Sunday, April 24, 2011

(Review) Classic Nicks, no dream.... Stevie Nicks "In Your Dreams" Album Review










IN YOUR DREAMS
STEVIE NICKS
★★★
Sunday Herald Sun [Australia]
SCOTT PODMORE

SOME things need to stay the same to work best, especially when it comes to veteran rockers such as Stevie Nicks. Old fans don’t really want her to reinvent herself; they want the witchy look (check the album cover), the familiar folk-rock musical style that suits her distinctive nasally but charming vocals and, of course, the storyteller dishing up her tales of loss and loneliness, love and hope.

The album is classic Stevie Nicks, so that’s good news for patient fans who have waited for a decade. For someone who can lay claim to being involved in more than 140 million album sales and more than 40 Top-50 hits since she arrived on the scene in the 1970s with Fleetwood Mac, she deserves respect and age certainly isn’t affecting her musically. To top things off, In Your Dreams was handed to two wise heads in Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard for production duties, while Heartbreakers axeman Mike Campbell chipped in with some polish to co-write two tracks.

It’s the mid-tempo cruisy pop that instantly grabs you in album opener Secret Love and the racier title track, before Nicks reaches out tenderly in New Orleans, a song offering hope to the recovering folk from the Big Easy.

The Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks chemistry resparks a familiar sound and magic at the back end of the album in Soldier’s Angel, a moody reunion in which Nicks sings over the top of Buckingham’s deft touch on guitar as the pair hit some sweet trademark Fleetwood harmonies.

In Your Dreams sees Nicks on top of her game, producing music that takes you back to a bygone era. And while it won’t pull in many new fans, it will certainly give the older ones something to hold close to their chest.

File between: Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan.
Download: "For What It's Worth".

Saturday, April 23, 2011

(Review x 2) Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks - Vancouver April 22, 2011

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG
Friday night brought two legendary forces in music together at Rogers Arena
By Janelle Kidd
Rogers Arena

Between them, they have sold millions of albums, won countless awards, earned inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and accumulated vast catalogs of classics that have shaped the direction of Rock & Roll.

Friday night brought two legendary forces in music together at Rogers Arena, for a show that the crowd of 12,000-strong won't soon forget.

The pairing of Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks was a perfect blend of veteran presence and youthful energy. The seasoned performers' passion for music is undeniable.

Making its second to last stop in Vancouver, the duo's Heart & Soul Tour celebrates the release of Stewart's latest album The Best of...The Great American Songbook, while building anticipation for Nicks' new album—her first album of new material in a decade—In Your Dreams, set for release on May 3.

Full Review of the show at the Rogers Arena website

_____________________________________________________________

Rod Stewart shows he's still got it in Vancouver
Nicks kept the near-capacity crowd happy with her mix of Mac standards and solo hits
By Steve Newton
Straight.com

Who’d have thought that two Vancouver concerts in the same week by a couple of ancient rock headliners from the ‘70s would be so damned impressive? Rod Stewart’s hugely entertaining show at Rogers Arena Friday night was a real nice follow-up to Robert Plant’s impeccable performance at the Queen E. the previous Sunday. It came down partly to both singers choosing the right material and still being able to perform it well, but mainly to the fact that they surrounded themselves with some of the finest instrumentalists and vocalists on the planet.

Although what’s been dubbed the Heart and Soul Tour billed Stewart as coheadlining with Stevie Nicks, the former Fleetwood Mac member only sang about 10 songs to Stewart’s 20, and her stage setup wasn’t nearly as lavish. But the 62-year-old Nicks still managed to keep the near-capacity crowd happy with her mix of Mac standards (“Rhiannon”, “Landslide”) and solo hits (“Stand Back”, “Edge of Seventeen”). One the downside, when she draped herself in a frilly scarf and twirled around in her frilly dress all I could think of was that scene in Sid and Nancy where Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) sees herself wearing Sid’s grandmother’s clothes and freaks out with “Aaggh! I look like fuckin’ Stevie Nicks in hippie clothes!”

Full Review of the show at Straight.com

(Video) Lindsey Buckingham ** 2 New Songs** Saban Theatre Beverly Hills

Lindsey Buckingham - Live at Saban Theatre
Beverly Hills, CA
April 22, 2011

Wow! The hair is standing up on my arms listening to this first one! Beautiful!




Videos by: WelshWitchPMD

(Review) Mission Accomplished for Nicks


Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG

Sparks fly as Stewart and Nicks team up 
Veteran vocalists show their heart and soul at Rogers Arena
BY FRANCOIS MARCHAND,
VANCOUVER SUN

Photo Gallery - 25 shots

When you take two of rock’s most memorable vocalists and pair them together, you can expect sparks to fly.

And that’s exactly what happened Friday night at Rogers Arena, where fans were treated to lengthy sets by both Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart performing on the same stage on what was dubbed the Heart & Soul Tour.

The pairing not only made sense stylistically — both Stewart and Nicks possess their own set of well-worn, sand-blasted pipes — but it also served to highlight two new releases: Stewart’s fifth instalment in his Great American Songbook series released late last year, and Nicks’ first studio effort in 10 years, In Your Dreams, which is set to be released on May 3.

Considering the breadth and impact of both artists’ career — with millions of records sold and armfuls of Grammy nominations and awards — new material would only play a small part in what turned out to be two fairly classics-heavy sets, which is probably what their 12,000 fans in attendance really wanted more than anything.

They certainly would not leave disappointed.

Stewart surprised just about everyone by stepping onto the stage right off the bat to introduce “one of the great voices of the 20th century” and the crowd on the floor rose to its feet as Nicks, draped in her signature black dress with sequined arms and gloved hands, made her way to the microphone to kick off her set with a rocking Stand Back.

For the Full Review visit The Vancouver Sun website

Photos: Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart in Vancouver

Stevie Nicks Live in Vancouver April 22, 2011
Photo by: Ian Lindsay, PNG

View the Photo Gallery HERE

Lindsey Buckingham Setlist - Saban Theatre - Beverly Hills

First solo show tonight since 2008 for Lindsey and WOW!  Checkout that setlist!!... Looks like Lindsey played 5 or 6 NEW songs from his new album "Seeds We Sow" that Jokerstyle Productions said would be played... "In Our Own Time", "Illumination", "Stars", "End of Time" "The Way Love Goes" and the last song "Seeds"... Some or all of these titles may be abbreviated titles, like the last track might actually be titled "Seeds We Sow".  All of these new tracks are expected on his upcoming album due in September... AND TURN IT ON!!!  COOL STUFF!  

Lindsey puts on a great show... These smaller venues just amplify the experience to another level... and it sounds so great!

Thanks to David Wild and Jokerstyle Productions for the tweets and pics tonight... and to Pattie a Twitter friend for the venue pic!  So much to look forward to with Lindsey's new album... and fall tour... Exciting times ahead!

Checkout Jokerstyle Productions on Facebook as they continue to work with Lindsey... and follow David Wild on Twitter