Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Rock royalty Stevie Nicks turned a sold-out Bridgestone Arena into The Bluebird Café




Stevie Nicks filled a sold-out Bridgestone Arena with songs and stories from her 50-year career

By Melonee Hurt
Photos: Denny Simmons

Rock royalty Stevie Nicks turned a sold-out Bridgestone Arena into The Bluebird Café Tuesday night as she filled the two-hour set with her massive catalog of hit songs — and shared the stories behind them.

Clad in a black skirt and black velvet jacket, topped with her signature long, blonde curls, Nicks, who told the crowd she turns 76 this month, still sounded vocally at the top of her game. She kept the show simple with minimal video effects and no flashy stage shows. After all, with a voice like that and the breadth of songs in her repertoire, there's no need for pomp and circumstance.

Nicks kicked off the night with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" before telling the packed arena how excited she was to be back in Nashville because it holds a special place in her story.

"I'm very glad to be here because I always tell you this, but my granddad was a kind of a bittersweet, bitter country singer and writer that traveled across the United States on trains. He rode the rails, did the whole thing, left his family. And I never really met him. However, he brought me a whole truckload full of 45s which were pretty much solid country with a little bit of Everly Brothers and a little bit of Buddy Holly. I was in the fourth grade and that sent me off to this whole thing. Whenever I'm here, I always think of my sweet little grandfather."

Nicks rolled through songs from her solo records dating back to her 1981 solo debut "Bella Donna" which spawned hits such as "Edge of Seventeen," "Leather and Lace" and "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," the latter of which came with the story of the night.


Nicks told the crowd how the Tom Petty duet ended up being her first single off the record, thanks to producer and then boyfriend Jimmy Iovine.

"After we had finished the record, Jimmy says to me, 'the problem is, we don't have a single,'" Nicks said. "Now you being a bunch of Nashville people will understand this better than maybe anybody across the country. That's the worst possible thing somebody could say to you."

Iovine, who was also recording Tom Petty at the time, said Petty offered to give the song to Nicks if she wanted it and he added, "I'll sing it with her if she wants."

"So I went in the next day. I think it really was the next day. I'd never heard this song, so we sat in the studio and listened to it a couple times. And we go out there to record it and it was so easy. It was like he and I had been singing together forever and the saddest thing was that we did it like three times and then it was done, and then I had to leave and didn't get to spend the rest of the evening hanging out with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers."

Other great storytelling moments from the show included a call for everyone to vote in the 2024 election, her passion and support for the war in Ukraine, her meeting the members of Fleetwood Mac for the first time, her shoutout to Lady A's Hillary Scott and her time volunteering for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the singer spent 12-hour days over a span of several years sitting with patients, giving them music.

"The reason I'm telling you about it is my finest hour," she said from the stage. "A lot of people had no idea who I was because I was so much older than them. But I, I had a, a ploy. I took my entire music collection and put it on iPods. 937 songs. Some people would say 'who are you?' and I'd say 'it doesn't matter who I am but I have an iPod with 937 songs on it and it's going to help you with your rehabilitation. And you're going to love it and you're going to remember me because of this."

She sang "Soldier's Angels," a song she wrote during the early 2000s as a tribute to those she met during those years of hospital visits, but noted the song is also a fitting tribute to the war in Ukraine.

She shared the story of how "Leather and Lace," which she recorded as a duet with Don Henley, she originally wrote for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. But the song is about couples staying together, so when she learned Jennings and Colter were divorcing, took the song back and recorded it herself. Nicks brought her vocal coach, Steve Real, who she credits for keeping her signature vocal tone in such good shape, to the stage to sing Henley's part in the duet.

But the sweetest moment of the night came during the very last song of the night when she and long-time guitar player Waddy Wachtel performed an acoustic version of "Landslide" while the video screens flashed through photos of Nicks' former bandmate and lifelong friend Christine McVie, who died in 2022.

After the two slayed a beautifully simple version of the song, Nicks told the crowd life without her friend has been empty and weird.

"As my mom used to say, 'Stevie, when you're hurt, you will always run to the stage.' And so I have been running since then to the stage almost every night, it seems. And you, just you, make me better every single night. And nobody else has been able to really help me. So I thank you so much for being that spirit for me. Thank you so much."

THE SETLIST:
"Rock and Roll" (Led Zeppelin)
"Outside the Rain"
"Dreams" (Fleetwood Mac)
"If Anyone Falls"
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
"For What It's Worth" (Buffalo Springfield/written by Stephen Stills)
"Gypsy" (Fleetwood Mac)
"Bella Donna"
"Stand Back"
"Soldier's Angel"
"Gold Dust Woman" (Fleetwood Mac)
"Leather and Lace"
"Edge of Seventeen"
Encore

"Free Fallin'" (Tom Petty)
"Rhiannon" (Fleetwood Mac)
"Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)



Show opener "Rock and Roll"


Wild Heart


Bella Donna


For What It's Worth



Wednesday, May 08, 2024

20th Century Lindsey Buckingham 4-LP Boxed Set June 14, 2024

The "20th Century Lindsey" Box Set by Lindsey Buckingham, comprises his first trio of solo albums in the 20th century along with eight exclusive bonus tracks set for release on June 14, 2024.



FORMATS AVAILABLE
Available starting June 14th as a deluxe 4-LP vinyl collection (and on digital formats), with a 4-CD edition set to release on August 16, 2024. The boxed set includes:

1. "Law and Order" (1981)
2. "Go Insane" (1984)
3. "Out of the Cradle" (1992)
4. "20th Century Rarities" (Compilation of rare tracks)

All three studio albums have undergone remastering in 2017, ensuring optimal sound quality from the original master tapes. The "20th Century Rarities" LP comprises eight coveted bonus tracks.

"Law and Order" (1981): Buckingham's inaugural solo venture showcases his distinctive songwriting and production prowess, with him assuming nearly all instrumental duties. Notable tracks include the top 10 hit "Trouble," featuring Mick Fleetwood on drums, alongside gems like "Mary Lee Jones" and "It Was I."

"Go Insane" (1984): Embracing experimentation, this album features standout tracks such as the titular "Go Insane" and the poignant "Slow Dancing." The title track soared to No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "I Want You" captivates with its intricate harmonies and innovative production.

"Out of the Cradle" (1992): Regarded as one of Buckingham's finest works, his third solo effort dazzles with tracks like "Countdown," "Soul Drifter," and "Wrong." Praised for its intricate guitar compositions and groundbreaking production, the album garnered widespread critical acclaim.

"20th Century Rarities": This compilation of eight rare tracks is a treasure trove for enthusiasts, featuring elusive mixes and contributions to soundtracks such as:
  • “Holiday Road” (National Lampoon's Vacation 1983)
  • “Dancin’ Across The USA” (National Lampoon's Vacation 1983)
  • “Go Insane” – Extended Remix
  • “Slow Dancing” – Extended Version
  •  “Time Bomb Town”  (Back to the Future, 1985)
  • “Soul Drifter” – Radio Remix
  • “On The Wrong Side” (With Honors, 1994)
  • “Twisted” – Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham (Twister, 1996)
"Slow Dancing" - Extended Version is available now on all digital formats

Notably, the extended version of "Slow Dancing" makes its digital debut nearly four decades after its initial release as a 12" single in Europe. Showcasing Buckingham's mastery of layered production and infectious melodies, it stands as a testament to his enduring creativity.

Explore the "20th Century Lindsey" Box Set to delve into Buckingham's distinct songwriting, intricate guitar craftsmanship, and trailblazing production across a plethora of tracks. This collection shines a well-deserved spotlight on his solo oeuvre, often overshadowed by his contributions to Fleetwood Mac, celebrating its fusion of daring experimentation, memorable hooks, and raw emotional depth.

Rhino is offering a SIGNED (or unsigned) 20th Century Lindsey Bundle (4LP)

Updated May 9th: The SIGNED Litho Vinyl Version is SOLD OUT!

Visit the Lindsey Buckingham store at Rhino to pre-order

Bundle includes:
• 20th Century Lindsey (4LP) + Litho (unsigned)
• 20th Century Lindsey + Signed Litho (Limited To Just 500 Signed Copies) - SOLD OUT

The 20th Century Lindsey (4CD) boxed set does not include a litho bundle.

The 4CD version is showing up on Amazon in the UK, US and Germany along with HMV in the UK. 



Tracklist

Law and Order
LP One
Side One
1. “Bwana”
2. “Trouble”
3. “Mary Lee Jones”
4. “I’ll Tell You Now”
5. “It Was I”
 
Side Two
1. “September Song”
2. “Shadow Of The West”
3. “That’s How We Do It In L.A.”
4. “Johnny Stew”
5. “Love From Here, Love From There”
6. “A Satisfied Mind”
 
Go Insane
LP One
Side One
1. “I Want You”
2. “Go Insane”
3. “Slow Dancing”
4. “I Must Go”
5. “Play In The Rain”
 
Side Two
1. “Play In The Rain (Continued)”
2. “Loving Cup”
3. “Bang The Drum”
4. “D.W. Suite”
 
Out of the Cradle
LP One
Side One
1. “Instrumental Introduction To
2. “Don’t Look Down”
3. “Wrong”
4. “Countdown”
5. “All My Sorrows”
6. “Soul Drifter”
7. Instrumental Introduction To
8. “This Is The Time”
9. “You Do Or You Don’t”
 
Side Two
1. “Street of Dreams”
2. Spoken Word Introduction To
3. “Surrender The Rain”
4. “Doing What I Can”
5. “Turn It On”
6. “This Nearly Was Mine”
7. “Say We’ll Meet Again”
 
20th Century Rarities

LP One
Side One
1. “Holiday Road”
2. “Dancin’ Across The USA”
3. “Go Insane” – Extended Remix
4. “Slow Dancing” – Extended Version
 
Side Two
1. “Time Bomb Town”
2. “Soul Drifter” – Radio Remix
3. “On The Wrong Side”
4. “Twisted” – Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham 

Tuesday, May 07, 2024

Rumours jumps more than 20 spaces on Billboard Top 200

Fleetwood Mac’s Special Release Propels Them Up Five Charts
By: Hugh McIntyre
Forbes



BILLBOARD MAY 4, 2024

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours has been a bestseller ever since it was released in 1977. Throughout the decades, the title has been able to sell consistently, rarely–if ever–falling off the charts. Interest in the set never seems to dwindle, and sometimes, the blockbuster is even able to rise once again.

The band recently released a new, collector’s version of Rumours for Record Store Day 2024. Fans could rush out to brick-and-mortar record stores to pick up a copy of a special edition picture disc of the album, which was limited to 7,500 copies. That was clearly of interest to longtime lovers of the band, as that offering helps the full-length ascend in the U.S.

Rumours climbs on five Billboard charts this week. It was present on all of them last time around, but in this frame, it’s up on all five–and significantly so on several.

On the Billboard 200, Rumours jumps more than 20 spaces (56 to 35). Fleetwood Mac’s top seller returns to the top 40 on the ranking of the most-consumed full-lengths and EPs in the nation, which is a huge accomplishment for a project that’s nearly half a century old. Greatest Hits re-enters the chart at No.191.

According to Luminate, Rumours moved another 19,693 equivalent units in the last week. That figure includes sales and streaming equivalents. It’s also up more than 15% from the period before.

Rumours was a bestseller yet again in America last week. All versions of the title sold a collective 5,274 copies throughout the country. That’s a massive 91% growth in pure purchases from the frame before the Record Store Day picture disc dropped.

This week, Rumours appears at No. 21 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart. That’s an improvement of just five spaces, but a huge gain when it comes to the total number of copies sold.

Rumours is also surging on three other tallies that it’s lived on for quite some time. Thanks largely to the Record Store Day release, it advances from No. 23 to No. 11 on the Vinyl Albums chart. Fleetwood Mac’s pop-rock project also jumps into the top 10 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums ranking, where it jumps from No. 14 to No. 9. On the Top Rock Albums list, it’s up to No. 7. And on the Indie Store Album Sales chart it's up to No.8 from No.13 last week.

In Canada, Rumours moved up to No.36 from No.42 last week. 



UPDATE: MAY 11, 2024 BILLBOARD

This week, Rumours drops to No.40 in the US from No.35 last week on the Billboard Top 200. Greatest Hits remains at No.191 after re-entering the chart last week. On the Top Album Sales chart, which is pure album sales, not including streaming, the album slid to No.28 from 21 last week.  On the Top Vinyl sales chart, Rumours slides to No.24 from No.11. On the Top Rock and Alternative Albums Chart Rumours moves down one spot to No.10 from No.9 last week. On the Top Rock Albums chart Rumours also moves down one spot to No.8 from No.7 last week. 

On the Canadian Top 100, Rumours moved down to No.40 from No.36 last week. 

In the UK, Fleetwood Mac's 50 Years: Don’t Stop remains in the top 10 after re-entering the top 10 at No.8 last week. This week the album is No.10 with 5,701 units sold. Rumours exits the top 10 sliding to No.27 from No.9 last week with sales of 3,779 units. 

Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years - Don’t Stop keeps the group inside the top 10 for another week




Fleetwood Mac Scores Two Of The Biggest Singles In One Country
Hugh McIntyre

Fleetwood Mac can almost always be found on albums charts in a number of major music markets. Between their greatest hits compilations and their full-length Rumours, it seems the world will always want to listen to and buy their projects.

It’s not surprising to see Fleetwood Mac on any albums chart these days, even though they haven’t released anything new in years. What might raise some eyebrows this week is that the band manages to claim not one, but two spaces on the ranking of the most-consumed songs in one nation.

This week in the U.K., Fleetwood Mac charts two tracks on the ranking of the most popular songs. Neither of them are new to the list, which may make their performance that much more impressive.

Fleetwood Mac’s highest-charting hit at the moment in the U.K. is “Everywhere,” which has found a space on the list of the top-performing cuts for some time now. That track is steady at No. 87 this frame. Many years ago, it peaked at No. 4, becoming one of the pop-rock group’s biggest hits.

Very close to the bottom of the tally comes another track from Fleetwood Mac. Their single “Dreams” returns to the songs chart in the U.K. at No. 97. It has, in the past, risen as high as No. 24, and it’s now spent 77 frames on the tally.

As Fleetwood Mac occupies a pair of spots on the songs chart, the Grammy winners manage the same feat over on the albums list. On that ranking, the band is performing much better than when it comes to songs.

Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years - Don’t Stop keeps the group inside the top 10 for another week. The compilation dips slightly from No. 8 to No. 10, managing to find a place in the region once more.

Rumours sat inside the top 10 in the U.K. last week, but now it’s fallen–and quite far for one frame. The blockbuster project slides backward from No. 9 to No. 27, which is a noticeable tumble, especially for an older collection. That former No. 1 is one of very few efforts that have lived on the roster for more than 1,000 weeks.

Stevie Nicks finishes in a downpour - Charlotte, NC Review

What will I remember most about Lovin’ Life? Probably when Stevie Nicks made it rain.

by: THÉODEN JANES
May 6, 



There was a moment on Saturday night, shortly after Stevie Nicks took the stage at the Lovin’ Life Music Fest in uptown Charlotte, when I suddenly thought to myself, STEVIE, what in the world are you doing?? Stop it!!

To that point, the festival had weathered 18-1/2 hours over two days and nights without encountering more than a couple of gentle showers despite ominous forecasts. But then the witchiest member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame got just one song into her highly anticipated set and went ahead and said this:

“We have prayed for no rain all day — and every day for the past week — and look! There’s no rain right now.”

I knew, immediately, what was going to happen before the night was through. When the drenching downpour was unleashed over the inaugural outdoor festival a little over an hour later, however, the outcome took me by genuine surprise.

It was not something dismal. It was something divine.



Stevie Nicks finishes in a downpour

Like I said, she jinxed it.

Less than 10 minutes shy of 11 p.m. on Saturday — as Nicks charged through an encore that started with a cover of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” and continued with her appropriately witchy rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” — a spitting rain turned into a spouting rain, then a steady one.

Anyone who didn’t have a poncho was drenched by the end of “Rhiannon.” It wasn’t letting up, either. Yet she refused to rush things.

“For this last song,” she told the huge crowd, which was sticking it out through what had become a monsoon, “I would like to tell you that usually right now I talk a little bit about Christine McVie, my friend that I lost awhile ago. ... But tonight, I’m gonna change it up. ...

“I would like to dedicate this song to the four officers that were lost,” Nicks continued, referring to those killed in Charlotte last Monday. “We came in just about when it all happened, and turned on the television and there it was. And I just want you to know — from the bottom of my heart — how sorry I am.”

There were other tributes from other artists throughout the weekend, but she’s the only one I know of whose voice started shaking as she delivered hers.

In the audience, rain surely camouflaged some tears. And for the next 3 minutes and 20 seconds, as the drenching continued, Nicks beautifully warbled through one of Fleetwood Mac’s most emotive hits: “Landslide,” with its timeless message about the changes and challenges of life.

I took my love, I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills

‘Til the landslide brought me down

Friends and couples and singles danced in puddles like they hoped it would never end — this moment, this song, this rain, this show, this night, this festival. When it was over, they went home wet but happy.

Thursday, May 02, 2024

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is the best-selling UK vinyl in the 21st Century

The Official Top 40 best-selling vinyl albums of the 21st century from the 1970s, 80s and 90s revealed



The biggest vinyl albums of this century, which were released between 1970-1999 revealed.

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has been announced as the best-selling vinyl album of the 21st century, from records that were released between 1970-1999.

As heard live across the country on Greatest Hits Radio and compiled by data from the Official Charts Company, some of the most popular and influential LPs ever recorded have made the list.

Despite never sending one of its timeless tracks to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart (Fleetwood Mac's only UK Number 1 single remains 1968's Albatross) Rumours is one of the most successful and enduring LPs ever released in the UK - it's spent a total of 1,042 weeks inside the Official Albums Chart since its release in 1977.

This week, you'll also see Rumours is back inside the Top 10 of the Official Albums Chart, solidifying its status as one of the most popular records with the British public of all time.

According to Official Charts Company data, Rumours has logged 280,000 vinyl sales since the beginning of the new millennium. 

Number 12 on the top 40 best-selling vinyl albums is Fleetwood Mac's "Greatest Hits".

Full article at Officialcharts.