My Review:
by: John Seger
With "In your dreams," Ms. Stevie Nicks is back in peak form. Her voice sounds refreshingly vital and urgent. Every single song is amazing, and the theme of love is intertwined magically throughout. The new top 20 adult contemporary single, "Secret Love" opens the set with a very sweet and radio friendly hook. Then "For what it's worth" launches into a folk guitar driven ditty that is so Stevie. "Moonlight" reworks her demo, "Lady from the mountain," a fan fave, with a new chorus that sounds like two songs in one, yet it fits so snugly and perfectly. Dave Stewart is the perfect choice to produce this artfully stunning music. Dave "gets" Stevie, and he presents this music with just enough modern production to keep it sounding current, while never tampering with Stevie's classic rock sound. It's perfectly progressive without sounding trendy. And with each listen, this collection just becomes more and more addictive. "Wide Sargasso Sea, " based upon the classic novel by Jean Rhys begins softly and slowly, building into a smashing rocking and rolling frenzy complete with Nicks' trademark urgent wailing by the end of the song. Annabel Lee is epic, giving props to Edgar Allan Poe. "Soldiers Angel" is her love song to our wounded soldiers in the military. "New Orleans" dedicates healing, strength and love to that city that is still rebuilding from the hurricane disaster. "Ghosts are gone" is a flat out rocker that recalls classic Nicks. "Italian summer" is gorgeous, with it's violins, romantic vibes, and Stevie's seductive voice ending the song by holding a long final note that sounds simply gorgeous. This album is amazingly artistic, with Stevie Nicks in peak form. While the reviews say this is Stevie Nicks' best album since "Bella Donna," let me say "Trouble in Shangri la" was also revered as such. So, in closing, I will say this is Stevie Nicks at her best, ranking amongst her best material. Although 10 years was a very long time for fans to get a new solo set from Nicks, it was well worth waiting for. Let us hope we won't have to wait 10 more years for the next album. This proves Stevie Nicks is in no way done. She is back, in peak form, and has much more music to share with the world. Rock on Ancient Queen.
Thanks for sending this in John!