Stevie Nicks Chicago Review "Finding beauty in the struggle and a voice amid heartbreak"

Stevie Nicks takes Chicago down memory lane in heartfelt United Center show - June 23, 2023

By  Selena Fragassi 

Photo: Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere

Chicago Sun Times

As much as she is a gifted songwriter, Nicks is also a great storyteller and had several yarns to spin with the crowd, including how her parents moved to Chicago while she was still enrolled at San Jose State University. It was the first move she didn’t make with her nomadic parents and fatefully led to her start in music.

Finding beauty in the struggle and a voice amid heartbreak has always been the cornerstone of Stevie Nicks’ unending talent. Her gift takes on even new weight in 2023, as the prolific singer-songwriter tours while mourning the loss of her “best friend” and Fleetwood Mac cohort Christine McVie who passed away unexpectedly last November.

“Someday I’ll talk to you about what it’s like to lose Christine. … I can’t do it yet, but maybe someday over a glass of wine,” Nicks said, her voice cracking with emotion as she wrapped up her moving headlining performance at United Center Friday night.

Nicks and her talented eight-part backing ensemble — led by the incredible guitarist/music director Waddy Wachtel — did so with a solemn salute of “Landslide,” one of the biggest and most poignant songs Nicks wrote for Fleetwood Mac in 1975. A confessional for navigating the way forward as life changes, it’s a message that takes on even more gravitas now.

Moving “Landslide” to the end and dedicating it to McVie, complete with a black-and-white photo montage of the two that played across the video screens, was one of the marked differences in Nicks’ latest 2-hour, 17-song set that otherwise largely mirrored her show under the stars at Ravinia last September. 

Even so, the emotional pull felt different nine months later. The celebration of seeing Nicks live was buffered by the thought that Fleetwood Mac is likely wrapped up, while a large part of Friday night also felt like a séance for the giant ghosts of music past, with Nicks as the audience medium. It added to the ongoing sense of urgency to see the legends while we still can (and no doubt led to a near-capacity crowd at the UC). 

There was a Prince tribute during the “white-winged dove” of “Edge of Seventeen” as well as Nicks’ ongoing tributes to late friend Tom Petty. In addition to a heartfelt serenade of “Free Fallin’,” Nicks dug out her 1981 duet with the Heartbreakers frontman, the ever-catchy “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” She prefaced it by recalling what a timely gift it was from Petty, as her record label scrambled to find a single to help explode her debut solo album “Bella Donna.” 

That LP was much of the focus of the night, with 75-year-old Nicks sounding as pristine as ever and celebrating by donning the original shawl “cape” she wore during the “Bella Donna” promo shots and videos (and the one she originally wore for “Gold Dust Woman”). It was her only costume change of the night, met with uproarious applause as she did little twirls around the stage.

As much as she is a gifted songwriter, Nicks is also a great storyteller and had several yarns to spin with the crowd, including how her parents moved to Chicago while she was still enrolled at San Jose State University. She noted it was the first move she didn’t make with her nomadic parents and fatefully led to her start in music. “It’s a good thing I didn’t change my mind,” Nicks joked.

Later, she covered Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” talking about Stephen Stills writing it in homage to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in the ‘60s.

“This song has traveled all the way from 1966 to 2023 and still makes a statement,” Nicks said, sharing that had she been old enough and in L.A. at the time, she would have participated in the demonstrations. 

Her hippie heart continued to shine with a moving delivery of “Soldier’s Angel,” from her 2011 album “In Your Dreams.” Originally written after Nicks visited American soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the early 2000s, on this tour it’s being revisited as a tribute to the people of Ukraine.

“I stand for democracy, I stand for freedom, I stand for Ukraine,” Nicks shared, reading a speech from a teleprompter in order to not mince words. The number ended with blue and yellow flashing lights on the video screens and a QR code that audience members could scan to donate to the UN’s crisis relief fund.

Finding throughlines of past and present and adapting archive songs to modern context is the true mark of a legacy artist, and the practice is just one part of what makes Nicks so alluring and worshipped by multi-generations, even though it’s been nearly 10 years since she released a new album. Droves of fans came bedecked in flower crowns and their best witchy wear, some with binoculars to get a closer look at the woman who has inspired a whole new legion of singer-songwriters (see her close relationships with Taylor Swift and Haim, and even Riley Keough’s eponymous lead character from “Daisy Jones.”

And she’s clearly not done yet, promising to see everyone “next time.”

Nicks’ tour continues through 2024 coupled with co-headlining dates with Billy Joel.

SET LIST

• Outside the Rain
• Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)
• If Anyone Falls
• Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
• Fall From Grace
• For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
• Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)
• Wild Heart
• Bella Donna
• Stand Back
• Soldier’s Angel
• Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)
• I Sing for the Things
• Edge of Seventeen
• Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty) 
• Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)
• Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) 

Chicago Review Onstage, Stevie Nicks remains an original: a free-spirited blend of siren, gypsy, canyon queen and enchanted sorceress.

Review: Stevie Nicks’ musical legacy was in the room with her at the United Center on June 23, 2023

By Bob Gendron

Chicago Tribune

In the waning moments of her concert Friday at a rafters-packed United Center, Stevie Nicks sang about getting older. She echoed the sentiments in back-to-back lines of “Landslide,” a classic she has performed across six decades.

Yet as black-and-white pictures of Christine McVie — Nicks’ longtime Fleetwood Mac cohort and best friend who died last November — flashed on a curved projection screen behind her, the words took on added weight. Nicks, recognizing how circumstance forever changed the lyrical meaning, struck a decidedly submissive and reverent tone. The interpretive shift and photos of McVie weren’t the only reminders of time’s finite qualities during the 110-minute set.

Now 75, Nicks is in the victory-lap stretch of her long career. This July, she’ll be feted with a career-spanning box set documenting her solo work. The release (by Rhino) coincides with her current tour on which she’s appearing with Billy Joel for select stadium dates. These profile boosts follow a 2022 summer-fall trek that brought her to Ravinia, and her 2019 feat of becoming the first woman to be twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The attention showered on Nicks in the past decade-plus seems overdue. Despite her distinguished role in Fleetwood Mac, she often stood in the shadows of male colleagues and dealt with the double standards of a chauvinistic era. Though her situation paralleled those faced by many female artists who traded in rock ‘n’ roll during the ‘70s and ‘80s, Nicks’ songwriting acumen, unique voice and inner strength helped transform her into an icon embraced by subsequent generations.

Her wide-ranging impact could be seen throughout the United Center crowd, which skewed younger — median age falling between late 30s and early 40s — than at most shows by baby boomers. Celebrating the singer’s trademark fashions, some fans arrived adorned in frilly jackets, wide-brimmed hats or chiffon shawls.

Dressed in black, Nicks wore a few signature accessories of her own. When performing “Bella Donna,” she modeled the original cape she was pictured wearing on the back cover of that title track’s 1981 LP and proudly boasted about its pristine condition. The old cape used for her 1983 synth-heavy single “Stand Back” also emerged but didn’t merit the same royal treatment. After noting its holes and repairs, Nicks tossed the garment aside like a dirty T-shirt ready for the laundry. It’s unclear if she realized the humor of her actions.

Amicable and sincere, Nicks appeared to dwell in her own universe. She came across less as a famous rock star and more as an eager storyteller. Talking a mile a minute, Nicks framed a majority of songs with introductions or outros. Her combination of personal histories and frank disclosures supplied context and color — not to mention trivia fodder. A prime example: Who knew she penned “Gold Dust Woman” after passing a street named Gold Dust Lane?

Nicks’ candor applied to matters lighthearted (the need for an album to have a hit single in order to get attention in the ‘80s; her tendency to go off on a tangent) and serious. In terms of the latter, after the final acoustic passages of the closing “Landslide” faded and the music stopped, she admitted she will one day discuss what it feels like to lose McVie. Nicks isn’t ready yet.

The singer also addressed her collaborative experience with Tom Petty, increased the heat on a rendition of their 1981 duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and paid the late artist tribute with a well-meaning albeit flat cover of “Free Fallin’.” Another bygone great, Prince, received his due in the form of his picture being displayed during two songs. Nicks also punctuated the end of an invigorating version of “Edge of Seventeen” with a lyric from Prince’s “When Doves Cry.”

Backed by an ace band anchored by veteran guitarist Waddy Wachtel and drummer Drew Hester, Nicks sang with a sharpness that projected above the eight-piece support group. Her range is considerably lower from that of her heyday and proved most convincing on upbeat fare. Occasionally, Nicks’ voice betrayed her, turning pinched and nasally on upper-register passages. Two backing vocalists assisted with highs, choruses and extended notes.

Onstage, Nicks remains an original: a free-spirited blend of siren, gypsy, canyon queen and enchanted sorceress. With the longest strands of her hair nearly reaching her waist, and a mix of beads and ribbons lining her angled microphone stand, she gave the mysticism and dreams in her narratives visual reference points. Those extended to Nicks’ theatrical movements — outstretched arms, palms-up gestures, cape clutches, slow twirls, forward bends, head-in-hands signals, grandiose bows. For the finale of an epic “Gold Dust Woman,” she stood in front of an amplifier and worshipped distortion.

Though Nicks and company played just one song released in the last two decades, the present revealed itself in other ways. The collective’s folk-blues reading of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” invoked themes of division, confrontation and paranoia fracturing the American landscape. “Fall From Grace” burned with an intensity that mirrored the courage, independence and outspokenness of a crop of younger, modern artists Nicks inspired.

Nothing, however, resonated with as much relevance as “Soldier’s Angel.” Concerned she might lose focus, Nicks read her explanation of the 2011 tune from a Teleprompter and apologized for doing so. Played as devastating images from the Russian invasion of Ukraine provided the backdrop, the song sounded a clarion call for righteousness, justice and democracy before concluding with an image of the Ukrainian flag.

The answer to the question Nicks has asked in another, more renowned song for decades — “Do you know how to pick up the pieces and go home?” — seldom seemed so uncertain or necessary.

Toronto Review An inspiring performance that proved once again why Stevie Nicks will always be their “Bella Donna

Review: Stevie Nicks wows Toronto in four-star show

June 20, 2023 at the Scotiabank Arena, Toronto

By Nick Krewen

Toronto Star

Heartfelt tributes to fallen comrades.

Photo: Mystical Amanda

If there was a memorable arc to Stevie Nicks’ overall performance during her two-hour concert at Scotiabank Arena Tuesday night, it was the respect and love she accorded a couple of her artist friends who are no longer with us.

The first one was a bit of surprise in terms of the amount of devotion she offered: Tom Petty, who unexpectedly left this mortal coil in 2017. Nicks referenced Petty several times throughout the evening: first through his recording of “Runnin’ Down a Dream” that blared over the speakers as Nicks and her eight-piece band took to the stage.

Then, four songs in, Nicks told a story of how Petty had “saved” the album “Bella Donna” from becoming “a flop” — as her then-boyfriend-producer Jimmy Iovine told her — by not only providing the hit “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” but volunteering to duet with her on it.

And, to complete the homage, for her first encore, Nicks and crew performed “Free Fallin’,” Petty’s hit from what was arguably his best album, “Full Moon Fever” in 1989.

But the most poignant moment occurred during the evening’s finale, as Nicks — doubly blessed as a solo artist and as a charter member of the most popular version of Fleetwood Mac — performed a tender, acoustic rendition of “Landslide” as candid images of her and the late Christine McVie flashed on a big screen above the singer and her accompanists. McVie, also a Fleetwood Mac legend, died last November at 79.

These acknowledgments, while emotive, are not to suggest that the Nicks concert presented to an estimated 15,000 devotees was anything but celebratory. All of her fans had a blast.

At 75, Nicks’ distinctive husky alto still delivers the goods. Dressed in a black top, chiffon skirt, leggings and boots, with her waist-length blond hair cascading over her shoulders, the only notable concession to maybe feeling a little older was that the twirling and pirouettes of earlier performances are no longer part of her physical repertoire.

Not that it mattered to her flock: Nicks has always commanded a blind adoration with her bohemian ways, from her philosophically romantic poetry to her distinctive sense of fashion.

Judging by the number of Stevie look-a-likes of all ages who came dressed in honour of their idol, that impact remains multi-generational.

Following a poised and well-received solo set from Tenille Townes of Grand Prairie, Alta. — her blazing cover of “At Last” and her original “Somebody’s Daughter,” among others, won a warm ovation — their heroine Nicks could do no wrong as she dipped into her solo catalogue and that of Fleetwood Mac. The crowd was rewarded almost immediately as the opener “Bella Donna” melted into “Dreams,” the first of five group numbers included in the 17-song setlist.

It was clear from the fact that Nicks introduced practically every song with a little story that she considers herself a songwriter first.

In discussing the inspiration behind “Gypsy,” she told the audience how the virtually overnight transition from waitress and cleaning lady to Fleetwood Mac star “weirded me out,” to the point where she instigated a ritual to ground herself.

“So whenever that would happen, I would take my mattress off of my bed frame, put it on the floor, and then I would just sit down on this bed and I would say, ‘I am still Stevie.’”

Another tale focused on politics and world concern, as she dedicated a song from her album “In Your Dreams” to embattled Ukraine.

“I wrote this song for returning American soldiers that I visited at Walter Reed hospital. When the attacks on Ukraine began, I thought these words became their words and I brought the song back. In my opinion, Ukraine is fighting for all of us. I stand for democracy. I stand for freedom. I stand for Ukraine. No surrender! This is ‘Soldier’s Angel.’”

Whether it was matters of the world or matters of the heart, Nicks and her crackerjack band — including guitarist Waddy Wachtel and keyboardist Darrell Smith — offered flawless executions of her material, with some live versions transcending their recorded originals.

One of the more amazing workouts was “Gold Dust Woman.” With Wachtel offering a splendid solo and Drew Hester hammering it out on the drums, the momentum between the five jamming instrumentalists kept building until the song exploded into an exciting climax.

The same feverish effect happened with “Edge of Seventeen”: Wachtel began with a gritty, electrifying solo that eventually morphed into the recognizable opening riffs of the tune, bringing the cheering crowd to their feet. Nicks and her backing singers Sharon Celani and Marilyn Martin then prodded each other to sing more powerfully, and the overall result was an adrenalin high for both artist and audience, one of the show’s many highlights.

An exultant “Stand Back” and a vigorous “Rhiannon” also made their way into the Stevie Nicks highlight reel — and the singer and songwriter seemed moved enough to promise there would be at least one more visit in the not-too-distant future.

“Thank you everybody, you have been an awesome audience from the very beginning,” said Nicks. “You mean so much to me. You know, I’m 75 years old. And I stand for a lot of things, as you know, but one thing, for all you women out there … if I can do this at 75 years old, you can do anything.

“Join a basketball team! Take flying lessons. So, with that little proverb from Stevie, I loved being here and I love the fact that you shared your home here with me, and we’ll be back to see you and you’re so awesome, we have to come back here and redo this, at least one more time. Thank you!”

The gratitude was palpable on both counts: an entertainer appreciative of an audience that has unquestioningly embraced her for going on 50 years and a crowd who received an inspiring performance that proved once again why Stevie Nicks will always be their “Bella Donna.”

You just know she’s going to make good on her word just for them.

Philadelphia Review Stevie Nicks’ singing was on another level and her banter was fun and bubbly

A stadium-sized singalong with Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks at The Linc

Two songwriting legends gave stellar performances in Philly on Friday, June 16, 2023.

Photo: nikkejones85 on Instagram

By Maureen Walsh and John Vettese

xpn.org

It’s easy to understand why a double-header of pop songwriting icons Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks drew a capacity crowd to Lincoln Financial Field on Friday night. Both artists have been active since the late 60s; both are behind an array of hit songs stretching into the 90s, and their popularity extends to present day, with a strong cross-generational appeal. The Philadelphia crowd was made up of life-long fans who probably first heard both artists on WIOQ 40 years ago; younger fans experiencing Nicks and Joel for the first time; and the crossover of parents in collective rapture with their children. And for the performers’ part, both artists sounded stellar, were backed by exemplary bands, played a robust mix of hits and deep cuts, and put their lively personalities on full display.

Nicks opened her set with “Outside the Rain” — appropriate given the thunderstorm forecast and tornado warnings we spent all day monitoring on our Accuweather apps — followed by its sister song “Dreams.” The crowd was pleasantly surprised by the Fleetwood Mac classic turned Tik Tok sensation appearing so early in the set, but that was not the only surprise. We soon were regaled with tourmate Billy Joel’s presence on “Stop Dragging My Heart Around;” he took the stage in a party mask, singing Tom Petty’s verse before revealing his face for the chorus. Nicks’ set continued with even more unexpected moments. There were deep cuts such as “If Anyone Falls,” and Rock A Little‘s “I Sing For the Things,” a song Nicks is playing live for the first time on this tour. She also sang a few covers, the highlight being a heartfelt and powerful cover “Free Fallin'” looking up to the sky and her old friend Petty towards the end.

Nicks couldn’t leave out the hits, of course. “Landslide,” was gorgeous, “Edge of Seventeen,” was explosive with smoking solos courtesy of longtime guitarist Waddy Wachtel.  “Stand Back,” was taken to the stratosphere thanks to backing vocals by Sharon Celani and Marilyn Martin, and an epic jam on “Gold Dust Woman” was a set centerpiece, with intentionally disorienting camerawork on the big screens adding to the song’s psychedelic feeling.

Nicks’ singing was on another level and her banter was fun and bubbly, talking issues with men and offering life lessons about staying true to yourself. She donned a different shawl for nearly every song, including the very one she wore on the back cover of her solo debut Bella Donna. It was a memorable set of music and her and her band left the crowd wanting more even after her encore.

Billy Joel pays tribute to Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks enchants at co-headlining concert

Melissa Ruggieri

USA TODAY

As with recent performances, Nicks took the stage at sunset for about an hour and 45 minutes and Joel closed the night with two hours of radio fodder and fan favorites (hi, “Captain Jack”).

Though no one expects – or wants – any drastic deviations from their adroitly crafted setlists, a couple of spotlight moments emerged.

Joel, 74, offered Tom Petty-esque vocals to counter Nicks, 75, on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (it wasn’t the tidiest of duets as Joel missed his cue to start singing and then his microphone blanked for several seconds). And during Joel’s percussive “River of Dreams,” he and his exemplary band swung into Tina Turner's “River Deep, Mountain High,” with the multifaceted Crystal Taliefero belting and brass masters Mark Rivera and Carl Fischer coating the tribute with spiky horns.

Stevie Nicks conjures spirits, expels emotions

Nicks, looking resplendent in layers of black, her crimped blond hair flowing halfway down her back, offered her comforting warble on both solo and Fleetwood Mac treasures.

The overlooked “If Anyone Falls” paired with “Gypsy,” allowing Nicks’ two backup singers to add plushness to the choruses.

Nicks’ songs are as layered as her chiffon skirts, their melody and meaning requiring hours of dissection. The poetry in the title tracks of her early solo releases, “Bella Donna” (1981) and “The Wild Heart” (1983), coupled with the galloping beat powering “Stand Back” and urgent guitar riffing in “Edge of Seventeen” reminded of Nicks’ unique song styling.

Her hand-fluttering bows and dramatic dips, too, are all distinctively Stevie.

Nicks is also always expelling emotion, whether playing air drums and conjuring the spirits during the ominously thumping “Gold Dust Woman” or quietly singing the pensive rumination on aging, “Landslide.” During that final song, photos of Nicks and her beloved bandmate, the late Christine McVie, scrolled one of the three screens looming above the stage, making an already wistful moment heartbreaking.

Nicks felt it, too, as she stammered at song’s end, “Can’t speak,” and blew the crowd a kiss before smiling and stating a simple, “Thank you.”

NEW RELEASE ANNOUNCED - STEVIE NICKS COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS & RARITIES

 STEVIE NICKS COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS & RARITIES 

RELEASE DATE: JULY 28, 2023

• Available as a 10CD boxed set 
• Available as a 16LP boxed set (limited and numbered to 3,000)
• Available on all digital platforms July 28, 2023

Pre-order at Rhino.com $99.98 CD | $299.98 LP (Rhino exclusive)

Pre-order at Amazon USA $99.98

Pre-order at Amazon Canada $150.70

The first promo single release "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" is available now on all streaming services. The second promo single released was "Thousand Days"

 

What's Inside:

 

• Bella Donna (1981)
• The Wild Heart (1983)
• Rock A Little (1985)
• The Other Side Of The Mirror (1989)
• Street Angel (1994)
• Trouble In Shangri-La (2001)
• In Your Dreams (2011)
• 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault (2014)
• Stevie Nicks - Rarities (2023)

COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS & RARITIES combines all of Nicks’ solo studio albums in a new, career-spanning boxed set. It comes with eight albums: BELLA DONNA (1981), THE WILD HEART (1983), ROCK A LITTLE (1985), THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR (1989), STREET ANGEL (1994), TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA (2001), IN YOUR DREAMS (2011), and 24 KARAT GOLD: SONGS FROM THE VAULT (2014). The collection also features RARITIES, a new compilation of hard-to-find tracks only available with the set. Several albums were newly remastered from the analog masters for this release, including ROCK A LITTLE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR, STREET ANGEL, and TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA.

COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS & RARITIES follows Nicks’ musical journey across four decades and features her Top 10 hits, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), “Leather And Lace” (with Don Henley), “Stand Back,” and “Talk To Me.” Other essential hits include “Edge Of Seventeen,” “If Anyone Falls,” “I Can’t Wait,” and “Rooms On Fire.” 

The Vinyl Boxed Set

Limited and numbered to just 3,000, several albums in the collection are making their vinyl debut, including STREET ANGEL, TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA, and IN YOUR DREAMS. All three – plus THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR and 24 KARAT GOLD: SONGS FROM THE VAULT – will be released as double LPs housed in gatefold sleeves. The new RARITIES collection comes as a 3-LP set in a tri-fold sleeve.

RARITIES collects 23 of Nicks’ best non-album tracks, including numerous contributions to film and television soundtracks like “Blue Lamp” from Heavy Metal and “Free Fallin’” from Party of Five. Several B-sides are featured in the set, including “One More Big Time Rock And Roll Star,” the flipside to her 1985 hit, “Talk To Me.” A trio of songs originally released on Nicks’ 1991 hits collection TIMESPACE also appear, including “Love’s A Hard Game To Play.” RARITIES closes with Nicks’ most recent release, her 2022 cover of Buffalo Springfield’s classic “For What It’s Worth.”.

TRACKLISTING BELOW