What can you say about Crystal Visions…The Very Best Of Stevie
Nicks. With 16 songs on the CD and 13 on the DVD, plus 30 minutes of
never-before-seen home video, along witrh commentary from Stevie on not only
the DVD, but in the booklet — this set is a gem of a collection. Often
overshadowed by the juggernaut of Fleetwood Mac and that group’s relationship
dramas, one tends to forget that the gravelly throated Nicks is a powerful solo
artist in her own right. And while her very distinct vocals and ‘ethereal’
stage presence might not be to everyone’s liking, nobody can deny this
woman’sm staying power at the rock/pop forefront for ovcer 30 years.
On the CD portion, there is the obligatory kick-off track, “Edge of Seventeen”,
one of Stevie’s most recognizable solo songs and arguably her best. In
the booklet Stevie mentions Waddy Wachtel’s guitar playing and arrangement,
making “Edge” much more than just the piano-driven song she had
originally intended it to be. Giving Waddy a ‘shout out’ endears
Stevie to me like nothing else here. I have loved W.W. since his days with Linda
Ronstadt and always felt he was one of the unsung heroes of rock guitar.
Other highlights of these 16 songs include “If Anyone Falls In Love.”
If any song brings me back to the 80s, this one does. I just love that blaring
keyboard and those perfect backing vocals. There’s a great studio version
of “Silver Springs,” a ‘leftover’ from the Rumors
sessions; a remixed dance version of “Dreams,” which is interesting
for not much else than the backbeat and new vocal Stevie recorded. Then the
smokin’ smokin’ smokin’ (did I say it was smokin?) live version
of “Rhiannon.” Stevie mentions her vocal coach in the liner notes
for this song, and in my opinion her voice has never sounded better. “Stand
Back” is inspired by Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”
with the uncredited purple one himself on keyboards. How about a fun live version
of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll”? Nicks mentions in the
booklet how much she has always loved Led Zeppelin. Finishing things off is
an epic 9-minute plus live version of the “Edge Of Seventeen” with
the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra providing ‘urgent’ accompaniment.
As for the DVD, there is aforementioned commentary where Stevie tells us about
how the videos were made and who made them with her. In the case of “Stand
Back,” she shows a video that was never aired. What I like about the commentary
track is that the singer is informative yet so self-deprecating, you find yourself
as entertained by what she’s saying as you are by the videos themselves.
And like the CD, she balances out the content — the “Stand Back”
video is right there with the unusual gems, like a live clip of “Edge
Of Seventeen” from her first-ever solo shows, which first aired on HBO
when Bella Donna was out, along with the video for “Sorcerer.”.
To top it all off, there’s a 30-minute ‘making of’ of Bella
Donna, featuring more unreleased, never before-seen video and audio.
Stevie Nicks has avoided what I usually hate about greatest hits collections.
Though she has certainly included some of her biggest hits on Crystal Visions,
she has also included tasty morsels of some lesser known tracks, definitely
songs that were never ‘hits’ in the true sense of that word. That,
along with live material and the DVD, makes this a truly magical set from rock
and roll’s most enduring enchantress.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
