{"id":41475,"date":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/the-soundstage-sessions-cd-dvd\/"},"modified":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-04-25T00:00:00","slug":"the-soundstage-sessions-cd-dvd","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/the-soundstage-sessions-cd-dvd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Soundstage Sessions (CD\/DVD)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I remember when I happened to discover Fleetwood Mac as a youngster in the late \u201880s by becoming completely enchanted by the sight of Stevie Nicks on the album cover of the Mac\u2019s mega-selling Rumours<\/i> LP.\u00a0 Now I could put a face to those old songs I kept hearing on the radio like \u201cDreams\u201d and \u201cRhiannon.\u201d For some reason, up until that point her soaring solo career had completely passed me by, my fault no doubt due to my dueling obsessions with Prince and Tina Turner.\u00a0 So once I did get my hands on a couple of her solo and Fleetwood Mac works, I was a fan from that point on.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

My appreciation of Nicks\u2019 unique talents has never wavered, and when I recently learned that the Chicago concert filmed for the ongoing Soundstage series was to be released on DVD, it was a pleasant surprise.\u00a0 It has indeed been a long wait for fans to get some new live material other than her work with Fleetwood Mac in recent times.\u00a0 Her last and only solo live release was the Live At Red Rocks <\/i>concert film released on VHS (but never as an LP or CD) way back in 1986.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The deluxe edition that I\u2019m reviewing here couples together the ten-track \u201clive\u201d CD and the two-hour concert film on DVD.\u00a0 The CD is a little different because the tracks are obviously live recordings but have been produced to sound as if they are studio versions.\u00a0 The audience noise has been completely left out and only nine of the seventeen tracks recorded for the film are included on the disc.\u00a0 One additional recording, a beautiful reworking of \u201cBeauty And The Beast\u201d was added to close out the album and it was well worth it.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Of the tracks on the album that essentially are just re-recordings, it\u2019s the older material that fares best.\u00a0 Newer songs from her 2001 album Trouble In Shangri-La <\/i>are almost identical to the original versions so I\u2019d hardly call them essential, but she at least picked two of the best ones in \u201cFall From Grace\u201d and \u201cSorcerer.\u201d\u00a0 The Dave Matthews original \u201cCrash Into Me\u201d is covered but the arrangement is a little choppy for my liking (not that it\u2019s a great song anyway). The two standouts are easily the majestic \u201cSara\u201d and \u201cHow Still My Love\u201d from her solo debut LP Belladonna<\/i>, which has lost none of its intriguing beauty.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The star of this show, however, is the DVD.\u00a0 It\u2019s expertly shot, sounds fantastic \u2013 and I gotta say, Stevie simply looks stunning throughout in her usual attire of lace and chiffon ensembles (even donning a feathered top hat for the encore). The material chosen pretty much represents the best of her career with a steady balance of Mac and solo songs. While I had hoped a couple of personal favorites would\u2019ve been dusted off \u2013 namely \u201cGold And Braid\u201d and \u201cOutside The Rain\u201d \u2013 I won\u2019t complain because there\u2019s lots here to get excited about.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The show kicks off with three songs from Nicks\u2019 second solo album The Wild Heart<\/i>.\u00a0 Up first is the blistering, synth-driven \u201cStand Back,\u201d which finds Nicks and her band in top form right from the get go.\u00a0 This is quickly followed after a brief greeting by her jangly country rocker \u201cEnchanted\u201d and rounding out the trio is the synth pop of \u201cIf Anyone Falls In Love.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201880s synth-laden sound is beefed up by Nicks\u2019 long time guitar virtuoso Waddy Wachtel and rhythm player Carlos Rios.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A short and slightly haunting piano leads into \u201cRhiannon,\u201d which stands alone as one of Nicks\u2019 finest moments; she still clearly loves singing it too.\u00a0 Another clear standout is the menacing \u201cGold Dust Woman,\u201d a track that has evolved into a classic over the years and remains Nicks\u2019 most prolific lyric regarding her former relationship with Charlie.\u00a0 \u201cDreams\u201d is a solid crowd pleaser as always and Waddy does a brilliant job imitating Lindsay Buckingham\u2019s original work while still putting his own stamp on the track for great effect.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Faithful renditions of \u201cLandslide,\u201d \u201cSara\u201d and a scorching cover of Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cI Need To Know\u201d flesh out the middle part of the set nicely.\u00a0 Vanessa Carlton is the obligatory guest performer and the pair cover her own \u201cThe One\u201d and Bonnie Raitt\u2019s brilliant \u201cCircle Dance,\u201d both of which sound fantastic.\u00a0 Having said that, it would have been nice to hear a couple more of Stevie\u2019s solo gems instead.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The show closes with the rollicking one-two punch of \u201cEdge Of Seventeen\u201d and \u201cRock And Roll.\u201d The former is Nicks\u2019 epic rocker from Belladonna<\/i> that still packs a mean punch.\u00a0 The latter is a slightly underwhelming Zeppelin cover that\u2019s always fun to see but is almost outdone by Stevie\u2019s Mad Hatter\/Witchy Woman outfit.\u00a0 Overall, this is a delightful package that all fans \u2013 the die-hards and casuals alike \u2013 will be happy with.\u00a0 Nicks has retained her beguiling stage presence and still captivates an audience without even trying, and although the eerie high notes are gone, her voice has taken on a deeper, sexier but still powerful mix that any rocker would be pleased to posses.\u00a0 This is a great account of Stevie Nicks doing what she does best and effortlessly so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":29859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6860],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-41475","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stevie-nicks","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41475"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}