Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks
All that twirling has clearly paid off, because Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks - arguably the most prolific, and certainly one of the most influential women in rock music - has successfully maintained parallel careers as a big time solo artist and as a member of a big time band. Other charismatic, iconic performers have tried, but none other than Nicks have managed to pull-off con-current careers.
As one of Mac’s three singer/songwriters, Nicks was only able to contribute three or four songs per album, leaving her with a wealth of unrecorded material. In 1981, while FM was taking a break following an arduous world tour, she released her first smash solo album, Belladonna, which hit number one and featured four Top 40 singles. In ’82, FM released Mirage featuring her smash, Gypsy. The following year, Nicks issued another smash solo disc, The Wild Heart, featuring Stand Back. This release cycle continues to this day, although there’s a much greater gap between CD releases, even though both she and the band continue to tour aggressively.
Her output as a solo artist and as a member of Fleetwood Mac are so intertwined that she’s always struggled to assemble an appropriate greatest hits disc. Contractual issues prevent the inclusion of original FM recordings, but for Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks, she’s found a compromise that permits the inclusion of a handful of her signature Fleetwood compositions. She’s included newly recorded live versions of Rhiannon and Landslide, which features the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She’s swapped out the Fleetwood Mac version of the number one hit Dreams, with Deep Dish’s dance-inflected cover version with re-recorded vocals.
One Mac recording is included - the original version of Silver Springs, which was cut from the band’s biggest seller, Rumors. Ten years ago, a live version was a hit for the band, but the original is equally riveting.
Most of her top 40 solo hits are accounted for, including Edge of Seventeen, Stand Back, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, Leather & Lace, Talk to Me, Rooms on Fire, I Can’t Wait, If Anyone Falls, and there’s an additional, epic live version of Edge of Seventeen with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Crystal Visions is available as a single CD or as CD/DVD package. The DVD contains 13 music videos, including a clunky Civil War-themed video for Stand Back that was shelved. Nicks provides illuminating, and sometimes hilarious, commentary for every video. The real revelation is an unreleased, 30-minute home video documenting the recording of Belladonna. Unconcerned with the superficial and equally unaware of an upstart MTV, there’s something remarkably pure about this footage. It’s a testament to her dedication and evidence of her enduring appeal.
by Stevie Nicks
Available as single disc or CD/DVD package.
Reprise Records
