Is In Your Dreams her best album since Bella Donna

dontlookdown · #1 05-21-2011, 03:31 PM

I keep reading reviews that consider In Your Dreams the best Stevie Nicks album since Bella Donna - or at least "since the eighties".

I went back and listened to Wild Heart, which I've always loved. And I think the production and the shrill overuse of the back up singers, makes for a record that doesn't stand up that well over time.

But what struck me most was how much more control and range she has with her voice now. I really do think her singing (since 1997) is so much better now than it was in the early 80's.

With the exception of a few misfires, I think this is definitely her strongest album since Bella Donna.
Still not a fan of Moonlight. Can't figure out what I'm missing because so many fans love it -
but I think it's one of the blandest tracks she's ever recorded. Lose that, Secret Love, Ghosts Are Gone and Cheaper Than Free - and you have an almost perfect record from start to finish.

Phoenix · #2 05-21-2011, 04:37 PM

I was fully on board with your post until u panned Moonlight...
... Then I was no longer interested in anything you had to say

Spikey · #3 05-21-2011, 07:08 PM

Nope, sorry, weak album (IMO), 80's was way better. The reviews are for my money unfounded and more hypy than anything. I think this is an album noone will talk about after the year's end (other than hardcore Stevie fans), maybe get some 'honourable mentions' like TISL does from time to time.

Moonlight was one of the few tracks I liked. Way not into the Twilight thing but I agree with a reviewer (see, I agree with some reviews), that it brought back some of her Rhiannon/SOTM/Gypsy witchy mystique.

LiquidDiamonds · #4 05-21-2011, 07:09 PM

Yes it is... If her vocals were as strong as the Bella Donna era I may consider IYD the better of the two.

Hawkeye · #5 05-21-2011, 07:22 PM

I can't stand this Bella Donna benchmark. What if like many here that "isn't" the favorite or the standard to which Stevie should be held to. Hell There are THREE out of the ten songs on Bella Donna that I flat out don't like. After the Glitter Fades in particular doesn nothing for me. Then there's Leather and Lace and Highwayman which are both very listenable but I always skip them. So that leaves only 7 freaking songs that are worth anything on this supposed nutouchable benchmark. IYD on the other hand is just an amazing listen from start to finish (finishing obviously at Italian Summer) And thats 13 songs, not 7. I'm even back to loving Secret Love after it being overshadowed those first few weeks.

BombaySapphire3 · #6 05-21-2011, 07:40 PM

Bella Donna is a somewhat of a benchmark IMO .it is her first solo album and one that virtually established her a solo act outside of Fleetwood Mac ,something that the other members were not ever really able to accomplish.It is by far her best selling solo album equalling or besting the domestic sales of any Fleetwood Mac studio album sans of course Rumours.It is IMHO her only truly classic album and perhaps the last California rock album of the classic era that can be described as such.That being said I also believe that IYD is her best overall album since Bella Donna .There are other albums that contain individual songs that probably best anything on IYD but all the other post Bella Donna albums to me don't have the consistency in production ,performance and overall song quality that IYD contains.

markolas · #7 05-22-2011, 07:15 AM

I think Bella Donna is in a class by itself, but I'd definitely rank IYD #2 or #3.

darklinensuit · #8 05-22-2011, 07:41 AM

I think the vocals on BD & TWH are perfect from start to finish. It's just a pleasure to listen to the woman sing at any moment on those two albums. Stevie's voice on RAL is not for everyone, but I love it except for on "I Sing for the Things" and parts of HAEWAFY. I think vocally IYD is Stevie's best work since RAL; she certainly is less adventurous with her voice on IYD than she was on RAL. But there are still a couple of rough spots for me - the chorus of "For What it's Worth", a brief moment in "You May be the One", and all of "Annabel Lee" and "My Heart" (if we count that one).
In terms of lyrics & production, BD takes the cake. Add in the flawless voice, and yes, it does deserve to be the benchmark for everything since.
Production-wise, IYD is maybe Stevie's best since TWH. Vocally & lyrically, it's her best since RAL.

- Jake

lvhlive! · #9 05-22-2011, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I can't stand this Bella Donna benchmark. What if like many here that "isn't" the favorite or the standard to which Stevie should be held to. Hell There are THREE out of the ten songs on Bella Donna that I flat out don't like. After the Glitter Fades in particular doesn nothing for me. Then there's Leather and Lace and Highwayman which are both very listenable but I always skip them. So that leaves only 7 freaking songs that are worth anything on this supposed nutouchable benchmark. IYD on the other hand is just an amazing listen from start to finish (finishing obviously at Italian Summer) And thats 13 songs, not 7. I'm even back to loving Secret Love after it being overshadowed those first few weeks.

AGREE! On all points. Just because it was the first and benefitted commercially from her peak of popularity, it doesn´t make it the best. It has some of the best songs on it, but as a WHOLE it is hardly her masterpiece. I don´t see it as much different from WH or RAL in that respect.

markolas · #10 05-22-2011, 08:07 AM

BD is pretty much perfection, to me. I like TWH better than I used to, but the 2nd half falls apart. BD, RAL, & IYD are the only albums where I like every song. TWH has at least 2 duds, TOSOTM has 1, SA has...I dunno, half a dozen

, and TISL has 2, and possibly 3.

Artemis · #11 05-22-2011, 08:50 AM

For me, The Wild Heart will always be her best solo album. Her voice is very similar to how it was on Bella Donna and Mirage, which is a plus, and the production is awesome, but, I feel that TWH is the one album where she was able to be, well, wild, and still retain some awesome vocals. She's wild on RAL, but her voice is completely shot. I think Bella Donna is a perfect album, but compared to TWH, it's a little restrained. Which, I think was the plan; Bella Donna needed to establish her as a solo artist, so she had to play it safe, whilst with TWH, she could unleash.

I like IYD very much, but it's too early to say whether it's her best album since TWH. I'd say it's definitely in her, what I call, Tier 1 albums, along with TWH, BD and TISL.

Jondalar · #12 05-22-2011, 08:52 AM

I think Bella Donna is still her best, but to me In Your Dreams is her second best. The way the album flows, the diversity, I really enjoy this album.

chriskisn · #13 05-22-2011, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dontlookdown

Is In Your Dreams her best album since Bella Donna

No

Damn this ten characters. The question didn't ask anything that required more than a two or three character answer

TrueFaith77 · #14 05-22-2011, 09:01 AM

In Your Dreams is her best album. Period. The new standard to which all else must be compared.

On Ice · #15 05-22-2011, 09:15 AM

I think In Your Dreams would be her best album if we could go into a time capsule and bring in that delicious early 80's voice of hers. It features great writing, the best arrangements of her songs on any album since Tusk, and vocally for a woman in her early 60's, it's amazing. To me, the Stevie benchmark ends with the Wild Heart and even that album had its issues. Rock a Little is a complete mess of an album, with some exceptions in Some Become Strangers and Has Anyone...but is certainly the start of the downfall of her career, especially that sad, embarrassment of a tour that followed. We saw a glimmer of hope with Street Angel, but at that time, her reputation was so low that even a flawless album at the time wouldn't have saved it, but looking at it now, it was a solid, well-performed album with some of her best ever vocal performances on the tour.

I love this album and it's the only thing since the Dance that makes Stevie worthy of this "legendary status" that she seems to be getting these days.