Crystal Visions Reviews
 

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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:

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.

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

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

i love WLT. :D

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

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.

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