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[joe68]

Another non-answer!


NEXT NICKS?

OK, Keith, I've got questions,

I don't usually write, but I just can't seem to locate any information about her, and I've never seen you write about her... so, I guess it's time to do this.

It's been five long years since Stevie Nicks' "Trouble In Shangri-La" debuted on the chart. It's been almost three and a half years since Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will" came out. While I understand that she's never been very prolific, is Stevie Nicks going to release any new music soon? I have not come across any information about her recording new material. Is there any word?

Next: I visit the RIAA site (www.riaa.com) frequently to see how well certain titles are selling and at around Christmas time, I looked up Stevie's "Bella Donna" album. At that time, there was a line item listing this record as having sold 5 million copies. When I look it up now, however, the certification has vanished. I know I'm not crazy. It was there. I even wrote about it to Nicks' official Web site www.nicksfix.com, and they included it on their sales stats. Can you help me to figure out what happened there?

Last question: Can you tell me how Stevie's recordings have sold in the SoundScan era (1991-present)? If you want to throw Fleetwood Mac in there too, that would be fun to see as well!

Faithfully checking every week for your words of wisdom,

Alex D. Falcone
Gibbsboro, N.J.


Hello Alex,

Actually, I'm a fan of Stevie's work and I, too, would love to hear some new music from her. I really enjoyed the "Trouble In Shangri-La" album -- and even the fun dance mixes of that set's single, "Planets of the Universe." I've written about her, and Fleetwood Mac, numerous times in the past. But you're right: it has been a while since I last mentioned her.

We asked Nicks' publicist, the intrepid Liz Rosenberg, for a comment, but she didn't get back to us by deadline -- alas. Luckily, Nicks herself occasionally answers questions at her NicksFix.com Web site. The last time someone asked her about recording a new album, she said "I'm sure I will do another record somewhere down the line." Yeah, that's not exactly very specific. Here's to hoping we get some real news soon. After all, the "Trouble" album was fairly successful -- it debuted at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 and spent 20 weeks on the chart. It has sold 655,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Regarding the certification status of Nicks' "Bella Donna" album: that's a curious question. A spokesperson for the RIAA indicated that it simply could have been a processing error that led you to see a certification for 5 million. An application was processed for the certification of "Bella" at 5 million; however, it only qualified for 4 million. So, perhaps there was a temporary data entry error on the RIAA's end that had them input a 5 million certification to its Web site but then withdrew it after establishing the album was only eligible for 4 million. Does that make sense?

Generally speaking, all questions about the gold and platinum certification program administered by the RIAA should be directed to the organization directly via its Web site RIAA.com.

Finally, here is a quick rundown of Nicks' SoundScan-era releases, with and without Fleetwood Mac:

"Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks" (1991; 1.5 million)
"25 Years: The Chain" (a Fleetwood Mac box set, 1992; 79,000)
"Street Angel" (1994; 229,000)
"The Dance" (Fleetwood Mac, 1997; 4.4 million)
"Enchanted" (box set, 1998; 168,000)
"Trouble In Shangri-La" (2001; 655,000)
"The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac" (2002; 1.1 million)
"Say You Will" (Fleetwood Mac, 2003; 853,000)