Monday, December 25, 2017

FLEETWOOD MAC’S CLASSIC 1975 ALBUM TO GET EXPANSIVE REISSUE JANUARY 19

Fleetwood Mac
Release Date
Fri, 01/19/2018

3CD/LP/DVD Deluxe Edition Features Remastered Audio On CD And Vinyl, Along With Rare  And Unreleased Live And Studio Recordings, Including An Alternate Version Of The Full Album.

Three Versions Available January 19 From Warner Bros. Records

LOS ANGELES – The current incarnation of Fleetwood Mac made its debut in the summer of 1975 when the band released its second eponymous album. An overwhelming smash, the record topped the Billboard album chart, spent more than a year in the Top 40, and sold more than five million copies in the U.S. thanks to classic songs like “Landslide,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Rhiannon.”  

The band’s campaign to reissue its classic albums continues with FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION. Available on January 19, 2018, the collection includes newly remastered audio, rare and unreleased studio and live recordings, and more. The music will be available in several formats:
  • Deluxe (3CD/DVD/LP): The original album with newly remastered audio on CD and LP; rare and unreleased studio and live recordings; plus a DVD with 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution mixes of the original album. $99.98
  • Expanded (2CD): The original album with newly remastered sound expanded with rare and unreleased studio and live recordings. $19.98
  • Remastered (CD): Original album with newly remastered sound. $11.98
  • Remastered audio will also via digital download and streaming services.

Fleetwood Mac’s lineup solidified in 1974 when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie to form what would ultimately become the band’s most successful incarnation. FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION is packaged in a 12 x 12 embossed sleeve with rare and unseen photos along with in-depth liner notes written by David Wild featuring new interviews with all the band members.

Both the deluxe and expanded editions feature a newly remastered version of the original album along with single mixes for “Over My Head,” “Rhiannon,” “Say You Love Me.” Also included is a second disc with an alternate version of the complete album comprised of unreleased outtakes for each album track, plus several unreleased live performances from 1976. Exclusive to the deluxe edition is a third disc filled with even more unreleased live recordings highlighted by stellar performances of “Landslide,” “Oh Well,” “Station Man,” “World Turning,” among others.

FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION also comes with a DVD featuring 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution 24/96 Stereo Audio mixes of the original album and four single mixes. Completing the set is an LP version of the original album pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

FLEETWOOD MAC: DELUXE EDITION

Disc One – Original Album Remastered and Singles
1. "Monday Morning"
2. "Warm Ways"
3. "Blue Letter"
4. "Rhiannon"
5. "Over My Head"
6. "Crystal"
7. "Say You Love Me"
8. "Landslide"
9. "World Turning"
10. "Sugar Daddy"
11. "I'm So Afraid"
12. "Over My Head" – Single Version
13. "Rhiannon" – Single Version
14. "Say You Love Me" – Single Version
15. "Blue Letter" – Single Version

Disc Two – Alternates and Live
1. "Monday Morning" – Early Take *
2. "Warm Ways" – Early Take *
3. "Blue Letter" – Early Take *
4. "Rhiannon" – Early Take *
5. "Over My Head" – Early Take *
6. "Crystal" – Early Take *
7. "Say You Love Me" – Early Version *
8. "Landslide" – Early Version *
9. "World Turning" – Early Version *
10. "Sugar Daddy" – Early Take *
11. "I'm So Afraid" – Early Version *
12. "Over My Head" – (Live from The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA, 1/26/76) *
13. "Rhiannon" – (Live from The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA, 1/26/76) *
14. "Why" – (Live from The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA, 1/26/76) *
15. "World Turning" – (Live from The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA, 1/26/76) *
16. Jam #2
17. "I'm So Afraid" – Early Take Instrumental *

Disc Three – Live
1. "Get Like You Used To Be" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
2. "Station Man" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *
3. "Spare Me A Little" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *
4. "Rhiannon" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *
5. "Why" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *
6. "Landslide" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *
7. "Over My Head" (Live at Campus Stadium, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 5/2/76) *
8. "I'm So Afraid" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
9. "Oh Well" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
10. "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
11. "World Turning" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
12. "Blue Letter" (Live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 10/17/75) *
13. "Don't Let Me Down Again" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75)
14. "Hypnotized" (Live at Jorgensen Auditorium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 10/25/75) *


DVD: 5.1 Surround Mix and 24/96 Stereo Audio of Original Album plus four single mixes
1. Monday Morning (5.1 Surround Mix)
2. Warm Ways (5.1 Surround Mix)
3. Blue Letter (5.1 Surround Mix)
4. Rhiannon (5.1 Surround Mix)
5. Over My Head (5.1 Surround Mix)
6. Crystal (5.1 Surround Mix)
7. Say You Love Me (5.1 Surround Mix)
8. Landslide (5.1 Surround Mix)
9. World Turning (5.1 Surround Mix
10. Sugar Daddy (5.1 Surround Mix
11. I'm So Afraid (5.1 Surround Mix)
12. Monday Morning (24/96 Stereo Audio)
13. Warm Ways (24/96 Stereo Audio)
14. Blue Letter (24/96 Stereo Audio)
15. Rhiannon (24/96 Stereo Audio)
16. Over My Head (24/96 Stereo Audio)
17. Crystal (24/96 Stereo Audio)
18. Say You Love Me (24/96 Stereo Audio)
19. Landslide (24/96 Stereo Audio)
20. World Turning (24/96 Stereo Audio)
21. Sugar Daddy (24/96 Stereo Audio)
22. I'm So Afraid (24/96 Stereo Audio)
23. Over My Head (Single Version)
24. Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) [Single Version]
25. Say You Love Me (Single Version)
26. Blue Letter (Single Version)

LP – Side One
1. Monday Morning (Remastered)
2. Warm Ways (Remastered)
3. Blue Letter (Remastered)
4. Rhiannon (Remastered)
5. Over My Head (Remastered)
6. Crystal (Remastered)

LP – Side Two
1. Say You Love Me (Remastered)
2. Landslide (Remastered)
3. World Turning (Remastered)
4. Sugar Daddy (Remastered)
5. I'm So Afraid (Remastered)

* Previously Unreleased

FLEETWOOD MAC: EXPANDED EDITION

Disc One: Original Album Remastered and Singles
1. “Monday Morning”
2. “Warm Ways”
3. “Blue Letter”
4. “Rhiannon”
5. “Over My Head”
6. “Crystal”
7. “Say You Love Me”
8. “Landslide”
9. “World Turning”
10. “Sugar Daddy”
11. “I’m So Afraid”
12. “Over My Head” – Single Version
13. “Rhiannon” – Single Version
14. “Say You Love Me” – Single Version
15. “Blue Letter” – Single Version *

Disc Two: Alternates and Live
1. “Monday Morning” – Early Take *
2. “Warm Ways” – Early Take *
3. “Blue Letter” – Early Take *
4. “Rhiannon” – Early Take *
5. “Over My Head” – Early Take *
6. “Crystal” – Early Take *
7. “Say You Love Me” – Early Version *
8. “Landslide” – Early Version *
9. “World Turning” – Early Version *
10. “Sugar Daddy” – Early Take *
11. “I’m So Afraid” – Early Version *
12. “Over My Head” – Live *
13. “Rhiannon” – Live *
14. “Why” – Live *
15. “World Turning” – Live *
16. Jam #2
17. “I’m So Afraid” – Early Take Instrumental *

* Previously Unreleased

Pre-Order via Amazon

Monday, June 19, 2017

CD Review Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie "Red Sun lives in the same neighborhood as “Hold Me” does"

Review: Buckingham/McVie – Lindsey Buckingham . Christine McVie
By MARowe
Musictap.net

From the goofy, Animal House silliness that weaves in and out of the pop perfection of “Feel About You”, to the way that the opening number, “Sleeping Around the Corner” makes you smile when the band suddenly kicks in after a tortured vocal on the intro, Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie is almost everything that you could possibly want from a Fleetwood Mac album.

Which of course, it really isn’t. For a variety of reasons and speculation that you can find everywhere, Stevie Nicks sat this one out. Thankfully, in an odd parallel to her own beginnings, we get to stand back and discover her bandmates, Buckingham and McVie as a duo.

Full review at MusicTAP

"Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go" - Stevie Nicks

Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go

Not to be upstaged by the release of an album that all of her Fleetwood Mac bandmates contributed to except for her, Stevie Nicks has returned with her first solo song since 2014’s 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. The track, “Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go,” comes from the soundtrack to the new dramatic film from Focus Features, The Book of Henry, which stars Naomi Watts and Sarah Silverman. The song was written by Thomas Bartlett (also known as Doveman) and (!) Ryan Miller from Guster. (Miller posted on Guster’s Facebook about the collaboration, which he called “ONE THE GREATEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE”).

The sparse, constantly mutating ballad finds Nicks bridging country-tinged pop songwriting with some modern electronic production and New Age-y flourishes. Watch the lyric video and hear the song below.

Spin


 

Stevie Nicks' new ballad, "Your Hand I Will Never Let Go," will be featured in the Naomi Watts-led drama, The Book of Henry. The song was written by Thomas Barlett and Ryan Miller. 

"Drowned in thought and caught in a stare/ Talking to ghosts who were not there," Nicks sings plaintively. "Then you took my hand/ Transformation began/ Commotion where it once was still/ Fireworks explode/ Front row tickets to the show/ This hand I will never let it go."

Nicks also contributed vocals to Lana Del Rey's new Lust for Life track "Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems." In a recent interview, Del Rey confirmed she recruited the Fleetwood Mac singer for a last-minute collaboration.

"I kind of thought I had finished the record a couple times," said Del Rey. "One of those times, I felt I wanted a woman on the record, and I was talking to [Nowels] about who would be great to get on the record. We both could only come up with Stevie. Funny enough, he went to high school with Stevie and wrote his first hit with her."

Nicks recently appeared onstage with Harry Styles at that singer's small venue Los Angeles gig. 

Rollingstone

CD Review Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie "A worthwhile exercise"

Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie
Drowned in Sound
by Joe Goggins
6/10

There’s a couple of possibilities in play when it comes to the title of this collaborative LP from Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie. One is that they’re especially paranoid about the possibility of falling foul of the Trade Descriptions Act, and feared that a simple Buckingham-McVie moniker might have had fans storming record shops in their droves and demanding refunds after discovering that this isn’t, in fact, some kind of creative partnership between the House of Windsor and Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie, who by all accounts would rather be pursuing his love of sailing these days than touring the world in a famously tortured rock and roll band. The other line of reasoning, of course, is that comparisons with the highly-charged Buckingham-Nicks label would’ve been uncomfortable at best and an outright distraction at worst.

It’s exactly that line of thinking, though, that brings you to wonder what it is that Buckingham and McVie were looking to get out of this joint effort; after all, the former has always quietly served as his band’s musical director and the latter was, until recently, entirely off the radar, having effectively spent the best part of two decades as a recluse in the English countryside before finally rejoining Fleetwood Mac on the road. That said, the idea that their partnership was somehow less worthy of attention than that between Buckingham and Nicks is daft; after all, the last truly classic album that the band turned out, Tango in the Night, was built primarily around their songs, with McVie - who, of course, was a part of the setup before Buckingham - laying claim to the classics ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Everywhere’.

It’s worth mentioning that McVie’s ex-husband and Mick Fleetwood both chip in on this album, meaning it’s only a Nicks guest turn away from basically serving as the first new full-length from the group since 2003’s tepid Say You Will. Perhaps that’s the best prism through which to view it, especially given that the last recorded output we got from them as a whole was Extended Play in 2013, prior to McVie rejoining. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, absolutely rubbish. It also felt really regressive, a cynical jab at recapturing some idealised Fleetwood Mac sound, when of course that in its genuine form relies on a cornucopia of different ideas from different songwriters.

Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie comes quite close to it. Both sound pretty free; there’s plenty of experimentation, which is ultimately for both better and worse. ‘Feel About You’ is slight and would barely be there without the peculiar, Grease-esque backing vocals, and yet it’s an earworm. ‘In My World’ is the opposite, thickly layered and constantly shifting shape - it’s deliberate and considered, with the midsection recalling ‘Big Love’ with the vocal back-and-forth.

There’s inevitably missteps. ‘Too Far Gone’ goes all-out in its pursuit of disco and falls short on pretty much every front; the guitars have a weird, off-putting buzz to them, and both vocalists sound achingly uncomfortable, to the point that it’s astonishing that they listened back to it and were happy to put it on the record. Additionally, ‘On with the Show’ is a mid-tempo plodder that might conceivably have been intended for Fleetwood Mac, given that’s what their last world tour was called - it certainly wears the lethargy of Extended Play.

Flashes of vintage Mac remain, though, from both Buckingham and McVie. The latter takes the lead on what might be the standout, the gorgeous ‘Red Sun’, whilst ‘Lay Down for Free’ has Lindsey pulling that strange trick of sounding laid-back but emanating urgency on what should otherwise be a breezy, country-flecked rocker; it’s proof that all of his songwriting faculties are still intact. The fascinating thing is the overall sound of Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie and its production; it’s intriguingly low-key, especially given Buckingham’s appetite for lush textures in recent years. Accordingly, the album falls somewhere between curio and convincing; there’s enough here to hold the attention of the casual Mac fan, however fleetingly, but diehards should find a bit more to dig into in the brighter moments. A worthwhile exercise.

CD Review Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie


Otago Daily Times

Fleetwood Mac fans as well as casual passers-by will recognise these names. Yes, two-fifths of the rock colossus has headed to the studio and come up with a 10-song duo album that shows big choruses can almost (but not quite) cover up for occasional by-the-numbers clangers (Too Far Gone). 

Still, inviting drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie along for the ride has had its obvious benefits, allowing Buckingham to revel in his guitar technique, an assured hybrid of folk and country fingerstyle and distorted wig-out.

McVie brings the air and lightness of touch, her warm vocals a foil to Buckingham’s more gritty delivery (Red Sun and Lay Down For Free are classic Mac).

• Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie. Self-titled. Warner Music.
• Three stars (out of five)

Single download: Red Sun
For those who like: Elton John

— Shane Gilchrist

Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie on SiriusXM

SiriusXM’s Volume presented a Town Hall with Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, hosted by Mark Goodman.   Buckingham and McVie, founding members of Fleetwood Mac, have a new album out together called, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie.

During this SiriusXM Town Hall, Buckingham and McVie talk about the writing of their new album, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, taking a break from Fleetwood Mac, and the joys of working together.

Hear some of this Town Hall below.  The full hour-long SirusXM Volume Town Hall airs on Friday, June 16, at 7 PM ET on SiriusXM Volume channel 106.

BuckinghamMcVie.com




Monday, May 29, 2017

Christine McVie reveals why she returned to the spotlight with new duet album

FLEETWOOD Mac star Christine McVie reveals why she returned to the spotlight with her band... and a new duet album.

By CLAIR WOODWARD
Express


The new album from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie feels like a big, warm hug.

The great melodies, intimate harmonies and terrific arrangements are instantly recognisable as coming from two of the band’s songwriters yet they’re new and intriguing enough to make it more than just another side project from an iconic group.

And for Christine, 73 – the understated genius behind the keyboards in Fleetwood Mac and writer of some of their most recognisable songs (Don’t Stop, Little Lies, Say You Love Me, Hold Me and Everywhere) – the sensation of reconnecting with old friends was the inspiration behind the new collaboration.

She officially retired from the band in 1998, after stepping away from touring a few years earlier, and it was her return to it for the 2015 reunion tour that sparked the collaboration with Lindsey.

“We’ve always had a particular musical relationship since he first joined the band – it was immediate,” Christine explains in her warm, honeyed tone.

“The whole band was just chemistry abounding but Lindsey and I, me being the piano player and him the guitar player, understand each other musically without saying anything.

“We’ve always worked well together over the years but never thought about doing an album together until recently and now we wonder why we didn’t think about doing it before.

“The moment I knew I was going back into the band I flew over to Santa Monica to start rehearsals but, before that, I’d sent Lindsey a few demos of stuff I’d recorded and he went into his studio to arrange them. He played them back to me and I said, ‘These sound really great.’ So we decided to go and record them properly. (Fittingly, fellow Mac members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, on drums and bass, also perform on the album.)

“After we finished the world tour, Lindsey got in touch and said, ‘What are we going to do with these songs, they’re too good to just shelve?’ So we decided to go ahead with releasing a duet album.”

Christine’s return to Fleetwood Mac and her new burst of creativity comes at a time when many people thought that, after several years away from the hurly-burly of rock star life, she would never be seen on stage again.

In the intervening years she moved from California where she had lived for the best part of 30 years (she grew up in Birmingham and moved to London after attending art college), and bought a beautiful country home in the village of Wickhambreaux, Kent, which she spent several years restoring.

“I felt very at home in California but the place is prone to earthquakes and the one in 1994 scared the life out of me. For months afterwards I felt that every time I sat down I should have put on a seatbelt. It was really bad and I thought, ‘I’m going to get a house in England.’ I got to a point where I’d been in a band for 40 years and wanted to get back to real life.”

Yet being a lady of leisure eventually proved to be not enough for Christine.

“I started to say, ‘OK, now what?’ I had my two dogs there, they were my life. My marriage (to keyboardist Eddy Quintela) fell through, so I was living on my own and felt isolated. Most of my friends were in London or Los Angeles and worked nine-to-five for a living.

“I did have some friends living with me for a while but, eventually, I reached a point where it was time to start changing things.”

The catalyst for this change was Christine’s need to overcome her fear of flying and the intervention of Mick Fleetwood.

“I had a horrible terror that the next plane I got on would crash,” she remembers.

“So I had therapy to get over that, and other issues I’d developed through isolation, and sorted myself out. My therapist and I discussed the idea of me writing songs again and trying to reach out to the rest of the band as well.

“The therapist asked where I wanted most to fly if I could and I said Maui (one of the Hawaiian islands), as Mick lives there and I have a lot of friends there. So I just bought the ticket without knowing if I’d actually go. I’d always stayed in touch with Mick and soon after I bought the ticket he said he was coming to London, so we met up and I flew back to Maui with him. I didn’t even notice the wheels leave the ground. Since then, it’s been great. I’ve even flown in Africa in one of those prop jobs.”

While with Mick in Maui, he persuaded her to get on stage with his local band, gradually coaxing her back into the idea of returning to her musical career.

“Steven Tyler, from Aerosmith, was there. We belted out a few songs and I just thought, ‘This is good...’”

Christine admits that it was performing live that sustained her through her final years before she left Fleetwood Mac.

“When I first left, I didn’t miss it as I was tired of the travelling. The gigs were the only thing that really sustained me.”

And after her long break, being back with her bandmates has given her a new lease of life.

The closing track on the Lindsey Buckingham/ Christine McVie album is called Carnival Begin, written by Christine and with its lyrics of “I want it all... a new merry-go-round” it is clear that she has a strong appetite for change. Fleetwood Mac’s famously colourful previous life, where sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll made for a potent combination, is now a thing of the past and they are enjoying better personal relationships and new respect from audiences.

“Underlying the band now is a great sense of affection,” reflects Christine.

“We bind together my style, Lindsey’s style and Stevie’s (Nicks) style as songwriters, and it’s a democratic band in that we make sure everyone has the same amount of songs to sing both onstage and on record, although I have to say, it’s Lindsey that really directs the band.”

Next month, Christine and Lindsey are touring the States with the new album and she is looking forward to it after Fleetwood Mac’s triumphant world tour in 2015.

“We had such a great range of ages in the audience, from people who bought our albums the first time around to their children and grandchildren.

“I think we’ve become a hip band to the younger generation. After being seen as middle-of-the-road, we are now fashionable again.”

Christine is now living in London and when she gets back from touring in America she will decorate her new house, which is currently “an empty shell filled with cardboard boxes”.

Who looks after her beloved dogs when she’s away, I ask?

“They passed last year. They were very obliging,” she laughs.

“My other house was for sale. They were 16 and had had a good life. It was sad but things came together at the right time. Everything is for the good in the end.”

The single In My World is out now; the album Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie is released on June 9 on Rhino Records.


THE MAKING OF BUCKINGHAM MCVIE





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Stevie Nicks addresses a few rumours... head on!

Why I've gone my own way: On the edge of 70, Stevie Nicks addresses a few rumours... head on!

By CRAIG MCLEAN
Dailymail


Turning her back on Fleetwood Mac. Teaming up with Chrissie Hynde. And ditching drugs with a little help from Prince. The rock icon confronts all those rumours... head on!

Now this is a treat. It’s Saturday night in a cavernous rehearsal facility in the San Fernando Valley, over the hills from Hollywood, and I’m enjoying a private concert from rock ’n’ roll’s greatest woman – a living, breathing, dancing, sunglasses-indoors legend. Ahead of an American tour, Stevie Nicks is running through a selection of hits from her multi-million-selling career as a solo artist and as frontwoman with Fleetwood Mac.

Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman, Stand Back, The Wild Heart, Edge Of Seventeen: these are some of the best-loved songs of the past 40 years. And the woman who wrote them – more used to wowing arenas – is standing a few feet away, singing them to me, bashing a tambourine as if her life depended on it, swirling in a vision of black scarves and drapes.

During a break, I sit down with Nicks and, as she cradles her beloved terrier Lily, she talks. And talks. At the age of 69, this warm, witty woman remains as irrepressible as ever. As is usual in the world of Fleetwood Mac, there’s a lot to discuss. One topic is her upcoming US shows with fellow icon Chrissie Hynde, in support of Nicks’ 24 Karat Gold album. Another is rumours of a Fleetwood Mac tour – a tour that’s possibly a farewell one.

But more pressing is the imminent release of Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie. It’s ostensibly a duo album from Mac guitarist Buckingham and keyboard player/singer McVie. In the set-up and billing, it feels like a successor to Buckingham Nicks. This legendary ‘lost’ 1973 album was made by Stevie and Lindsey – then a couple – before the Californians joined a mouldering English blues band led by drummer Mick Fleetwood and assisted by bass player John McVie.

Their duo act didn’t last, and neither did their relationship. But Nicks’ and Buckingham’s songwriting contribution – not to mention their split, as famously documented in their songs on 1977’s 40-million-selling album Rumours – helped rocket-power Fleetwood Mac to Seventies rock’s mega-league.
When we speak, Nicks hasn’t heard the Buckingham/McVie album. ‘I was gone when they were doing it,’ she says. ‘I was in Nashville making 24 Karat Gold. And when they were finishing it, I was on this last tour. I’m sure it’s pretty great, because why wouldn’t it be?’

John McVie (Christine’s ex-husband) and Mick Fleetwood also play on the album. Which begs the question: if Nicks had contributed, would it have been a Fleetwood Mac album? The band haven’t made an album since 2003’s Say You Will, so it feels like time...

‘It probably would have been, but I had just given three years to Fleetwood Mac [for the last tour] and I wanted two years off. And they decided to go into the studio and I said: “I’m not going. But you guys can do whatever you want.”’

She understands why Christine was keen to make the album. The English keyboard player rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014 after a decade-and-a-half’s retirement in Kent.

‘Christine had been gone for 16 years and she had [only] done one tour and she needed to work. She needed to stand in front of those keyboards and write songs and play. And that’s why Fleetwood Mac will probably go back out next year and do a farewell tour,’ Nicks reveals. ‘Because Chris really wants to. Because she was gone for so long.’

For her part, Nicks can’t conceive of retiring. In that regard, her current partner is the perfect musical compadre. Both Nicks and Hynde have been through the sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll wars. Tragically, The Pretenders’ frontwoman lost two band mates to drugs, while Nicks has had her own well-publicised battles with addiction in the Seventies and Eighties. She’s also had her share of intense love affairs: with Buckingham, with Fleetwood, and also with Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh and producer-turned-Apple-exec Jimmy Iovine.

These days, though, she’s contentedly single, surrounded by a wide circle of musician friends and various godchildren. Nicks’ homes in Los Angeles – one on the beach in Venice and one in the nearby hills – are retreats where she can indulge her love of writing poetry, reading the Twilight novels and watching Game Of Thrones.

That said: while both Nicks and ardent vegetarian Hynde, 65, are now both the epitome of clean and serene, they’re also capable of kicking up an onstage storm.

‘We became really good friends,’ says Nicks. ‘She calls me the Elizabeth Taylor of rock ’n’ roll. Because I always arrive in [hair] rollers with my big Elizabeth Taylor sunglasses, and my hair’s usually wrapped because it was cold when we first went out on tour.

‘But on stage, we don’t feel old. And hopefully we don’t look old! When we feel it’s not cool any more, we’ll change our shows. We’ll do more intimate shows and we’ll do more ballads. We’ll never be age-inappropriate.’

As for her ‘day-job’ band, their shows remain as huge, hits-filled and entertaining as ever. ‘When we did the last Fleetwood Mac show, on my birthday,’ Nicks recalls, referring to the band’s gig at London’s O2 in May 2015, ‘it was the nicest birthday I’d had in ten years. Harry Styles brought back a cake. Mick [Fleetwood] has kind of adopted him. There are just women in Mick’s family and Harry is that tall, lanky musical son he always wanted, so they keep in touch.’

Indeed, so do Styles and Nicks. A few weeks after our meeting, she joins the visibly awestruck 23-year-old onstage for three songs at LA’s Troubadour. Even the hottest 20-something in pop has his fanboy moments.

No doubt Nicks’ UK fans, celebrity and otherwise, will be out in force at London’s Hyde Park in July. As part of the British Summer Time concerts, she’s playing with headliners Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. She counts Petty as her lifelong musical brother, and she pops up several times in the Florida rocker’s recent authorised biography, Petty. And the affection between the pair goes both ways.

‘There was a point when Tom thought I was probably not going to make it,’ says Nicks. ‘He said, “I started to expect I would get a phone call to say that Stevie had died from a drugs overdose”.’

Nicks has always been wholly honest about her years abusing drugs, notably cocaine. But she’s come out the other side, not just intact but shining. The same, tragically, can’t be said for her friend Prince. The pair collaborated on Nicks’ 1983 solo album The Wild Heart, and the two remained close.
‘He was as against drugs as anybody I’ve ever known. But what happened with him was that from the very beginning, he was doing insane things like jumping off six-foot risers in little Argentinian heels – and smashing down into the ground.’

Prince was reported to have died from an accidental overdose of the prescription painkiller Fentanyl.

‘He thought I absolutely was going to die of a drugs overdose. This guy gave me a lecture on over-the-counter cough medicine!’ she exclaims. ‘That’s when I was totally a drug addict and he was straight as an arrow. He’d bring me cough medicine when I was sick and then I’d ask for another spoon of it, and he’d go, “I didn’t come here to start you on a new drug!” I’m like, “Come on, really, please, seriously?” ’Cos I’ve done way worse.’

That, however, is a long way behind her. Now Nicks gets all her highs playing shows. ‘When I go up on that stage, that arena is my own personal house of love. And I’m going up there to tell these funny stories and to make people pump their fists in the air. I want to bring joy to these people.’

The same applies to Fleetwood Mac. Nicks ‘of course’ will take part in the band tour she mentioned earlier. But will it really be a farewell trek? ‘Well, we’re not young. The thing is, I’m probably still going to be performing long after next year. But as for everybody else, I don’t know. We’ll be skating into our seventies.’

For her part, performing is what keeps Nicks youthful and rocking – and with an energy and enthusiasm artists half her age would kill for. ‘Totally!’ she says. ‘It’s the love of my life.’

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Lana Del Rey and Stevie Nicks Team Up for New Song on Lust for Life

Two generations of witchy women, together at last
by Amy Phillips and Amanda Wicks
Pitchfork


Lana Del Rey has tapped none other than Stevie Nicks for a feature on her forthcoming album Lust for Life. No more information is available about the team-up between Lana and the Fleetwood Mac singer/songwriter, but it follows news of two more high-profile guests on the LP: the Weeknd on “Lust for Life” and Sean Ono Lennon on “Tomorrow Never Came.” Del Rey has not yet announced a release date for the album, which also features the single “Love.” 







From Big Brother to Big Real Estate
Zach Rance has been taking the South Florida real estate market by storm. If you are looking to buy, sell, lease or rent in Palm Beach County, Florida, contact Zach Rance through his website at www.ZachRance.com
Sponsored

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Stevie Nicks Rollin Into The Fall with 24 Karat Gold Tour








Dates available so far:

07.09 - London, UK - Hyde Park (W/Tom Petty) [previously announced]
09.09 - Chicago, IL - Ravinia Pavilion
09.10 - Chicago, IL - Ravinia Pavilion
09.24 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon and Boyond

Ticketmaster


Record Store Day April 22, 2017 - Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks Releases

Look for both of these vinyl albums to drop April 22nd!!

FLEETWOOD MAC - Alternate Mirage 
Event: RECORD STORE DAY 2017 
Release Date: 4/22/2017
Format: LP
Label: Rhino/Warner Bros. 
Quantity: 3500
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

An album of alternate takes from the Mirage Deluxe edition, originally released in 2016. Includes the early versions of Mirage favorites "Gypsy", "Hold On" and "Oh Diane". Previously released only on CD, first time on vinyl. (Limited worldwide release of 6500.)

STEVIE NICKS - Rarities
Event: RECORD STORE DAY 2017 
Release Date: 4/22/2017
Format: 10" Vinyl
Label: Atlantic Catalog Group
Quantity: 5000
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

This Record Store Day release is a 10" featuring rare demos, live and early takes from Bella Donna and Wild Heart deluxe editions. Includes two key Stevie Nicks soundtrack cuts: "Blue Lamp" (from the Heavy Metal soundtrack) and "Sleeping Angel" (from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack). (Limited worldwide release of 7500.)

SIDE A: 01 Bella Donna (demo) 02 Edge of Seventeen (early take) 03 After The Glitter Fades (Live 1982) (Remastered) 
SIDE B: 01 Wild Heart (Session) 02 Blue Lamp (from Heavy Metal soundtrack) (Remastered) 03 Sleeping Angel (from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack) (Remastered)






From Big Brother to Big Real Estate
Zach Rance has been taking the South Florida real estate market by storm. If you are looking to buy, sell, lease or rent in Palm Beach County, Florida, contact Zach Rance through his website at www.ZachRance.com
Sponsored

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Buckingham McVie Tour Dates Announced - New Album Out June 9th. Pre-Order Now



Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie have joined together to record their first-ever album as a duo. Simply titled LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM/CHRISTINE McVIE, the 10-song album will be released June 9th, followed by a run of special U.S. concerts beginning June 21st. The first single “In My World” will be available on all digital and streaming services this Friday, April 14th.

Visit BuckinghamMcVie.com to pre-order the album and see a full list of dates and on sale details.

BuckinghamMcVie.com

Tour Dates

06.21 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheater
06.23 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
06.24 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
06.26 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap Foundation
06.28 - Boston, MA - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
06.30 - Philadelphia, PA - The Mann
07.02 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
07.03 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion
07.05 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
07.19 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste Michelle Winery
07.21 - Murphys, CA - Ironstone Amphitheatre
07.22 - Las Vegas, NV - Park Theater at Monte Carlos
07.25 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
07.27 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre

More dates to follow!

Tickets go on-sale to the general public on April 21st and 22nd. Pre-sale tickets go on-sale prior to those dates. Check Ticketmaster


Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie Announce Joint Boston Concert



Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie Announce Joint Boston Concert

Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie are ready to take their new Buckingham/McVie record on tour. The duo, two parts of Fleetwood Mac’s most popular lineup, will hit Boston’s Blue Hills Bank Pavilion Wednesday, June 28th.

No word yet on whether or not other members of Fleetwood Mac will join the pair onstage. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 14th at 10:00 AM.

WZLX

(the information and link have been removed from the site. Someone likely jumped the gun and posted a little too early so an official announcement will likely be coming soon.)



Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham And Christine McVie Announce Joint Concert

Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie have announced their first duel concert.

The duo, who have been recording an album together, will play Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, WA., on July 19. Tickets start at $59 for lawn seats.

Buckingham and McVie began writing songs for a new Fleetwood Mac record three years ago, but Stevie Nicks‘ resistance to recording new music led the pair to record the songs on their own. Buckingham McVie is set to drop later this summer.

Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood opened up to Uncut about his band mates’ side project. “This relationship is a real expression of a musical powerhouse that’s come to the fore, and we’re all happy about that,” he said. “It’s really cool. I think they’ll be walking down some red carpets with this one.”

Ticketmaster




Sunday, April 09, 2017

Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles Headline "THE CLASSIC CONCERTS" Los Angeles and New York

Live Nation's "The Classic Concerts" Welcomes Timeless Rock Legends




Nothing screams classic rock like the enduring musicality of Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and other legends brought to us by Live Nation's "The Classic" concert set. These events present both east and west coast crowds an unforgettable summer opportunity to experience some of the biggest names in classic rock history set in two historic and beautiful stadium venues.

Sensibly entitled The Classic Concerts, Live Nation has sourced age-old favorites suitable for all generations, splitting each concert series into two days of rockin' performers. The Los Angeles performances are called The Classic West, and will take place at Dodger's Stadium over the weekend of July 15-16, while New York's series is titled The Classic East, and is set during the weekend of July 29-30.

Single ticket admission is good for both days of this innovative festival, featuring The Eagles, Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers on Saturday and Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth Wind & Fire on Sunday.  What better way to see some of the most well-loved and lasting musical acts from the last century than in the iconic stadiums that house the Los Angeles Dodgers and The New York Mets? Each venue will also offer delectable eats and drink from both local and international vendors, designed to offer visitors an authentic music festival experience.

Don't miss out on purchasing your ticket to this unforgetable event as tickets are sure to sell fast!
Tickets go on sale Friday, April 7th at 10am, TheClassic.com.

Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders Live in Uniondale April 6, 2017

Review: Stevie Nicks magical at Nassau Coliseum for '24 Karat Gold' tour
Uniondale - On April 6, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks headlined the new Nassau Colisem, as part of her "24 Karat Gold Tour."
by Markos Papadatos
Digital Journal

Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders served as her opening act, and they were able to warm up the stage for Nicks.

Nicks opened her set with "Gold and Braid" and it was followed by "If Anyone Falls." Thank you. This is a night of storytelling," she said. "It's so much fun for me."

She told the audience the story behind "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and brought back Chrissie Hynde on stage to sing the Tom Petty-penned tune as a duet with her, which was a nonchalant yet powerful collaboration. Nicks noted that thanks to success of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," it helped propel her Bella Donna album straight into the stratosphere.

For the follow-up song, "Belle Fleur," the stage was decorated in an elaborate set and a neat backdrop, as she brought her tambourine with her on stage and showcased her timeless outfit. She took the crowd on a trip down memory lane with "Gypsy" as a rain backdrop graced the stage.

She subsequently described "Wild Heart" as a song that was more crazy, while "Bella Donna" was more focused, and she delivered memorable versions of both songs. "Wild Heart" was an important song for Nicks since it proved to her that her solo career was not a fluke, and rightfully so.

One of the most poignant songs in the set was "New Orleans," which she wrote about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which has optimistic vibes to it.

The rock queen noted that the song "Starshine" originated in Tom Petty's basement, and she sang an upbeat and rocking version, which had that vintage Tom Petty touch to it.

After an outfit change, she took her fans on a vocal voyage to "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," which had a neat orchestral arrangement to it, that was reminiscent of a scene in a Twilight film, featuring Nicks' expressive vocals. She noted that she wrote the song in 2009 at a time when she was super-disturbed with the Internet world. "At my age, I'm writing music just for me," she said, and the audience concurred with that statement, since Nicks proved that it is all about the quality of music.

One of the highlight moments of the night, and this journalist's personal favorite performance was "Stand Back," where she got the crowd on their feet. The best was when she did her signature spinning move midway through the song, which resonated well with the audience, garnering her a standing ovation.

After "Crying in the Night" and "If You Were My Love," she concluded her show with "Gold Dust Woman" and her Grammy-nominated "Edge of Seventeen." For her encore, Nicks performed two beloved Fleetwood Mac classics, "Rhiannon" and "Landslide."

The Verdict
Overall, Stevie Nicks gave Nassau Coliseum a nostalgic night of music to remember, which was a blend of her solo material, Fleetwood Mac songs and even newer songs that she had written. She proved to be one true song stylist, and was able to share her insights with her audience about the origins of some of her songs. The crowd was aware of the fact that they were in the presence of a rock and roll countess. Her "24 Karat Gold" tour stop at Nassau Coliseum earned an A rating.

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Charlottesville March 25, 2017

Stevie Nicks As Good as ‘Gold’ In Charlottesville
by Muktaru Jalloh
Commonwealthtimes

Currently on her second leg of the 24K Karat Gold Tour, legendary singer Stevie Nicks performed for a crowd of nearly 15,000 at University of Virginia Jean Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville on March 25.  

Known for her work with band Fleetwood Mac and her solo career, Nicks has been regarded by many pubs as the Queen of Rock & Roll, with more than 140 millions records sold and 8 Grammys. This tour is a celebration of her most recent album, the 2014 release of  “24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault.”

Originally scheduled for a start time of 7p.m., the venue announced last-minute show’s openers, The Pretenders, would not be performing due to illness. While some fans asked for refunds at ticket booths, many decided Nicks was still worth the night.

A predominantly older crowd, many came dressed to the nines with life-long fans opted to take a page out of their wardrobe from back in the day. Nicks, a mainstay of Rock & Roll music in the 1970s, was a major influence with her style and fashion as much as her music. Thus, many fans dressed in her likeness, sporting Nick’s’ trademark shawl fabrics, big hair and celestial pendants.

A little after 8 p.m., Nick’s’ band appeared on stage to roaring applause from the crowd. Once each band member was set, Nicks gracefully walked onstage and wasted no time getting the show started, opening with “Gold and Braid,” an unreleased song from her 1981 debut solo platinum-selling album, “Bella Donna.”

The album served as affirmation of her decision to leave the success of Fleetwood Mac and embark on her own career.  

After performing the song, Nicks spoke about the creation and legacy of the album, citing collaborators Tom Petty and Jimmy Lovine as instrumental to its success. She continued to perform carefully-selected songs from her early solo albums, including “If Anyone Falls” and“Stop Draggin”.

At certain parts of the night, Nicks chose to perform fan favorites from her work with Fleetwood Mac, performing “Gyspy” to a resounding response from the crowd. Like the album, the nearly three-hour-long highlighted various unreleased songs Nicks chose to perform for the first time.

For each song, she detailed its own unique background story and origin. To the audience’s pleasure, Nicks spoke with much candor and wit in her recollections. In addition, never-before-seen photos appeared on a large LCD screen behind her correlating with each story and song.

When she performed “Stand Back,” she spoke of her close friendship with Prince, who passed away last year. She detailed her first encounter with the legend, citing his purple camaro and his attire as personal memories that still stand out to her to  this day. Nicks revealed that the song was a play on Prince’s classic, “Little Red Corvette” and said that she feels his presence every time she performs the record.  

Nicks closed the set with her famous, “Edge of Seventeen” with her guitarist doing his best Jimi Hendrix impression during his solo. When the crowd pleaded that she sing one more, she gladly obliged performing “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” as encores.

An intriguing yet inspiring element to the show was the perspective in which Nicks spoke about her past and present. She spoke as someone who is at peace with her youth, prime and career. Most importantly, Nicks genuinely looked happy on stage to share these obscure songs that maybe one point in time she was too afraid to perform in the past. 

A show filled with nostalgia and remembrance, Nicks’s presence was also one of contentment and joy. With her voice as strong and cool as ever, Stevie is still as good as Gold.

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Baltimore March 26, 2017

Wild Heart: On Stevie Nicks and her dogged tenderness
Rebekah Kirkman
City Papers

At Royal Farms Arena a couple weeks ago, CP's Performing Arts Editor Maura Callahan and I are standing among a swarm of people who all look like vaguely different amalgamations of a certain type of person I have known throughout my life—people I grew up going to church with, people I worked for, the friends, parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts of my peers and myself. A lot of these people are disappointed: The Pretenders, who are supposed to open for Stevie Nicks, had to cancel because singer Chrissie Hynde is sick.

As we wait in line at will call to pick up our press passes, where everyone else is clamoring for a refund—because they had already seen Stevie Nicks a million times and Fleetwood Mac a million times, and what if she sings songs that they don't know so well, and they were really looking forward to hearing 'Back on the Chain Gang' again only this time a little more rough around the edges maybe—an angry white woman behind us says to a Royal Farms Arena worker who is trying to help her, "I know it's not your fault, but this really SUCKS!" It's a bummer to be around all these joyless folks—I was bummed to miss The Pretenders too—but I'm able to transcend my temporary discomfort: We're about to see Stevie Nicks live for the first time, instead of sitting at home watching old recordings on YouTube, which is what Maura and I usually do.

We get into our seats—to the right of the stage, kinda close to the floor seats, and sandwiched between two old-dad-like dudes, one of whom keeps creepily looking over and gesturing at Maura. Soon Stevie and her eight-piece backing band emerge onto the stage, and after a rousing performance of 'Gold and Braid,' she greets the audience and tells us what we've gotten ourselves into.

"It's going to be different than you've seen before," she says, fingering the thick black and silver tassels tied to her mic stand. "I just had to do something for myself." So she went back into her "gothic trunk of lost songs" and pulled some of her lesser known and unreleased songs she wrote throughout her nearly 50-year career as a solo artist, a member of Fleetwood Mac, and as one half of the pre-Fleetwood Mac duo Buckingham Nicks. And then she sequenced them for this tour with the crowd favorites, including 'Gold Dust Woman,' 'Edge of Seventeen,' and 'Landslide,' among others.

Her set is peppered with anecdotes about how certain songs and collaborations came to be. Her stories are lengthy and comprehensive, and it feels as if we're all her grandchildren, as Maura observes, and we ought to listen to her. The second best story is about Prince, who she met in the late '70s at a party. (The best one is about how her song 'Moonlight [A Vampire's Dream]' is "Twilight" fanfiction; Bella was "eclipsed" by Edward—and who hasn't felt that way in a relationship before, she asked. Ugh, you're right.) Stevie's initial meeting with Prince was pretty unremarkable—she told him he needed to talk more, and then she fluttered away. She didn't hear anything else about him until 1983, when she was in a car with her new husband Kim Anderson (who had introduced her to Prince at that party), and 'Little Red Corvette' came on the radio. She started riffing on it in her head while listening to it, and they pulled over so she could write it down. After recording the song in a Los Angeles studio, she said, "Does anyone know how to get in touch with Prince?" (when Stevie gets to this part in the story, Maura shouts "Oh my god, she's gonna do a seance.")

So she called up Prince, and he happened to be in town. He came to the studio decked out in purple and velvet, she recalls. She played the song for him, and he liked it, so he played some synthesizers and guitar. "And then he was like, 'Well I'm out of here, people to see, places to go.'" The song was 'Stand Back.'

For the whole set, with only a minor hiccup here or there, she and her band sound incredible. It doesn't matter that she doesn't really hit the high notes anymore; she's adapted, and her performance is graceful—the crowd goes nuts when she twirls around in her black drapey dress and beaded and tasseled shawls (there are several shawl changes throughout the set).

Her stories between songs craft a scene of furious dedication; how she built on the momentum of her past work to keep going and making more. After the success of her 1981 debut solo album, "Bella Donna," for example, she went back to make more music and tour with Fleetwood Mac, and then put out "The Wild Heart" two years later, as an almost manic response to her fear of becoming a one-hit-solo-record-wonder.

As she introduces 'Belle Fleur,' which was released in her 2014 album "24 Karat Gold," Stevie describes it as a song that "could be written by Chrissie Hynde or Stevie Nicks or any other girl in rock 'n' roll" in the 1970s—it's about how getting more famous and "successful" meant first-class tickets and shiny limousines, which she realized were both literally and figuratively carrying her away from the comforts of home, stability, love, and her idea of who she really was. "I missed my Toyota," she says.

"This is no ticket for dreamland/ A garden for fevers to grow in/ As I run through the door of the long black car," she sings on 'Belle Fleur.'

At the heart of some of these explorations and disillusioned views of fame is a woman working it out. "I have no fear, I have only love," she sings with dogged tenderness on 'Gypsy.' And that's where her music hits me, a young woman in my 20s who feels occasionally, almost melodramatically, lost and confused about who and where I am in my life. Maybe that's true for a lot of the women and girls present tonight—and it makes me feel vaguely hopeful and idealistic that there exists some kind of intergenerational knowledge that women have and can use to support and show up for each other.

All of my current troubles have layers, and they co-mingle with one another, but perhaps my most obvious one—the one that's certainly wrapped up in all of the others—is that I'm currently about six months into grieving my dad's death, which happened a few days after my 25th birthday (he would've been bummed for me that the Pretenders canceled, but would've been jealous that I got to see Stevie Nicks). I asked my mom recently if being in your mid-20s is supposed to feel like a second puberty (shout-out to Mitski, whose 2016 album "Puberty 2" I've had in constant rotation since it came out). My mom reminded me that she had already had two babies by the time she was in her mid-20s (she had me when she was in her late 20s), and she did what she thought she needed to do to make things good for me and my siblings. "I did, learned, regrouped, and did," she told me.

And that's a thread I pick up in much of Stevie's music: so many songs about women who are younger, older, wise, lost, and figuring it out all at the same time. And tonight, the teenage girl a couple rows in front of me wearing a sweater with a skull on it is having just as much fun dancing and singing along with her friends as the gray-haired older women in our row who joyously, drunkenly slur to one another, "It's 'Landslide!'" when guitarist Waddy Wachtel starts strumming his guitar.

And at 68 years old, Stevie Nicks is still figuring it out, too. In the very last song of the night which is, of course, 'Landslide,' which she wrote when she was 25 years old, she adjusts a line from the original: "And can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life? Uh-uh, I don't know, oh, still don't know."

Review Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders April 2, 2017 - Newark, NJ

Review: Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders find 'lost songs'
Jay Lustig, Special to The Record
NorthJersey.com

Stevie Nicks brought her “dark gothic trunk of lost songs” with her to the Prudential Center in Newark on Sunday night. It wasn’t a literal chest, of course, but she used this phrase, several times, to refer to the little-known material that made up much of the setlist.

This show was part of Nicks’ 24 Karat Gold Tour, which follows the 2014 release of her album, “24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault,” featuring new versions of previously unreleased songs she had written at various phases of her career. Nicks sang three of those songs (“Starshine,” “Belle Fleur” and “If You Were My Love”) in Newark, and built on the theme by also including rarities like “Crying in the Night” (from her 1973 album with Lindsey Buckingham, “Buckingham Nicks”) and “New Orleans” (her uplifting response to Hurricane Katrina, released on her 2011 album, “In Your Dreams”).

Nicks, 68, also talked a lot about the songs, especially the obscure ones, and told stories about what her life was like at the time they were written. As anyone who has heard her being interviewed knows, she’s a great raconteur — open and honest and always ready to delve into some fascinating tangent — and the stories made up a big portion of Sunday’s set. She was on stage for two hours and 20 minutes, and at least a half hour of that time was devoted to the stories.

There was still plenty of room in the show, of course, for hits, from both her solo career (“Edge of Seventeen,” “Stand Back”) and her albums with Fleetwood Mac (“Rhiannon,” “Gypsy”). She brought out Chrissie Hynde — who had opened the show with her band the Pretenders — to duet with her on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” “Landslide” was the low-key, soulful show-closer. “Gold Dust Woman” was stretched out into a cathartic epic, as was the “In Your Dreams” track, “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream).”

Nicks — who also performs at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Thursday — was in good voice throughout, and her eight-piece band, anchored by the guitarist Waddy Wachtel (a friend and associate of Nicks since her Buckingham Nicks days), played flawlessly. Artful, intricately detailed video projections were used on many songs.

One of Nicks’ most memorable stories was about how hearing Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” on a car stereo inspired her to write “Stand Back,” and how she got Prince himself to play on the song. She also explained why the “long black car” in “Belle Fleur” symbolizes a relationship-destroying force, and how the upbeat “Starshine” came to be recorded, nearly 40 years ago, with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers — though it didn’t surface until “24 Karat Gold” simply because neither Nicks nor Petty was working on an album at the time.

Opening the show, the Pretenders began with two songs from their 2016 album “Alone” (“Gotta Wait” and the title track) before playing a dozen older tunes, almost all of which were hits. Hynde, like Nicks, has a distinctive voice, and it has held up well over the years. It’s worth noting, too, that “Gotta Wait” sounded as raw and urgent as any of the older songs. Maybe even more so.

The idea of a Nicks/Pretenders tour may not have made sense in 1980, when The Pretenders were lean, mean new-wave upstarts, and Fleetwood Mac was showing signs of superstar bloat with their “Tusk” album and tour. But somehow, it seems perfectly right in 2017, and when Nicks and Hynde sang together, on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” they seemed like kindred spirits, totally comfortable with each other.

Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders Live in Pittsburgh March 31, 2017

Concert review: Stevie Nicks, Pretenders set the gold standard in Pittsburgh
SCOTT MERVIS
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rebecca Droke/Post-Gazette

Wasn't Stevie Nicks one of the quiet ones in Fleetwood Mac?

She isn't now. All that stage banter saved up over the decades is spilling out on the 24 Karat Gold Tour, where she talks for 24 minutes between songs.

Ok, not really. I kid the diva (at my own peril!). It’s more like four minutes, and despite her bewitching image, she's not a diva at all, in the negative sense. We hesitate to apply the term “down to earth” to Stevie Nicks, because she seems to be hovering above it, but she's actually very sweet (I spoke with her on the phone years ago and she’s the kind of person who asks YOU questions about yourself).

This tour, which began in October and hit the PPG Paints Arena Friday on its second leg, is very much about her and how she came to be a star in and out of Fleetwood Mac. It's a “storytellers” tour without using that word, and on Friday night it was being filmed for posterity, giving it the feel of a live documentary in the making.

The odd thing about that is that usually people do the storyteller thing in an intimate theater setting, not a packed arena, here on a Girls’ Night Out Friday.

For starters, she brought along an old friend in Chrissie Hynde, the tough rocker from Akron, Ohio, fronting the latest version of the Pretenders, a band that emerged in the punk era of the late ‘70s as a counter-punch to the FM-friendly likes of Fleetwood Mac.

Clearly, the two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers love each other now, and Hynde even said “I love you, Stevie” after dedicating a beautiful version of the feminist ballad “Hymn to Her” to the headliner, along with all the rest of the songs in the set. The musical bond would jell even more later.

This concert was well placed on the calendar because over the last week Hynde has been canceling shows with a respiratory ailment, but in Pittsburgh (which she praised as a city that’s held on to its past) she seemed to be feeling no ill effects. The 65-year-old’s voice is still a wonder to behold — rich, sexy, forceful — and she cut a sharp figure in tight pants, boots and a sleeveless Recycled Records T-shirt. For this occasion, she settled on the nicer, mid-tempo Pretenders songs like “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Talk of the Town” and “Message of Love,” rather than such punk ragers as “Precious” and “The Wait.”

She actually seemed to care if Stevie’s fans liked her, and most did, but far too many were flooding in the aisles, just getting to their seats or getting up for beers, and with no real urgency.

Backed by one original Pretender in drummer Martin Chambers (Brits Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott tragically died young) they added a pair of songs from new album “Alone” (including the bluesy, fuzzed-out title track) and finished with a solid run of “Stop Your Sobbing,” “My City Was Gone,” “Middle of the Road” and a typically sassy “Brass in Pocket.” Along the way, James Walbourne, of Pernice Brothers and Son Volt fame, provided the best guitar heroics of the whole night.

Stevie did not follow that by strutting out with one of her radio warhorses. She arrived in black lacy dress, cape and fingerless gloves, offset by her golden hair, on a gorgeously illuminated stage with deep cut “Gold and Braid,” setting the tone for a concert culled from what she described as the “dark Gothic trunk of lost songs.”

After following that with ‘80s synth-rocker “If Anyone Falls,” she said, “This is not the same Stevie Nicks show you’ve seen a million times, because I’m not the same Stevie Nicks you've seen a million times.”

In the good ways she is, though, because she is remarkably well preserved at 68, including that beguiling voice that can be at once lovely and dissonant.

The storyline centered on balancing her solo career with her day job in Fleetwood Mac. Being one of three singer-songwriters in that superstar band (with former flame Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie), there was, and is, the Beatles-like dilemma of getting your songs on the album.

When she decided in late 1980 to go solo with “Bella Donna,” “I wasn’t going to be like Beyoncé and break up my band,” she said, wisely appending that statement with praise and respect for the Queen. “I got Fleetwood Mac in a room and said, ‘Fleetwood Mac, I want to do a solo album, but it won't hurt us at all. It will only keep us in the spotlight while you're on vacation.’ ”

Providing some of the spark for that was Tom Petty handing her the smash single “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a contender for best rock duet of all time, and on the PPG stage, her sidekick guitarist Waddy Wachtel had to be pinching himself to be in a threesome with Stevie and Chrissie, singing, “I know you BOTH wanna be your own girl.” It was one of those thrilling concert moments you can talk about for years, punctuated with a high-five photo op at the end.

Nicks continued with trunk songs from 2014’s “24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault,” like the bright Petty-and-the-Heartbreakers-assisted rocker “Starshine” and the seductive “Belle Fleur,” interspersed with hits like “Gypsy,” ending with one of her signature spins that drive fans wild.

With each song came a long story, about recording with Fleetwood Mac in an old French castle with no ice, or calling Prince for help on “Stand Back,” a song inspired by hearing “Little Red Corvette.” It took an hour to get his number and, because he was in LA not Minneapolis, it took less than that for His Purple Majesty to show up at the studio and add keys and guitar to the future hit.

She climaxed the 2 1/2-hour set with an enchanting “Gold Dust Woman,” complete with a frantic dance in the full-moon backdrop, and an electrifying “Edge of Seventeen,” with the guitars rumbling like propellers and Nicks spreading her vintage black cape like a nightbird.

She encored with the double Mac pleasure of a “Rhiannon” that rocked and a “Landslide” that displayed her tender touch with a ballad. For the purposes of the film, they returned to recut “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with just Stevie and Waddy.

The 24 Karat format, and her occasional exits from the stage, surely interrupted the flow of the music (and there are bound to be complaints), but Stevie Nicks is still the gold standard, and her faithful fans got to know her a little better on Friday night.

In the end, she thanked them profusely for sitting through the stories and trunk songs, like the diva she is not.

STEVIE NICKS SET LIST

Gold and Braid
If Anyone Falls
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Belle Fleur
Gypsy
Wild Heart
Bella Donna
Enchanted
New Orleans
Starshine
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)
Stand Back
Crying in the Night
If You Were My Love
Gold Dust Woman
Edge of Seventeen
Encore:
Rhiannon
Landslide
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

Pittsburgh Photos[Link]