Wednesday, April 27, 2011

(Review) Stevie Nicks "In Your Dreams"

By ROB SHEFFIELD
3.5 Stars

Stevie Nicks built her legend on the California-Babylon chronicles she perfected in the Seventies with Fleetwood Mac, and in the Eighties on underrated solo gems like The Other Side of the Mirror. But she still has that eternal edge-of-17 tremor in her voice. The gypsy queen is in royal form on In Your Dreams — it's not just her first album in 10 years, it's her finest collection of songs since the Eighties.

In Your Dreams has the high-gloss L.A. production of her collaborators, Glen Ballard and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart. But the material is Nicks in platform-soled hyper-romantic mode, with her voice in surprisingly supple shape. "Secret Love" is an oldie she wrote in 1976 — who knew she was still keeping secrets from her Rumours days? It seems to be about one of her rock-star beaus, although she coyly maintains she can't remember which one. Yet it isn't even one of the better tracks on In Your Dreams. The over-the-top seduction ballad "Italian Summer" could be her answer to the Stones' "Wild Horses." It climaxes in a very Stevie credo: "Love was everywhere/You just had to fall."

Nicks finds storytelling inspiration everywhere, from the Twilight series ("Moonlight [A Vampire's Dream]") to Jean Rhys ("Wide Sargasso Sea"). But the real showstopper here is the Edgar Allan Poe tribute "Annabel Lee," a fan fave that's been kicking around on bootlegs since the Nineties. It's a six-minute meditation on love and death with echoes of the Fleetwood Mac classic "Dreams." Poe's key line — "The moon never beams without bringing me dreams" — might have been written in 1849, but it was clearly meant for Stevie Nicks to sing.
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6 comments:

  1. Shaheen27 April 2011 at 15:46

    This is such a great review. I love all the wonderful feedback and attention this album is getting. Rock on Stevie... can't wait till May 3rd )

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  2. Kevin Hannan27 April 2011 at 17:32

    Was ok with this review til I saw Britney got 4 stars.

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  3. Tony27 April 2011 at 19:53

    reads like a four star or better but then gives three and a half? Inconsistent!! This rating means it's not as good as any of her albums except street angel?? Going by RS reviews of all her work...

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  4. cytobl29 April 2011 at 23:48

    3.5 seems inconsistant, it is her best solo album. She's clean and sober for over 20 years now rolling stone magazine must be smoking crack.. Britany 4 stars give me a break...

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  5. Anonymous30 April 2011 at 23:52

    Bella Donna also got 3.5 stars.
    It's a solid review - and I think it reflects the album.
    This is her best work since Bella Donna.

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  6. Olie Kornelsen2 May 2011 at 17:57

    Just picked it up (10 hours early) Whoa! This is a brilliant record, a real one, a Grower! The Lovely Stevie, Masterful Mr. Stewart and all involved...TRULY MASTERFUL RESULTS! This is a record you'll (keep on repeat) AND keep going...a timeless piece; impossible to absorb in just a few lessons. AND People, DON'T LISTEN TO THIS ON the "EAR BUDS" MANDATORY!! FIRED UP the HEADPHONES for "IN YOUR DREAMS."

    Washed up 70's Canadian Warner promo rep from the Great White North 'EH! Best, Olie

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