CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Stevie Nicks's Crystal Visions joins that ever growing collection of "Best of..." CDs from once popular artists that add very little to your library since the last time you bought their "Best of..." CD. Nicks released her last collection, Timespace, in 1991 and, to be frank, there's been nothing new in her career since then. To be so bold as to call Crystal Visions the "Very Best" of Stevie Nicks is, in fact, pushing the boundaries of truth. Seven of the songs on Crystal Visions also appear on Timespace (not counting the live version of "Edge Of Seventeen"). And at least one song that should be on Crystal Visions, "Whole Lotta Trouble", is missing, even though it can be found on the prior collection. Filling out Nicks's new collection are covers of her best hits with Fleetwood Mac: "Dreams", remixed by techno-producers Deep Dish, live versions of "Rhiannon" and "Landslide", and the original version of "Silver Springs", in addition to a few more recent songs - "Sorcerer" and "Planets of the Universe" from Nicks's 2001 album, Trouble in Shangri-La - a live cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll", and the aforementioned live version of "Edge of Seventeen".
But to question the necessity of the album is not to question its actual content. The seven songs that migrated from Nicks's original collection are all anthems of a lighter, more energetic era in music. The synthesizers at the forefront of these older tracks are ever present and are a wonderful throwback to the music of the 1980's. And when the drum machine kicks in, you get totally lost in a sense of nostalgia. "Planets of the Universe" and "Sorcerer" add nothing to the CD, serving only to remind us that Nicks fashions herself something of a witch (really!) with a sense for the occult. From all the songs Nicks has performed with Fleetwood Mac, "Silver Springs" is an unusual choice to add to this album, but at least it's not alone. The techno remix of "Dreams" is an utter disgrace. The live cover of "Rhiannon" starts off somewhat frightening. The slow start with Nicks accompanied only by a piano makes you question Nicks's ability to sing without heavy studio production... but then the bass and guitars start up and you're as relieved as everyone in the crowd. Finally, "Landslide" is a necessity given its recent popularity after it was covered by the Dixie Chicks.
What should be the crowning achievement of this album is the live version of "Edge of Seventeen" with the Melbourne Symphony but the song never reaches its full potential. Already, "Edge of Seventeen" is one of the album's strongest songs, and to hear it with full brass and string accompaniment should be an absolute pleasure, but the performance starts slowly, with the symphony hardly noticeable, marked only by a thundering bass line. But clocking in at a whopping nine minutes - also twice as long as the studio version - the song has plenty of time to build, and around the time the violins chime in, you really start feeling the potential of the song. The song builds to its ultimate cressendo, but you never really feel the layers adding on, one by one. You're just left wishing that the whole symphony was present from the beginning.
Too many "Best of..." CDs can be relegated to the "only for the die-hard fans" category. That can't be said for this collection from Stevie Nicks. In the 80's, Nicks was a major player in the music industry. Her duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather And Lace") are testament to her standing during that era. And her contributions to Fleetwood Mac cannot be questioned. But her output since then has been sparse and unremarkable.
One key benefit to Crystal Visions over Nicks's last collection is that a double-disc version is available including a DVD with video versions of the songs on the album (plus a few more, including "Whole Lotta Trouble"). Granted, most of these videos can be obtained freely - and legally - on the Internet, and seeing some of these 80's-era videos may leave you scratching your head as to what was in good taste only two decades ago, but the DVD includes some choice extras, including commentary by Nicks, and a featurette on the making of Bella Donna, Nicks's breakthrough solo album (little more than poor quality home video footage of the recording sessions.) The commentary is very insightful and informative but the featurette could have used some remastering (although the cost was likely prohibitive.)
No, Crystal Visions isn't just for die-hard fans of Stevie Nicks. There's some milestone moments in recent rock-n-roll history on this album. But if you already have Timespace, then you should think twice about buying this album.
