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Sound City ‘Real to Reel’ Soundtrack
Crave Online
by Erik Norris
"Stevie Nicks’ “You Can’t Fix This” is a groovy, voodoo-trance dance that you can’t help swaying back and forth to. Her lyrics might be a bit oddball at times, with lines like “We never allowed the Devil to come to the party,” but it doesn’t really distract from the fantastic accompanying music from Foo Fighters alums Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and Rami Jaffee."
Antiquiet
by Fernando Scoczynski Filho
"The mid-section of the album finds collaborations that don’t fare quite as well, and wind up costing the overall flow. The way that Stevie Nicks pushes her voice a bit too far on You Can’t Fix This is acceptable, but there’s no justification for stretching what could be a decent four minutes affair to an unreasonably long six minutes."
NME
FoosArchive
"When Stevie Nicks steps up to screech and whisper about how you should "never dance with the devil", Grohl and Taylor Hawkins faithfully recreate 1987 Fleetwood Mac with a little added Foos crunch"
Best Tracks: 'You Can't Fix This', 'Cut Me Some Slack', 'Your Wife is Calling'
BBC
by Mischa Pearlman
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| Key Track: "You Can't Fix This" Rolling Stone FooArchives News |
Vivoscene
by Brian Miller
"Key tracks – all of ‘em, but irresistibly and surprisingly, Stevie Nicks delivers a knockout performance of “You Can’t Fix This”.
Contact Music
by Hayley Avron
"One can only assume, for instance, that Lindsey Buckingham and the rest of Fleetwood Mac will be kicking themselves upon hearing 'You Can't Fix This,' because this is simply the greatest Fleetwood Mac song that never was. The Sound City Players have managed to recreate that perfect 'Rumours' era sound. With hints of 'Gold Dust Woman,' Nicks opens the track with the lines "they don't talk much about it / it goes back so many years / all the times we almost didn't make it / we stand clear / dancing with the devil / call it respect, call it fear / but we never allowed the devil to come to the party."
Given the demons that we all know Nicks and co. have faced in their time (very public relationship breakdowns, rumours of drug abuse and inter-band bitterness), it's a bold move for sure and one that pays off."
Something Else Reviews
by Nick DeRiso
"Stevie Nicks, for instance, is coaxed into one of her toughest recent vocals on “You Can’t Fix This,” leaving aside the witchy woman flourishes that have for too long defined/caricatured her. You get the sense, sadly rare, that you are seeing behind the veil — or, in Nicks’ case, the many veils — that she’s used as a defense against letting listeners in. It’s a remarkable performance, and (if this gutty attitude carries over) bodes well for a planned reunion with Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac."
Tonedef
by Corey Tonkin
"Stevie Nicks adds the sole, yet sublime female vocals on ‘You Can’t Fix’ and the song stands out because of its Fleetwood Mac qualities."
Sound City: Real to Reel CD and DVD/Blu-ray available now in various countries... Out March 12th in North America.
Stream the Album
24 comments:
I don't know why but now every time I listen to "You Can't Fix This" it reminds of the movie "Twister." Strange...
But, at least the reviews are more positive than the first review that came out.
There has been a continuous "dropping of veils" ever since her Jones Beach concert.. Makes me feel as it this Mac reunion tour is a terrible mistake and a perhaps 2 steps back...? But then the "Good Ole Boys" can't afford to let the girl shine too brightly on her own ,.,,,And Mick can't pass up cashing in again...
Personally, I loved the track. You do have to admit, the sound does tack you back to Rumours. Great music. Yeah, the lyrics are obscure and a little redundant. However, the musical arrangement covers those nicely. I gave it 3.5/5.
Just to remind everyone who is confused by the lyrics... this is a very emotional song for Stevie. "Dancing with The Devil" is a 1970's slang term for shooting heroin. Stevie's 18 year old god son Glenn Parrish Jr. died of a heroine overdose at a frat party. The song is about all the members of Mac still being alive because they never did heroin, that is, never allowed "the devil to come to the party". Her god son is dead, and "you can't fix this". These lyrics are gut wrenching when you understand the story Stevie is telling here.
Thank you so much for posting these reviews. "You Can't Fix This" is the first Stevie (solo or Mac) song I can't get enough of since the 1980s. I respect the opinions of those who have dismissed it as one of her weaker efforts, but at the same time, I feel bad they're not able to truly appreciate the passion Stevie pours into her vocals on the track. As a Stevie fan since 1981, I'm not afraid to be critical of Stevie's work, but YCFT is the first Stevie song I've connected with in a LONG time. Here's to more new Stevie music in the future! :-)
She is getting a lot more good reviews for this song than bad.
So many good reviews for the song...i really enjoy it. I will say that the seemingly newer "straight forward" lyrics that have been making up Stevies songs are not my fav compared to the more poetic ambiguous ones of her early career. However I love any new music from a writer/singer that I have always connected with. With all the buzz it would be great for a video to accompany the song! I realize that artist like Stevie are not the videos that even get played on network stations now but even just for the fans as a download. An extra on the disc or documentary maybe...Heres to hope lol
The music is a 10 - kind of spooky at just pretty it is considering the subject-matter.
The lyrics gallop wildly like a run-away horse uncontrolled and discombobulated. Definitely could have used Lindsey's touch to shrink 6 minutes of repetative canter down to a non-rambling, radio-friendly 3.5 - 4 minutes.
I love the story telling,that she brings thats why I am and always will be a huge fan of stevie. Anything she brings to the table makes me so all about listening to it.Keep making new art stevie u can't please them all but it makes me happy for u.
These great reviews for Stevie's latest recording mirror my own admiration for a great, dark track that harps back to 'Gold Dust Woman' and 'No Spoken Word'.
I think the song is one of her best, and would be a class track on any Mac album or one of her solo albums. I don't think it's overlong at all, the length serves to allow the ominous sadness to come to a fantastic crescendo in the last couple of minutes.
Let's hope she'll record some more tracks with the Mac for a new album this year. If any of them are as good as this one, we're in for a real treat!
Three cheers Stevie!
It's too long for radio airplay. Sara is over 6 mins but the radio promo single was cut to 4:30 so as to be accepted by radio.
This song is no Sara and to release it as a 6 minute single only further guarantees it won't make radio.
Oh, oh. We're revisiting this song. In the interest of respecting the opinions of other, I'll concede that it's a very committed vocal, even if her voice sounds harsh and strained. As to the lyrics...they're just terrible. Case in point, couldn't she find a word to rhyme with "glass" instead of awkwardly repeating it? I know it's not hard rule that it has to rhyme, but its the natural place for it.
I remember Stevie commenting on SEEDS WE SOW saying that Lindsey had taken "melody pills." If he has any left over, she needs to take some herself. This song is a travesty. The critics are being soft on an icon, but those who know and love Stevie and have followed her career for decades know this song is one of her absolute worst. It's not so much a "song" as it is words, production and vocal effort. It's bad. Very, very bad. It's difficult to understand how such an intense emotional experience is papered over with cliches.
I want to buy the cd and dvd so I'm waiting til the 12th- I played the first live version, loved it, watched the Letterman performance online, still liked it, not as much, then lastly, i played the soundtrack version, something seemed not as ''on fire'' as the first live version--- and right after playing the link to hear the soundtrack 'you can't fix this' my beloved ibook died- 2 or so weeks ago- and it I ''can't'' fix it! so, i will now always remember 'you can't fix this' as the stevie nicks song that was on the internet she hates that made me learn that forever more 'you can't fix this' is Stevie's bad luck (for me) payback song for internet piracy! She did it on purpose:)
After i got back online, i checked to see if the song was still here and 'legal' to play, but 'you can't fix this' was the last breath of life for my best computer ever. i'll never get all the great music back again that i had downloaded. and i can't fix that.
Yes, i know i'm nutty and illiterate, and haven't been missed but there's been one less "Nicks-Nerd'' here, lately. but i'm back. no more 'starkillers sped up edge of 17' for me online- one of my favorite downloads. i guess i've heard it enough- oh i hope i do find the 1980 'is that what you want' rhiannon. i want my ibookg4 back, but this will do.
"but those who know and love Stevie and have followed her career for decades know this song is one of her absolute worst."
Well I know and love Stevie and have followed her for decades and I really like the song, so please try not to speak for all Stevie Nicks fans.
It may not be the best work she's ever done whether with FM or solo, but it's not a bad song at all... It's deep, it makes you think! What's key though is knowing her history and the bands history plus knowing the back story behind why the song was written in the first place in order to 'get' it. It's got feeling, a great feel to it and meaning. And I think the the music is pretty great! If anything, the lyrics may be a little too literal which may have just been a case of time. Usually she takes her prose and turns that into poetry, almost disguising the real story... With this, it's seems more prose rather than poetry and that's fine too.
Keep on keeping on Stevie!
I must agree with those who don't like it that much. Her voice sounds very nasal and is not recorded very well. The melody has no real hook and the lyrics, while gutwrenching about her God son, are not that inpired either. One of the things Lindsey does best when producing Stevie is to make sure her voice is recorded with its best sound, and he adds bottom end to her vocals which sound more like she does live. This song, much like Dave Stewart's production of "In Your Dreams" has Stevie's voice very high end sounding and that is not the best part of her voice to highlight so much.
Have been a huge Stevie/mac fan since 1983...and I love the song! People who don't like it are absolutely not speaking for all long time Stevie fans...that's just plain silly...if you don't like it...don't buy it...simple solution
I didn't get it at first, but after a few listens it is definetly growing on me.
It's a rock song folks. Hello? Foo Fighters? The vocal, like on Sdiers Angel is intentionally rough and unadorned due to its subject matter. Any other vocal would get lost amongst the guitars. I Y D proved she can still deliver the vocal u all speak of, do u think she really didn't think this thru or Grohl for that matter?
Love it, like it or hate it. But she's a legend for a reason. She's not resting on her laurels either, thank god. I hope she continues churning en out. Still relevant at 65--embraced by the rock world much like she was 12 years ago by the Lilith Fair crowd. And soon country fans will too later this year with her CMT Crossroads appearance.
How many of us were dismayed in the early to mid nineties at her career and fretting that it was over? We would have killed for this kind of recognition and success and amount if new product.
I LOVE this song. It's raw and has meaning. I've loved Stevie since 1983 and appreciate this track 100%!
Is it even possible to post here?
It seems as if a line-by-line analysis is called for to justify criticisms of this song.
First, it’s supposed to be about this tragic godson who died of a heroin overdose - which is terrible and which I believe Stevie wants to address.
However, Stevie never mentions the boy, never mentions the circumstances of his death, never names the temptation in context, and only talks about herself.
The first thing I’d like to say is this “we never allowed the devil to the party” line is very dishonest. I have two sisters who are both nurses and both of them have seem young people die of heart attacks in the emergency room due to cocaine - Stevie’s infamous drug of choice. True, she didn’t die, yet she might have - especially since that doctor told her her next hit of cocaine might penetrate the membrane to her brain and result in an agonizing death. I really don’t understand Stevie’s “we never invited the devil to the party” bullshit, as she clearly did, but just got lucky. I think she’s very hypocritical and self-involved here. It’s supposed to be about the tragic dead boy, yet she only talks about herself.
The song has no discernible melody. It’s a lazy jam session with Stevie at her absolute worst in terms of melody. Most songwriters who cant think up a fresh melody borrow or adapt one. Stevie just drones on atonally. The lyrics are insipid. It’s hard to believe that the songwriter who transformed her hopes and desires into unforgettable melodies and images - “the landslide brought me down”/”thunder only happens when it’s raining” - turned out these painfully amateurish lyrics, “friendships break like glass/And the devil pours another glass.” If you don’t know this is just plain BAD, then there’s no discussing things.
Of course Stevie’s flying monkeys have and will continue to attack. “It’s great/it’s heartfelt/you don’t understand the message”...blah blah blah. But this is such poor work Stevie’s damaging her hard-won reputation. This is NOT the work of a “premiere songwriter”, but the musings of a lazy, disengaged egomaniac too self-involved to take seriously the sufferings of another person.
Stevie herself almost seems devilish here.
The above post sounds like it was written by a very angry self loathing person. No fan likes every song, but a borderline violet rant is unnecessary. Don't personally attack others just because they like a song and you don't.
Why in the world would any "fan" visiting this website post such a nasty- toned comment? Unbelievable.
The lyrics are not hypocritical. "Dancing with the devil" is a phrase that refers SPECIFICALLY to heroin use, not to drug use in general. In her live intro she does indeed tell the specific story of her godson, as well as explain that she "did a lot of things", but never heroin, aka "the devil".
Stevie writes her lyrics in prose. That's her gift, that's her skill. For her to get up there and sing a literal story of an 18 year old boy who died would be ludicrous. Now THAT would be a terrible song.
Having been a fan a Stevie's since I was 13, some 37 years ago, I have to say it's probably the worst song I've heard from her. I have tried to like it but it's just too heavy and her vocal is desperately trying to find something to anchor itself to. It could have been dark with a little hope.....instead it's just....dark and hopeless.The poster above couldn't be more spot on about how wrong it is for Stevie to say "we never let the Devil come to the party". It could have been a very beautiful song, and the message would have been as strong. I have to pass on this one.
So glad someone realizes what's going on here. Honestly it seems obvious. But on the other hand people who are bagging on this whole project and its music can't really be expected to get it.
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