Posted on: November 20, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

For those individuals that have been living underneath a rock for the last thirty or so years, Stevie Nicks was the one time singer of Fleetwood Mac. Since that period, ey has created enough in the way of memorable songs to comprise this, a two-disc greatest hits collection that spans pretty much eir entire career. The great thing about this set is that the first disc has all of Nicks’ greatest hits in audio format, and the complimentary DVD that comes with it has some of eir biggest hits on DVD, in video format. The great thing about the videos in not the fact that they are combined in one place (which is a nice thing), but there is actually commentary by Nicks eirself about the videos.

This gives individuals a much better idea of the decisions made in the videos, and even provides individuals with a better context for each of these mini-movies. There are some interesting nuances to the audio CD, as well. For example, two of Nicks’ biggest hits (“Landslide” and “Edge of Seventeen”) are both reflected on the disc as live versions with the Melbourne Symphony. Individuals that want to hear a studio version of “Landslide” will not have that chance; the same fact holds true for “Rhiannon”. While these represent two minor negatives for Nicks (how about putting the studio versions onto the DVD as the music videos?), the inclusion of the live versions of these songs will make up for any issues stemming forth. Nicks also includes some tracks that may have been big in their time but have been moved to the dusty bins of rock history (eir duet with Don Henley, “Leather and Lace”, is but one example), and even gives the listeners a look into eir personal life (there is a home video that was shot during the sessions that ultimately resulted in the album “Bella Donna”.

Nicks has had a storied career, and this set does well in collecting efforts from the entirety of that career. The blend of audio and video means that “Crystal Visions” is a full on sensory assault of all things Nicks, and for anyone that is looking to start out or wants to get an album to play in the car, this disc might just be it. Stevie Nicks has not lost a single step, as the tracks with the Melbourne Symphony show, so here is hoping that ey comes out with a new album soon.

Top Tracks: Edge of Seventeen, I Can’t Wait

Rating: 6.5/10

Stevie Nicks – Crystal Visions / 2007 Reprise / 29 Tracks / http://www.nicksfix.com / http://www.reprise.com / Reviewed 17 May 2007

[JMcQ]

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