REVIEW: STEVIE NICKS REMAINS AT THE TOP OF HER GAME

Stevie Nicks – Live in Concert: The 24 Karat Gold Tour

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

RetroPop

In 2019, Stevie Nicks became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice – for her work with Fleetwood Mac and her illustrious solo career which, since 1981, has spawned 8 hit LPs and classic hits like Edge of Seventeen, Stand Back, Talk to Me, Rooms on Fire and Leather and Lace. 

Her latest project, the movie 24 Karat Gold: The Concert, comes amid the pandemic that’s seen touring events cancelled and live music venues shuttered – with the star taking her 2016/2017 solo tour to the big screen as a means of escapism for fans. 

Accompanying the release is Live in Concert: The 24 Karat Gold Tour – collecting Stevie’s live set on 2CD and 2LP formats for the first time. 

Fans of the star, who recently released her first single in six years, Show Them the Way, will know the frustrations of her solo sets which, for a number of years, rarely differed and featured the same handful of classic solo and Fleetwood Mac hits. This time around, though, things are different… 

The 24 Karat Gold Tour came following two back-to-back tours with the band – 2013’s Fleetwood Mac Live jaunt and the 2014/2015 On With The Show Tour, which saw the return of Christine McVie – in between which Stevie recorded and released her eighth solo album, 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault.

The record sees the singer-songwriter revisit outtakes from her previous LPs, which she took to Nashville with Eurythmics star Dave Stewart and re-recorded over a three-week period. 

It resulted in a 16-track collection and, after dipping into her “gothic trunk of lost songs,” the star hit the road to unearth more lost gems on stage – with a setlist featuring all the hits along with album cuts and rarities that’d never been performed on the concert stage. 

Look no further than opening track Gold and Braid – originally recorded for and omitted from Stevie’s debut LP Bella Donna – which, to this day, has not been issued on a studio album. It sets the tone for a set packed with golden moments which, even for the most casual fans, is a breath of fresh air. 

Three 24 Karat Gold tracks are included – Belle Fleur, Starshine and If You Were My Love – along with rare album cuts Bella Donna, Wild Heart and New Orleans, and Crying in the Night – the should-have-been lead single from her 1973 pre-Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham. 

Of course, the hits are in there, with Gold Dust Woman and Edge of Seventeen both clocking in around the 10 minute mark. Rhiannon, Gypsy and Landslide also feature from her Mac catalogue, alongside solo hits like If Anyone Falls and Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.

The pièce de résistance: a stunning, mid-set, eight-minute rendition of 2010’s Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream), which has been reimagined as a sweeping piano ballad, building to a crescendo that incorporates the rock-tinged album version and elevates the track to another stratosphere. 

When it comes to live albums – whoever the act – we’ve come to expect the usual mix of hits plus a 3 or 4 “deep cuts,” so for a star like Stevie Nicks to let loose and throw as many curveballs as she does in this show is a testament to an artist who, after five decades in music, remains at the top of her game. 

Brava, Stevie…

Stevie Nicks – Live in Concert: The 24 Karat Gold Tour is available on download or stream now. The 2LP version will be released in December. 

REVIEW Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold the Concert

‘Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold the Concert’ is too long, but worth a cozy sit-down

BY SKYLAR DE PAUL
The Daily Californian
Grade: 3.5/5.0

November 2, 2020

Stevie Nicks is inarguably one of the most celebrated figures in rock history. She’s a championed songwriter, a two-time inductee at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now, thanks to the powers of director and producer Joe Thomas and Nicks herself, she could be “performing” from the comforts of your own living room. 

In a new concert movie, filmed over two nights in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis during her 2017 tour, “Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold the Concert” premiered at drive-ins, select theaters and other spaces for two nights last month. The film is a breath of fresh air for those craving a live listen, but boy, does this movie deliver much more than songs — it’s equal parts wonderful and absolutely tiring. 

In the opening scene, Nicks enters the stage with the same graceful bow she’s performed for decades on end, wearing her signature all-black gown, boots and fingerless gloves — truly no one can pull off the part-time witch look like the “Rhiannon” songstress herself. The scarves tied around her microphone stand and tambourine speak to her timeless aesthetic, viewers finding familiar comfort in her shiny, gold crescent moon necklace.

With a performance of “Gold and Braid,” a late ’70s groove sets the tone for a night of mystic tunes. For the movie’s set list, cutting the two performance nights together, Nicks says she went through her “dark gothic trunk of lost songs” to curate the performance, playing everything she never had the chance to or that she never released on a record.

“This show is different,” she says. “It’s not the same Stevie Nicks show you’ve seen a million times, because I am not the same Stevie Nicks that you’ve seen a million times.”

It’s clear by her stage presence that Nicks hasn’t forgotten how to work a crowd, even if this was filmed a few years back. “If Anyone Falls” shows excellent supporting harmonies by backup singers, the band working in a synergy that only musicians of a certain stature and experience can ever truly reach. Synth keyboards add depth to the live sound of the concert, supporting Nicks’ ever-controlled vocal delivery.

The only glaring downside of this film is its exhaustive run time. Clocking in at over two hours of songs and prolonged monologues, Nicks spends much of the time ruminating on the various situations that inspired her career and certain songs. It reaches the point where some viewers probably can’t help but wonder if even the live audience was starting to get tired of her rambling, but nevertheless, Nicks is still shown to be a gentle entertainer by nature.

Fleetwood Mac Albums / Singles Chart Updates

This week on the charts, after peaking last week in the US at #12 Dreams slides to #21 and the album Rumours slides down to #14 from #7 the previous week. 

In Canada Rumours remains in the Top 10 down two places to #7. Dreams is still in the Top 20 down to #18 from #9 last week. 

In the UK, Dreams also drops on the singles chart to #40 after peaking at #35. Rumours remains at #20 and 50 Years - Don't Stop drops out of the Top 10 down to 15.  

In Ireleand, Dreams peaked at #24 and moves down four places to #28 this week. Rumours and 50 Years - Don't Stop remain in the Top 10 on the albums charts, both are down slightly from last week.

In Australia Dreams is still in the Top 10 at #7 this week, down two places from #5 last week.  Rumours drops to #12 from #9 last week. In New Zealand, Rumours is still a Top 10 album moving up to #6 from #7 last week.

(Everything in brackets denotes last week)

BOX OFFICE STATS: Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold The Concert Film

‘Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold’ Doc Heads To PVOD As Distributor Trafalgar Releasing Adapts To Pandemic Era

By Tom Grater - Deadline
October 26, 2020

Following its global cinema release last week, event music doc Stevie Nicks 24 Karat Gold The Concert is heading to premium VOD as distributor Trafalgar Releasing looks to employ new release strategies in the pandemic era.

The film will be available to rent online from October 29 at 9am PT at a premium $19.99 price point until November 5 at 11.59 PT via the official website. Audiences will have 48 hours to watch after purchase. The move follows similar PVOD endeavors undertaken by studios during the pandemic such as Universal with Trolls World Tour.

This marks the first such VOD release for event cinema specialist Trafalgar, which has to date relied heavily on theatrical in its business model. The company reduced its output while cinemas were disrupted by the pandemic and is now looking to take its ‘event’ style of releasing into the digital sphere, partnering with Nicks and her management company BMG on the release. Trafalgar’s primary focus still remains cinemas, Kymberli Frueh, Trafalgar’s SVP Programming & Content Acquisitions, emphasized to Deadline.

“The central reason from Stevie Nicks and the team at BMG for providing a video-on-demand alternative for the 24 Karat Gold concert film was to create options for consumers, ensuring fans feel safe wherever they watch the film and to hedge against uncertainty around market closures and COVID spikes,” Frueh explained.

“Whether it’s outdoor drive in locations, safely opened cinemas or online options, cinemas remain our main focus as they offer a safe communal experience among fans—especially since concerts and touring have stopped for now. Event cinema brings fans together in their local movie theater to enjoy their favorite artists as a community, as if they were at a live concert.

“While the team liked the opportunity from the onset, it became increasingly important when some cinema chains closed all locations due to lack of new film releases. As COVID concerns continue to keep NY and LA closed, outdoor and online became even more critical as viewing options as these are core markets for fans,” she said.

The film entered cinemas around the world on October 21 and reached number one in the UK and number two in the U.S.; it played in around 900 cinemas worldwide.

Directed and produced by Joe Thomas during Nick’s 67-city sold out 24 Karat Gold Tour, the film explores the inspirations behind some of the musician’s most know songs from her times as a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.

BOX OFFICE STATS

STEVIE NICKS PLANS SOLO TOUR WHEN THE WORLD GETS BACK TO NORMAL

Stevie Nicks on Her New Concert Film, the ‘Crazy’ Resurgence of ‘Dreams’ and Staying in Touch With the Spirits of Prince and Tom Petty

In a wide-ranging Q&A, the singer discusses everything from a life-changing moment seeing the "Woodstock" movie at a drive-in to having her own new "24 Karat Gold: The Concert" film play at outdoor and indoor theaters.

By Chris Willman - Variety

Not that it ever was far from rock fans’ consciousness, but Stevie Nicks’ voice is suddenly a ubiquitous part of popular culture again, thanks to a viral video of a skateboarding man singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” that has become the feel-good hit of a feel-bad fall season. Naturally, the snippet of it has made a hungry world ready again to consume more of “Dreams” than can fit in a TikTok video, which is why “Dreams” and the “Rumours” album have both returned to the top 10, 43 years later.

But if the resurgence has led you to want to hear not just “Dreams” but two hours and 10 minutes of unexpurgated Stevie, the universe has conspired to accommodate that. Sunday night, Nicks’ film, “24 Karat Gold: The Movie,” will be playing at theaters and drive-ins across the country. It’ll be followed Friday by the release of a full soundtrack on CD (as a Target exclusive), on vinyl (at Barnes & Noble) and for download, further capturing a 2017 show in Pittsburgh that found Nicks at what she considers her well-oiled performing peak. Its rendering of something that seems impossible now — an arena gig — really does feel like a dream.

Nicks got on the phone with Variety earlier this month, just as the “Dreams” phenomenon was starting to take off, to discuss the making of the new concert movie, a new studio single (“Show Them the Way”), her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction last year, feeling like she’s still in touch with Tom Petty and Prince, how the “Woodstock” film changed her life, hopes and fears about the coronavirus crisis, and the importance of suede boots on the ground.

VARIETY: One of the songs in this concert film is “Dreams.” As you know, there’s this whole TikTok video tie-in, and suddenly “Dreams” is on the chart again.

NICKS: From the skateboarder? I know. How crazy is that? My assistant showed it to me — he’s drinking his juice and just skateboarding along and just filming himself and singing “Dreams.” It’s so funny, and so great, because “Dreams” is a fun song to sing. I’m thrilled that people still love it, and that it does still make people happy. And who knows even why? But it does. But “Dreams” came out how many years ago? Like in 1975, right? [Editor’s note: early 1977.] My assistant just told me there’s a lot of young kids who don’t even know the song, but they like it, and its streaming is massive. It’s fantastic.

Top 40 Radio Revives Fleetwood Mac’s Classic ‘Dreams.’

After Viral Video, Top 40 Radio Revives Fleetwood Mac’s Classic ‘Dreams.’

Oct 26, 2020 - Inside Radio

A new generation of listeners is discovering the Fleetwood Mac classic “Dreams” thanks to a viral TikTok video posted by Nathan Apodaca riding a skateboard, lip-synching the song while sipping a large bottle of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry. The 23-second video has been viewed millions of times, sparking a resurgence of the song from the 1997 Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours.”

The track accumulated 521 total spins the week of Oct. 19-25, according to Mediabase, with Top 40 radio leading the way with 248 or nearly half of the total spins. The song moved from No. 96 on the Mediabase Top 40 chart to No. 59 week-over-week.

Louie Diaz, Cumulus Media VP/Contemporary who programs Atlanta’s “Q99.7” WWWQ, gave a head’s up to his airstaff when the song started showing up on the music log every three hours. “We will treat it like a current song,” he wrote in a memo acquired by Atlanta Journal-Constitution radio and TV reporter Rodney Ho. “So, when you hear it into the Weeknd or Post Malone on Q99.7, don’t think it’s weird.”

He told Ho he’s not sure how long the song will be a taking up a spot on the current list, but says “Dreams” doesn’t sound out of place and is one of the top three most checked songs in the market on Shazam.

The viral video helped placed the song back on Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Songs Chart and the band notched its best-ever week on streaming, NPR reports. In its first hour on TikTok, the video gathered some 100,000 views. It now has more than 35 million. TikTok says 134,000 tribute videos have been made, totaling nearly a half-billion combined views.

The band has also noticed, with Mick Fleetwood telling NPR, the video “was spontaneous. It was heartfelt. It was fun, and God knows we need some of that right now... It could have been any song, but it was ours.”

Stevie Nicks, whose vocals Apodaca sings along to in the video, told “CBS This Morning,” “This TikTok thing has, kind of, blown my mind. And I’m happy about it because it seems to have made so many people happy.”

The newfound love for a classic song is not unusual. In the past it was movies and commercial campaigns that revived a song. After its prominence in the movie Wayne’s World, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen returned to the Top 40 charts. Similar occurrences took place with Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” featured in the 1986 movie of the same name; “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers from “Ghost” and even “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, which blew up thanks to an animated commercial campaign for California raisins, commissioned by the California Raisin Advisory Board in the 1980s.