IYD Press Reviews & Discussion

[ahafan02]

Short but sweet...




We'll never complain about hearing Stevie warble the word dreams; indeed, several times here she comes remarkably close to Fleetwood Mac's platinum-plated best. But In Your Dreams, Nicks' first studio album since 2001, is also streaked with the witchy-woman weirdness only she can bring: On ''New Orleans,'' she recalls her eternal desire to ''wear feathers and lace,'' while ''Soldier's Angel'' finds her intoning ominously about war. Crystal visions? Still intact. A

Download these:
Plaintive ballad For What It's Worth
Strings-enriched Italian Summer

[mikebise]

Not only does Entertainment Weekly have the exellent (but short!) review, they also feature Stevie on their monthly calendar on Page 5. They have dates for "Stuff We're Looking Forward To In May", and Stevie is on May 3rd with the Beastie Boys. ALSO, they have a montage of photos of FOUR things they are looking forward to in May, which are:

1. JLo, S. Tyler and whatshisname of the American Idol season finale, which is the #1 rated TV show.
2. DVD release of Blue Valentine, a hit Ryan Gosling movie.
3. Hottest Man ALIVE Bradley Cooper & Co-Stars of The Hangover Part II, which will no doubt be the #1 movie of the Summer.
4. Stevie Nicks!!! The photo is of her singing "Landslide" on Oprah.

So, STEVIE is considered important enough to be stacked up with these other elite EVENTS!!!

Thanks, E.W.!!!!

[Bubba Fleetwood]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

She seems to be going through a Betty White style renaissance right now, doesn't she? Suddenly everyone is coming out in adoration of her, and her career really seems to be getting a second wind.

Next thing we know, Stevie will be doing a Snickers commercial.

[Sahara]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

She seems to be going through a Betty White style renaissance right now, doesn't she? Suddenly everyone is coming out in adoration of her, and her career really seems to be getting a second wind.

What a wonderful comparison! And you're absolutely right about a second wind. It's SO exciting

[WildHearted]

For some reason I always think it makes Stevie look younger when her bangs are a little swept and there's a bit of a break in the middle, like in that picture.

Loving all of the press she is getting. <3

[SandyMac]

Originally Posted by Bubba Fleetwood

Next thing we know, Stevie will be doing a Snickers commercial.

OMG, I would LOVE that.

[mikebise]

Ugh! I feel like I'm on SoapCentral.com right now, where the MODs are always harping about "precious EXPENSIVE Bandwidth"!!! Thread Mash-Up IN ACTION!!!!

I guess I'm just used to people here just starting new threads and posting away, not actually ADDING to an existing thread on the SAME subject. Maybe this new MOD style will help consolidate information better!

I Like It!!!!! (DJ-H Feat. Stefy, 1991)

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by mikebise

Ugh! I feel like I'm on SoapCentral.com right now, where the MODs are always harping about "precious EXPENSIVE Bandwidth"!!! Thread Mash-Up IN ACTION!!!!

I guess I'm just used to people here just starting new threads and posting away, not actually ADDING to an existing thread on the SAME subject. Maybe this new MOD style will help consolidate information better!

I Like It!!!!! (DJ-H Feat. Stefy, 1991)

We're trying. I really wish everyone could be more mindful about whether or not their thread needs it's own place.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by mikebise

Ugh! I feel like I'm on SoapCentral.com right now, where the MODs are always harping about "precious EXPENSIVE Bandwidth"!!! Thread Mash-Up IN ACTION!!!!

It was really more of a test for me as it was my first mod action. I thought it best that the press reviews and TV appearance all stay in the same thread.

[Jondalar]

Well, I was waiting for this happen. This review is the worste she could possibly get and it's from someone who thinks her latter albums, particular TISL were wonderful. This TISL stuff is getting on my nerves. I guess if you like In Your Dreams it is a slap in the face to any TISL fan. This reviewer makes several mistakes comparing Nicks to Mac, mentioning earlier works that were panned. So for all you so called fans who are secretly hoping the album flops here it is.


Stevie Nicks
In Your Dreams
*½
BY JONATHAN KEEFE ON MAY 1, 2011
JUMP TO COMMENTS (0) OR ADD YOUR OWN

A new solo album from rock legend and beloved quasi-mystical figure Stevie Nicks should be cause for celebration. From a year's worth of tweets by producer Dave Stewart to a predictably fawning Rolling Stone profile, the lead-up to Nicks's In Your Dreams has certainly built a fever-pitched level of anticipation among the singer's die-hard fans. But In Your Dreams indulges in some of Nicks's worst tendencies as a songwriter and is slathered in chintzy, dated production values.

Lead single "Secret Love" opens the album with what turns out to be its best-written song. That Nicks originally wrote the tune during the recording of Fleetwood Mac's landmark Rumours is telling: It's a fine enough song, but it wasn't quite good enough to make the cut for that classic album. That Stewart misses an opportunity to give the song some of the grit of vintage Fleetwood Mac and instead douses it in a banal, easy-listening wash does Nicks no favors. Even the album's harder, uptempo blues cuts are spit-polished to a suffocating, antiseptic degree.

Unfortunately, the poor quality of the songwriting falls primarily on Nicks's shoulders. "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)" was inspired by her viewing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon while on tour, and it boasts exactly the same degree of depth as Stephenie Meyer's vapid, wooden prose. Even worse is "New Orleans," with a howlingly bad chorus that finds Nicks singing, "I want to dress up/I want to wear beads/I want to wear feathers and lace/I want to brush by Anne Rice," with an inexplicable reverence. That the melody lifts at the end of each line overemphasizes the final word of those lines, giving the song an obnoxious, stilted cadence. It's perhaps the worst song in Nicks's entire catalogue, reducing the culture of New Orleans to Bourbon Street and vampire lore.

"Italian Summer" misses its mark almost as badly, with hollow exclamations about how the hard rain in Italy is "so romantic" and, oddly, "soulful." And "Cheaper Than Free," a duet with Stewart, is structured like a nursery rhyme, with the two singers posing questions that they immediately answer with pat rhymes. Nicks is simply too good to be singing lines like "What's faster than a speeding car? A beating heart" or "What's more exciting than high fashion? High passion."

Stewart's production choices are just as tin-eared. Dating back to his tenure with the Eurhythmics, Stewart has proven himself to be one of pop music's most progressive, fearless producers, which would make him a perfect choice to work with an icon like Nicks on her first solo album in 10 years. But he's rarely sounded so conservative at the mixing board as he does on In Your Dreams. The reserved acoustic strumming that drives "For What It's Worth" only exacerbates the song's monotonous melody, highlighting how much range and power Nicks's voice has lost in the decade since the underappreciated Trouble in Shangri-La.

There's simply nothing about In Your Dreams that works. Nicks and Stewart have both claimed that the recording of the album was one of the most enjoyable experiences in their respective careers, and certainly stars of their stature and undeniable talent deserve to take pleasure in their work. But the end product is anything but a pleasure to listen to. Nicks's devoted followers and Team Edward might go for In Your Dreams out of loyalty, but the album is a rare misfire from Nicks.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/r...ur-dreams/2487

[WildHearted]

Well, I wholeheartedly and respectfully disagree with everything this reviewer said about the album... EXCEPT the bit about the 'oh, it's so romantic, hey, it's so soulful' in Italian Summer because I'll admit that I did cringe upon transcribing those lyrics. Oh, and of course the Cheaper Than Free stuff but meh.

But otherwise, nope...

And I didn't like TISL, aside from a few tracks. I was only like 7 when TISL came out and became a fan long after its release, of course, so I wasn't around for all of the promotion and stuff that led up to it so that might be why.

[Artemis]

It looks like she's getting a good review from AllMusic Guide. It keeps acting up, I refreshed and the review wasn't there and they haven't gave it any stars yet, but it sounds really great;

Perhaps it’s all down to Stevie Nicks being at peace with her legacy, perhaps she was coaxed back toward the ‘70s by producer David A. Stewart, perhaps it’s the presence of Lindsey Buckingham on “Soldier’s Angel,” or perhaps it’s the fact that she excavated a 1976 song called “Secret Love” for this album, but In Your Dreams is Stevie’s first solo album to embrace the sound of Fleetwood Mac at their prime. Nicks never exactly ran away from the Mac, but her ‘80s solo hits were tempered by a steely demeanor and her subsequent solo albums strove too hard to recapture the magic that In Your Dreams conjures so easily. Despite the quite deliberate connections to her past, In Your Dreams never feels labored; the hippie folk drifts into the mystic pop, punctuated by some witchy rock that may be polished a bit too sharply by Stewart, yet he manages to keep everything warm despite its cleanliness. Stewart’s real coup is focus: he keeps everything tight and purposeful, letting each element snugly fit together so In Your Dreams winds up capturing the essence of Stevie Nicks, which -- as her previous three decades of solo albums prove -- is no easy feat.

[MariaA37]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

The reserved acoustic strumming that drives "For What It's Worth" only exacerbates the song's monotonous melody,

Are Jonathan Keefe and I listening to the same song because I love For What It's Worth and I don't find it monotonous.

~Maria

[Jondalar]

is Slant Magazine for real, or are they a joke magazine?

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

And "Cheaper Than Free," a duet with Stewart, is structured like a nursery rhyme, with the two singers posing questions that they immediately answer with pat rhymes. Nicks is simply too good to be singing lines like "What's faster than a speeding car? A beating heart" or "What's more exciting than high fashion? High passion."

This, I agree with. Where is this review from, by the way? What publication/blog/etc? Link?