IYD Press Reviews & Discussion

[Sahara]

Yikes. What strikes me most about this review is how considered it sounds, however harsh. This guy doesn't sound like a Stevie-hater who would have written a scathing review no matter what the album was like.

He makes a good point about the lyrics in CtF and "hey it's so soulful", though!

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

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.

This is the part of the review that annoyed me the most. While music is subjective, and no two people will react to it the same way, I just can't understand why ANYONE can possibly think her voice is worse on this record than it is on TISL! She's hitting higher notes (especially on Moonlight) and she's utilising her lower register far more effectively. As for power; could the Stevie Nicks of 2001 hold that note in Italian Summer? I doubt it.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

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

Slant magazine.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Sahara

Yikes. What strikes me most about this review is how considered it sounds, however harsh. This guy doesn't sound like a Stevie-hater who would have written a scathing review no matter what the album was like.

He makes a good point about the lyrics in CtF and "hey it's so soulful", though!

He's mixing in criticsm's he knows some fans will agree with his own hateful ones.

[mikebise]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

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.

Well, I like the results!!! Merge some more!!!!

Seriously, congrats on the new gig and best of luck!!!

[StevieRox81]

Originally Posted by 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
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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

I feel so bad for Stevie if she comes across the review...everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this review is just uncalled for. Was he expecting Stevie to come out with an album that sounded like Lady Gaga or something? So confused and bummed out

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Sahara

Yikes. What strikes me most about this review is how considered it sounds, however harsh. This guy doesn't sound like a Stevie-hater who would have written a scathing review no matter what the album was like.

He makes a good point about the lyrics in CtF and "hey it's so soulful", though!

I think it's important to remember that ALL albums get a nasty review or two. Even Rumours had 1 or 2 of those before the album was released and hit it big.

The funny thing about this review is that they lambasted Rolling Stone for automatically giving Stevie a good review, as if that's what they've always done. Rolling Stone has historically been pretty unforgiving of Stevie... especially back in the '70s and early '80s. The fact they're glowing about IYD is a huge departure and quite a triumph for Stevie.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I think it's important to remember that ALL albums get a nasty review or two. Even Rumours had 1 or 2 of those before the album was released and hit it big.

The funny thing about this review is that they lambasted Rolling Stone for automatically giving Stevie a good review, as if that's what they've always done. Rolling Stone has historically been pretty unforgiving of Stevie... especially back in the '70s and early '80s. The fact they're glowing about IYD is a huge departure and quite a triumph for Stevie.

Yeah, but it's not even a real review in my opinion. It's some bitter fan who is upset that Stevie didn't go a different way

[Josh2003]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Yeah, but it's not even a real review in my opinion. It's some bitter fan who is upset that Stevie didn't go a different way

You can't just go around saying that all negative reviews aren't "real" reviews. The person gets paid to give their opinion on a CD for a magazine. It's a real review.

[bluefox4000]

Eh.....don't worry. It's not about reviews to me. It's what moves me and what I enjoy. That's all that should matter.

Mick

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Josh2003

You can't just go around saying that all negative reviews aren't "real" reviews. The person gets paid to give their opinion on a CD for a magazine. It's a real review.

Right? The other review which wasn't very nice was also labeled as "not a real review."

[Tellurium]

I actually like this review in some ways. As said, it's a considered one, and it's interesting for me to read a perspective that differs so much from my own opinion on this album. But I can't help but think this reviewer had his corn flakes pissed in before he listened to the album. While almost every negative thing he says about the album does make sense to a degree (they're all things that have been said by some member of this board at some point over the past weekend), it doesn't really add up to his ultimate summation that "nothing on the album works", IMO. Everyone reacts to music in a unique way, but his reaction just strikes me as particularly and almost nonsensically extreme. Like, there's some hokey lyrics in the chorus of New Orleans ergo it's the worst song in her entire catalogue? Not sure that's a leap I'd make.

Ohhh well.

ETA: I rather like the "oooh it's so romantic, heeeey it's so soulful" bit in Italian Summer. It actually made me chuckle on first listen, not cringe. It's certainly not exactly a poetic lyric, but to me it's a woman just being honest about how she was feeling at the time she wrote it, and for me it works. I get a kick out of it. Same goes for her laying plain her desire to dress up and wear beads.

[Ghost_Tracker]

Oh bu-ruther.


I'm not even going to bother to read it, to be honest.

I think it's the most-brilliant thing she's ever done.


And that, of course, is sayin' something.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Tracker

Oh bu-ruther.


I'm not even going to bother to read it, to be honest.

I think it's the most-brilliant thing she's ever done.


And that, of course, is sayin' something.

it's one of them, I think casual fans will like this one

[Ghosty]

that was harsh. i love cheaper than free, italian summer,moonlight, for what it's worth, secret love (i'm even used to the "eww-eee" now after hearing it a few times, i watched the oprah website video of it quite a few times).

i never care much for reviews anyways. i mean, look at us fans. stevie is our favorite, yet we all have some songs we like better than others, and some cd's we like better than others. we don't even agree on it.