocalist and excellent songwriter whose music has been embraced by pop, rock and country fans. Though some of the tunes included in this extensive collection date back more than 30 years, they haven’t lost their lure, and Nicks’ voice seems even more appealing when hearing them again.

Among the many highlights are the vulnerability and sadness displayed in her rendition of “Edge of Seventeen,” the alluring “Sorcerer” that paired her with Sheryl Crow and the spirited “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” duet with Tom Petty, plus the more lyrically ambitious “Rhiannon” and “Rock and Roll,” her Led Zeppelin tribute number.

There’s also a previously unreleased live version of “Landslide,” and several other numbers that have made Stevie Nicks a longtime fan favorite.

kathy1

05-07-2007, 12:46 PM

i love the crystal visions cd/dvd. i love some of the behind the scenes things.

SpyNote

05-07-2007, 03:43 PM

Livia

05-14-2007, 07:43 PM

http://www.music-critic.ca/wp/2007/stevie-nicks-crystal-visions-very-best-of/

Stevie Nicks - Crystal Visions … Very Best Of review at music-critic.ca Rating: 4/5
Released: March 27, 2007
Reviewer: Tyrone Castanho

I can remember being six or seven years old, all hopped up on punk and ‘80s metal, when my mom threw on a belting Stevie Nicks vocal track from her younger days. Don’t ask me why parents endeavour to force their kids to embrace the music of their time, but I’m thankful for the Fleetwood Mac exposure. Stevie Nicks’ haunting grasp of poetry has led to rumours of witchcraft, but her unique ability to maintain a cutting edge career as both a solo and band artist are what truly capture listeners.

Crystal Visions is a compilation album that spans the majority of her solo career with remastered sound and clarity monitored by Nicks herself and various production partners such as Sheryl Crow, John Shanks, and Jimmy Iovine. ‘Edge of Seventeen’ opens the album and some fans may recognize the opening guitar riff from the Destiny’s Child track ‘Bootylicious,’ further reinforcing the relevance of Nicks’ music for the contemporary listener. It’s no surprise, considering her work with long-time friend Waddy Wachtel has produced numerous memorable songs, including ‘Landslide.’

Her grassroots influence shines through on ‘Sorcerer,’ a song that exudes the southern state atmosphere of her Arizona background with expert guitar work and vocals. Of course, for some of us, you’ll wonder why there has been no mention of ‘I Can’t Wait’; the truth is, the song speaks for itself and needs no hyperbolic support considering the vocal track was performed once and once only. With talent at hand like that, the breadth of her work knows no bounds.

The album chases you with every direction it takes with some trance-dance worthy instrumentals. Honourable mentions go to ‘Silver Springs’ with its great Fleetwood Mac feature, ‘Dreams’ and the highlight, a cover of ‘Rock and Roll’ by Led Zeppelin.

Livia

05-16-2007, 01:13 PM

Stevie Nicks: Dreams Unwound

[16 May 2007]

Alternately revered and ridiculed, Stevie Nicks has impacted an entire generation of artists with her bewitching tales and stirring stage theatrics. Crystal Visions traces the tangled web of her solo career.
by Christian John Wikane

Onstage with Fleetwood Mac during the ‘70s, the sylphlike Stevie Nicks would introduce “Rhiannon” with the explanation, “This is a story about a Welsh witch”. She became so possessed by her tale about a woman “taken by the wind” that the singer and the song appeared to become one. “Dreams unwind / love’s a state of mind”, she’d scream and shout into the microphone, arms flailing at her side in black chiffon. Ever since, Nicks has remained one of rock’s most mysterious figures, alternately celebrated and vilified, revered and ridiculed. Her impact on an entire generation of artists—from Hole to the Dixie Chicks—has been far-reaching, yet she’s not generally considered a “serious” songwriter by the male-dominated rock-critic elite. Borrowing its title from a phrase in Nicks’s “Dreams”, number one single from Rumours, the recent two-disc set Crystal Visions neatly defines an artist whose career has been a web of tears and triumphs.

Success almost escaped Stevie Nicks. The failure of Polydor Records to successfully market Buckingham Nicks in 1973 almost extinguished the career prospects of Nicks and her musical/romantic partner, Lindsey Buckingham. A phone call from Mick Fleetwood, the nerve center of Fleetwood Mac, saved the duo from obscurity. Their slightly left-of-center pop deftly rounded-out Fleetwood Mac’s blues-based rock and gave the band its first number-one album in the U.S., Fleetwood Mac (1975). The exquisitely produced, air-conditioned pop-rock of such songs as “Monday Morning”, “Say You Love Me”, and, of course, “Rhiannon”, were emblematic of the mid-’70s Southern California music scene. Though the band would eventually sell 19 million copies of the follow-up, Rumours, (1977), Stevie Nicks was not happy.

Crystal Visions
(Reprise / Wea; US: 27 Mar 2007)
PopShop
Amazon
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As one-fifth of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks was limited to an average of three songs an album, which made her bewitching tales of gold dust women and birds in flight seem almost apocryphal. Though the striking balance of Nicks, Buckingham, and Christine McVie’s vastly different styles accounted for Fleetwood Mac’s blockbuster success, Nicks was undeterred in seeking another outlet for her songs. With the support of industry allies like Paul Fishkin and Danny Goldberg, she embarked on a solo career soon after Fleetwood Mac released Tusk in 1979.

Anyone who stepped foot in a record store in 1981 knows the cover image for Nicks’ first solo album, Bella Donna: The singer was draped in white chiffon, standing tall against a midnight blue background in her platform boots and crushed legwarmers with a parrot perched on her hand. In the foreground sat a crystal ball centered inside a tambourine beneath a trinity of long-stemmed white roses. The puzzling arrangement of objects seemed remnants of some sort of nocturnal ritual by which Nicks became a separate entity from Fleetwood Mac.

Fresh from recording with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jimmy Iovine presided over the production for Bella Donna and infused Nicks’ songs with a streamlined rock edge. Petty contributed “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and former flame Don Henley lent his voice to “Leather and Lace”, a song Nicks had written several years earlier for Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings. It was “Edge of Seventeen”, though, that best translated the dark and lovely visual cues of the cover image into music: Nicks looked like the “white-winged dove” she sang about, while Waddy Wachtel’s agitated guitar riff furiously flapped along with her strident voice. Like burnt honey, Nicks invoked an otherworldly growl at the song’s climax. Twenty-six years later, “Edge of Seventeen” remains the definitive Stevie Nicks song, full of elliptical lyrics and images of clouds, rain, and night birds. No wonder it opens and closes Crystal Visions.

Unfortunately, time has not been kind to the bulk of Stevie Nicks’s solo catalog, which is crucial to understanding the song selection on Crystal Visions. Without question, the bookends of her solo work, Bella Donna and Trouble in Shangri-La (2001), have fared the best. Both are made up of songs Nicks wrote long before they were recorded and were chosen from a larger library of songs to give the records a thematic unity. The Wild Heart (1983), Rock a Little (1985), The Other Side of the Mirror (1989), and Street Angel (1994), however, represent a decade-long decline in artistic and musical quality and are easy targets for Nicks’s detractors. As is well known, Nicks battled addictions to cocaine and prescription drugs throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s. She was not in excellent form, writing songs that were clumsy and impenetrable while relying on the songs of others to score hits (e.g. “Talk to Me"). Tellingly, only a third of Crystal Visions is culled from those four albums, which mercifully obviates the task of hearing Nicks struggle.

The few gems from Nicks’s down period that made the cut for Crystal Visions are each accompanied by a music video on the DVD portion of the set. Nicks began making videos when MTV was still in its infancy and risible high-concept clips dominated the airwaves. Crystal Visions is a veritable encyclopedia of these. The most iconic of the bunch is “Stand Back”, a song from The Wild Heart that was structured after the chord pattern of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”. The video is a dusky pastiche of early ‘80s MTV clichés, immortalized by Nicks strutting backwards on a slanted treadmill in platform boots. An army of background dancers poses and parades around a dimly lit set for most of the video and Nicks’s golden tresses are windswept as she earnestly lip-syncs in a lacy, low-cut blouse. Her trademark twirls are routinely caught in slow motion, emphasizing the wingspan of each shawl. Considering that Nicks’s only previous solo videos had been faux in-the-studio performances ("Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around"), “Stand Back” was revolutionary. Nearly 25 years later “Stand Back” is still one of Nicks’ most thrilling tracks. It’s also the only solo song of hers to be performed in a Fleetwood Mac set.

Stevie Nicks “Stand Back” - 1983 Appearence

And what about Fleetwood Mac? At best, the band tolerated Nicks’s decision to venture solo. Ever faithful, she rejoined Fleetwood Mac for the Mirage (1982) and Tango in the Night (1987) albums. ("Gypsy" and “Seven Wonders” were the Nicks-led singles, respectively.) But a contract dispute over her song “Silver Springs”, a Rumours-era B-side that she hoped to include on Timespace (1991), her first solo compilation, alienated her from the band anew. “Silver Springs”, which was directed towards Buckingham, was relegated to the B-side of Buckingham’s own kiss-off to Nicks, “Go Your Own Way”. (How many 45 singles have told two sides of an argument?) But when Fleetwood Mac reunited in 1997 for The Dance, a concert album and TV special, Nicks’ fury during “Silver Springs” stole the show.

Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, The Dance brought Fleetwood Mac back into the public eye. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham could finally embrace onstage during “Landslide” and so the miraculously reunited band set out on an exhaustive tour. Thousands witnessed how Nicks, tambourine in hand, still had a captivating stage presence. Because a whole new generation of listeners was discovering Nicks, Enchanted (1998), a three-CD box set, was promptly assembled to give younger listeners a crash course in her solo career. A few years later, Trouble in Shangri-La, her solo comeback, was greeted with much fanfare.

With appearances by Sheryl Crow, Natalie Maines, Macy Gray, and Sarah McLachlan, Trouble in Shangri-La worked to ensure that Nicks appealed to a wide-range of music-buying demographics. Even without the contributions of other artists, though, the album stood as her best solo work since Bella Donna. Crow produced some of the tracks on the album, including “Sorcerer”, a song that dated back to the Buckingham Nicks era. “Planets of the Universe”, which was written in the late ‘70s, rocked in the same stormy seas as “Edge of Seventeen” with an agitated guitar riff bubbling underneath lines like “You’ll forget the chill of love / But not the strain”. For the first time in years, Nicks sounded focused and excited about singing on a record. (Say You Will, which was recorded with Fleetwood Mac in 2003, also featured some of Nicks’s most compelling latter-day singing and songwriting.)

Six years later, Crystal Visions summarizes the very best of Stevie Nicks’s oeuvre but it’s more than a collection of singles. It poignantly traces Nicks’s survival in rock and roll after nearly being destroyed by it. “Time makes you bolder / children get older / I’m getting older too”, Stevie Nicks sang 32 years ago on “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac). A new recording of “Landslide” on Crystal Visions with the Melbourne Symphony intimates that not only is Stevie Nicks older but she’s triumphed after four tumultuous decades of “dreams unwinding”.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/33994/stevie-nicks-dreams-unwound/

Livia

05-18-2007, 12:14 AM

Stevie Nicks - Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
From Jason Shawhan

Guide Rating -

It doesn't have "Beauty and the Beast," which is a serious misstep. And I kind of miss "Sometimes It's a Bitch" on the audio disc, but it is present on the bonus DVD. And I still think that the best version of "Planets of the Universe" is the one done by Tracy Young and her mix staff. That's it for complaints. The audio disc has most all of the greats, including some of the Fleetwood Mac tracks that Stevie wrote (here presented in live versions, with the exception of the still-staggering "Silver Springs"). "Stand Back" and "If Anyone Falls" still sound fresh and invigorating, with the former remaining one of the finest Prince collaborations in music history. Dance fans will be pleased with the Deep Dish "Dreams" collaboration and her 80s club hit "I Can't Wait."

The reason why every human being worth their salt needs to get this compilation (and specifically the double-disc version) is the amazing videos. La Stevie has always had a very cinematic sensibility, and you can see that in her videos- each of which features an optional Stevie commentary track. You could almost say that the whole endeavor is worth it due to including both versions of the "Stand Back" video (the well-known performance video with dancers that we remember from MTV back in the day and the 'Scarlett' version that has Stevie on horseback on a plantation and really has to be seen to be metabolized), but there's so much more here. The live clip for "Edge of Seventeen" is just awesome, a testament to Nicks' continued viability as both diva and rock innovator.

http://dancemusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/StevieNicksCrys.htm

Livia

05-21-2007, 11:38 AM

http://dancemusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/StevieNicksCrys.htm?r=94

Stevie Nicks - Crystal Visions: The Best of Stevie Nicks
RepriseStevie Nicks - Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
From Jason Shawhan

Guide Rating - *****

It doesn't have "Beauty and the Beast," which is a serious misstep. And I kind of miss "Sometimes It's a Bitch" on the audio disc, but it is present on the bonus DVD. And I still think that the best version of "Planets of the Universe" is the one done by Tracy Young and her mix staff. That's it for complaints. The audio disc has most all of the greats, including some of the Fleetwood Mac tracks that Stevie wrote (here presented in live versions, with the exception of the still-staggering "Silver Springs"). "Stand Back" and "If Anyone Falls" still sound fresh and invigorating, with the former remaining one of the finest Prince collaborations in music history. Dance fans will be pleased with the Deep Dish "Dreams" collaboration and her 80s club hit "I Can't Wait."

The reason why every human being worth their salt needs to get this compilation (and specifically the double-disc version) is the amazing videos. La Stevie has always had a very cinematic sensibility, and you can see that in her videos- each of which features an optional Stevie commentary track. You could almost say that the whole endeavor is worth it due to including both versions of the "Stand Back" video (the well-known performance video with dancers that we remember from MTV back in the day and the 'Scarlett' version that has Stevie on horseback on a plantation and really has to be seen to be metabolized), but there's so much more here. The live clip for "Edge of Seventeen" is just awesome, a testament to Nicks' continued viability as both diva and rock innovator.

In addition to all of her videos, there's also some behind the scenes footage from the recording of the Bella Donna album that is just mind-blowing. All I can say is that no matter how into the riff of "Edge of Seventeen" you think you are, nothing compares to Stevie's response to hearing it in the studio. Stunning.

Livia

08-10-2007, 05:10 PM

Stevie Nicks is a classic old rocker from way, way back and she has shared stages with big names such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Her cupboards and wardrobes are overflowing with the "Been There, Done That" T-shirts of the bands she has played with, the successes, the failures and the drugs. And yet, even though she is heading into Big Six Oh territory, she remains as vibrant and as full of rock ‘n roll as the first time she grabbed a mike.

This CD/DVD combo steams with Nicks at her most way out, very best — and it’s five star entertainment all the way.

The album collects 16 of her songs, moving through various moods with the likes of Tom Petty ('Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around'), Don Henley ('Leather and Lace'), two songs with The Melbourne Symphony, and her day job with Fleetwood Mac ('Silver Springs'). All are pure, unadulterated Nicks — like my favourite on this album, 'Rock ‘n Roll', which is a thumping live recording.

On the DVD she stars with Sheryl Crow, Petty and others and there’s plenty of her famous twirl that makes the fans go gaga. Mick Jagger has the pout, Elvis had the lips and the legs, Peter Townshend had the Windmill, and Nicks has her famous twirl.

She is a fabulous entertainer with so much energy you can almost feel it.

This is a fabulous combo, just a pity about the DVD quality which is patchy in parts, with both the sound and motion really bad in places. But, what the hell, it’s Stevie Nicks, so almost everything can be forgiven.

She still has a huge world-wide audience, in spite of the seamy side of her life, the bust-ups, the stints and departures with Fleetwood Mac, her ins and outs with the band Fritz, her long term cocaine addiction which was eventually cured by rehab in the '80s, and her rather spectacular failures (including the nude cover on her debut album).

But Stevie Nicks is a legend: a superb blend of Joplin, Crow, Baez and the female mirror of Dylan. Even if you only have just a few drops of traditional rock ‘n roll left in your blood, play 'Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks' loud, over and over. And to hell with the neighbours!

http://entertainment.iafrica.com/music/latest/367748.htm