Review: Fleetwood Mac Live in Newark, NJ Oct 11, 2014

Don’t Stop: Fleetwood Mac Bring The Classics to Newark, N.J.
By Brian Ives
Radio.com
October 13, 2014

“Why don’t they just retire?” It’s a question often posed by cynics about legendary rock bands of the ’60s and ’70s who continue to tour, and are able to charge hundreds of dollars per ticket. Obviously, that cynical question doesn’t take into account the system of capitalism and the rules of supply and demand: if people want to pay for something, the market isn’t wrong to provide it for them. If people want to see a rock band — enough people, say, to fill three arena shows in the New York area in less than a week — why should a band call it quits?

Of course, music fans see music as more than just business, it’s art. And most fans have probably experienced at least a few band’s concerts, concerts that take place long after the magic is gone, the performances perfunctory. Many genre-specific bands — heavy metal groups, goth bands, punk rockers — may have a hard time convincingly performing angst-ridden anthems that they in their 20s, many decades and royalty checks ago.

Fleetwood Mac is not one of those bands.

Fleetwood Mac’s Oct. 6 concert was a robust recitation of familiar tunes from the group’s commercial glory days

New Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll

By Jim Fusilli
The Wall Street Journal
October 14, 2014

Veteran rock artists are left with two honorable choices on how to extend their concert careers: play old music with renewed vigor, or perform new music with a sprinkling of old hits in the mix. Last week Fleetwood Mac took the first approach at Madison Square Garden, while Robert Plant—who could have filled an arena—took the second approach at a much more intimate venue, Brooklyn Bowl.

Fleetwood Mac’s Oct. 6 concert was a robust recitation of familiar tunes from the group’s commercial glory days of 1975-87. Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass remain the supple spine of their namesake band, founded in 1967. With Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks out front and the return of Christine McVie after a 16-year absence, the lineup from the act’s years of pop stardom was together again.

Playing material it hadn’t touched since her departure, the core quintet, backed by five musicians and singers, appeared energized. In a phone conversation on Friday, Mr. Buckingham, who at 65 is the youngest member of Fleetwood Mac, said working again with Ms. McVie has revitalized the band.

At the Garden, Ms. McVie’s songs retained their feathery center, and her burnished-by-the-blues voice was flawless on a dreamy “Over My Head.” Mr. Buckingham’s guitar snaked around her as she sang “You Make Loving Fun,” a bit of mid-1970s funk.

A fan favorite, Ms. Nicks seemed by turns delighted and detached, but her “Seven Wonders” was a highlight. Her compositions “Rhiannon” and “Gold Dust Woman” provided the springboard for some of the evening’s best instrumental exchanges, in which Mr. McVie was a revelation. A busy bassist who never intrudes, throughout the evening he provided buoyant support for the vocalists. In “I’m So Afraid,” the lone song in the set that nodded toward the group’s early days as a blues-based dynamo, he and Mr. Fleetwood rumbled in tandem, reviving one of rock’s sweetest sounds while Mr. Buckingham soloed furiously.

From the Garden stage, Mr. Buckingham spoke of Fleetwood Mac as a “band that continues to evolve.” There wasn’t much evolution on display during the 24-song performance, but he was looking ahead. He and Ms. McVie have recorded new material; when the tour concludes at the end of March 2015, he expects Ms. Nicks will bring songs to the studio and a new Fleetwood Mac album will emerge. Then, he added, the band can think about performing its latest songs in concert. Though the rabid audience at Madison Square Garden would probably disagree, Fleetwood Mac could use a touch of the new to avoid the perception that mining the past is all it can do.

REVIEWS: Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold "A beguiling collection of songs"

Stevie Nicks: 24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault
by Brian Boyd
Irish Times
★★★★ out of 5 stars

A selection of old demos, some stretching back to the 1960s, the eighth studio album by one of the voices of Fleetwood Mac is one of the best things she has ever done. With perspective, she sings these songs with a lovelorn resignation, imbuing them with a rare sense of pathos and philosophical regret. Lady is a rueful, self-doubting ballad while Starshine is turbo-charged FM rock. Nicks’ voice is always a thing of wonder; from easy-listening Laurel Canyon-type stylings to fuzzed-out rock and electrified folk, she can handle anything. On the standout Blue Water, she sounds as forlorn as early Gram Parsons, while I Don’t Care is blues rock perfection. Contemporary retrospection this may be, but she gets to the emotional core of almost everything here. A beguiling collection of songs.

Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music
★★★★ 1/2 stars out of 5

With the subtitle "Songs from the Vault," you'd be forgiven if you thought 24 Karat Gold was an archival collection of unreleased material and, in a way, you'd be right. 24 Karat Gold does indeed unearth songs Nicks wrote during her heyday -- the earliest dates from 1969, the latest from 1995, with most coming from her late-'70s/early-'80s peak; the ringer is a cover of Vanessa Carlton's 2011 tune "Carousel," which could easily be mistaken for Stevie -- but these aren't the original demos, they're new versions recorded with producer Dave Stewart. Running away from his ornate track record -- his production for Stevie's 2011 record In Your Dreams was typically florid -- Stewart pays respect to Nicks' original songs and period style by keeping things relatively simple while drafting in sympathetic supporting players including guitarists Waddy Wachtel and Davey Johnstone and Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell. It's certainly not an exacting re-creation of Sound City but Stewart adheres to the slick, hazy feel of supremely well-appointed professional studios, so 24 Karat Gold has a tactile allure. Sonically, it's bewitching -- the best-sounding record she's made since 1983's The Wild Heart but, substance-wise, it's her best since that album, too. If there aren't many remnants of the flinty, sexy rocker of "Stand Back" (the opening "Starshine" is an exception to the rule), there's enough seductive, shimmering soft rock and the emphasis on Laurel Canyon hippie folk-rock feels right and natural. Retrospectively, it's a surprise that Nicks sat on these songs for years, but that only indicates just how purple a patch she had during Fleetwood Mac's glory days. It's a good thing she dug through her back pages and finished these songs, as she's wound up with one of her strongest albums.

Album review: 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault by Stevie Nicks
Yorkshireeveningpost
by James Nuttall

Fleetwood Mac may have just started a mammoth tour of the United States, their first with songbird Christine McVie in 17 years, but Stevie Nicks has still managed to release a new solo album, this month.

24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault, is a collection of 14 songs from Nicks’ enormous back catalogue of demos that never made it onto her records- songs which were written between 1969 and 1995.

Recorded over a three-month period, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart was once again on production duties. After producing her last album, In Your Dreams, which was something of a let-down both musically and lyrically compared to 2001’s Trouble in Shangri-La, 24 Karat Gold makes much more of a statement than both of the aforementioned releases.

This may be, in part, due to Nicks herself also producing the record, with the help of long-time collaborator Waddy Watchel, who featured heavily on her early solo albums.

The reason this record has much more of an impact than her more recent albums, is possibly because each of the 14 tracks follow the same theme. In the liner notes, Nicks states: “ Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story… They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken hearted and the survivors.”

Kicking off with the Rolling Stones-esque Starshine, Nicks’ unmistakeable nasal voice remains as constant as her chiffon scarves and platform boots.

Next up is The Dealer, which was demoed for both her first solo album, Bella Donna, and her third, Rock A Little. Finally making it onto 24 Karat Gold, it is very similar to the superior first version, demoed for Bella Donna.

Other fine up-tempo tracks include I Don’t Care, the token snarling ‘rock-out’ moment, which features at least once on most of Nicks’ solo records; and Cathouse Blues, more honky tonk in flavour.

That being said, this album’s finest moments take shape in the form of its darkest tracks. The title track begins with a pounding bassline, and goes into a haunting piano rhythm and jarring guitar part from Mr Watchell, as Ms Nicks sings about the chains of love.

Mabel Normand is another highlight on the record. Originally demoed for the Rock A Little album in 1985 – a time when Nicks was paying the price for her years of cocaine abuse – it documents the life of the silent film actress it is named after, who had the same substance battle several decades before. It becomes clear that Nicks is writing about Normand and herself in the song, as she sings: “She did her work, but her heart was quietly crying. I guess she even felt guilty about even dying.”

Gorgeously simple ballads, such as If You Were My Love and Hard Advice, nicely juxtapose the rockier material on the album.

24 Karat Gold is probably the most consistently fine selection of Nicks’ self-penned material since her 1983 album, The Wild Heart. A fine selection of similar yet different songs, each holding their own within this album, which is not something that could be said for Nicks’ last solo effort.

This is a real insight into the last 45 years of the life of one of the most unique and mystical talents there has ever been. Nicks has held nothing back, this time.

Check out more reviews on 24 Karat Gold HERE

STEVIE NICKS "24 KARAT GOLD - SONGS FROM THE VAULT"

Out Now! Order from Stevienicksofficial.com

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CHICAGO - The Drive 97.1
February 14, 2015 - Allstate Arena

Tickets for Valentine's Day Show go on Sale Monday, 10/20 at 10am via Ticketmaster
Live Nation Presale 10/16 10am Password: THESHOW

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March 27, 2015 - Scottrade Center

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March 27, 2015 - Scottrade Center

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March 15, 2015 - John Paul Jones Arena

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January 31, 2015 - First Niagara Center

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TBA

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Fleetwood Mac Front Row VIP Tickets On Sale Today

FLEETWOOD MAC: ON WITH THE SHOW - VIP PACKAGES

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• One Autographed 8x10 photo
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Mick Fleetwood VIP Meet & Greet Package $750

Package Includes:

• One reserved floor ticket in rows 2 - 5 (distributed day of show)
• Exclusive Meet & Greet with Mick Fleetwood
• Onstage photo op with Mick Fleetwood
• Onstage Q&A session at Mick Fleetwood’s drum kit
• One Autographed 8x10 photo
• One Mick Fleetwood signature drumhead
• One specially designed Mick Fleetwood VIP tote bag
• Early entrance into the venue
• One Mick Fleetwood VIP Meet & Greet laminate
• One commemorative Mick Fleetwood VIP ticket
• On-Site VIP Host

AMEX Ticket Presale also begins today October 13, 2014 for the 2015 shows. All VIP Tickets and AMEX presale tickets available through Ticketmaster

Check the Tour Dates Page for Live Nation Pre-sale codes

Christine McVie gives a Perfect performance as band's classic line-up plays together for first time in 16 years

Return of the (Fleetwood) Mac! Christine McVie gives a Perfect performance as band's classic line-up plays together for first time in 16 years on Today show

By Mike Larkin
The Daily Mail

It has been 16 years since they played together as a band.

And it was like break never happened as Christine McVie and the rest of the most famous iteration of Fleetwood Mac appeared on the Today show on Thursday.

And the English-American group, who have sold more than 100 million albums, thrilled the fans with a performance of hits Little Lies, Gypsy, Go Your Own Way, and The Chain.

And Christine, 71, said a new piece of jewellery was a symbol of her intention to remain with the band for the foreseeable future.

She said: 'Stevie bought me a bracelet not long ago, it was a chain, it broke, I had someone tie it on. It means the chain is never going to break again.'