In Your Dreams

Yes the title says it all in that when I heard the single 'Secret Love' (released before the album) I thought this would be too 'pop diva' oriented. Actually, that song DOES grow on you after a time but I do not think it was representative of what is a fine album. I've heard all of Stevie's albums and she can walk a fine line between Pop, AOR, Country/Folk and Heavy Rock. Sometimes she'll stray too far into vacuous pop territory such as on her 'The Other Side of the Mirror' album, thankfully though the balance here is just right. You have the title track and Ghosts are Gone which are uptempo rockers (the latter is especially good); Wide Sargasso Sea is a typically 'Stevie' intense heavy rock saga recalling 'Sisters of the Moon' as is Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream); New Orleans, Cheaper than Free are folksy workouts that show off Stevie's (still excellent) vocals; My Heart and Italian Summer are emotional AOR style ballads, all these are good to excellent but perhaps the peak (for me) of the album is the track with the simplest production (recorded 'live' with Lindsay Buckingham on vocals and guitar) Soldier's Angel. This is almost a 'tone poem' inspired by Stevie's work with war veterans but is delivered with that wonder of nature that is Stevie's voice. Deep in tone, rich in harmonics and with a fragile beauty topped off with a natural vocal 'vibrato', the closest musical equivalent is a cello. If you only hear (or yuck!!! Download) one track this is the one that stands comparison with Stevie's finest efforts.

Is it Stevie's best album? No. Is it a fine album? yes! But stick with it, as many of these tracks need time to grow on you.

Music is very personal and we all have opinions on what should be regarded as a landmark album. I have been fortunate to listen to Stevie Nicks' latest album `In Your Dreams' in advance of the UK's launch and have no hesitation to state that this is going to be one of the best albums of 2011.

`In Your Dreams' is captivating. Every one of the songs is relevant and Stevie Nicks sounds great for the duration of the album. Stevie Nicks has the most distinct, charismatic voice I've ever heard, and she also happens to be one of the premiere songwriters of our time. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I listened to `In Your Dreams' for the first time. Would it be over-produced and artificial? Not a chance, it is excellently produced and the music is varied and each song has so much to offer the listener. Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart really work well together.

If you have ever appreciated Stevie Nicks as a true artist, this album is not to be missed. Do yourself a favour, purchase it, then listen to it front to back at least once without interruption. Give it a chance to soak under your skin. I guarantee it will. If you can't find something to love on this album, you probably weren't much of a Stevie Nicks fan in the first place.

Stevie Nicks should be proud of herself to have created something so special at this point in her career. I congratulate her and Dave Stewart for a job well done.

The long-awaited Stevie Nicks album (some ten years after her last solo outing) was, as it turns out, worth that wait.

The opener, 'Secret Love,' is a new recording of a song Nicks wrote in 1976.
It was considered for Fleetwood Mac's classic Rumours album but never went beyond demo stage.
It's a traditional mid-tempo Stevie Nicks and a solid enough opener, but is not close to being the best number of the thirteen presented on In Your Dreams...

The song `For What it's Worth' harks back to the best of the singer's lighter, poignant musical moments while `New Orleans' is one of those more delicate Nicks numbers that the singer seems to be able to create and sing with ease.

The rockier numbers match and compliment the lighter material - the title track is bright, melodic rock and roll, `Wide Sargasso Sea' carries a swagger all its own and `Ghosts Are Gone' allows Nicks to shake off the lace and stamp the high-heeled leather boots.

Stevie Nicks defining musical characteristics are without doubt her distinct vocal tonality, vibrato and the personal and/ or wistful lyrics. Yet the highlight of the album may well be, ironically, the one song that doesn't feature the latter trait.
`Annabel Lee' is based around the words of the Edgar Allan Poe poem carrying the same name.
The 19th century American poet and author's work (based on a man's undying love for a woman, even after her death) has been given the trademark Stevie Nicks soft-rock treatment and the combination of Poe's prose, the musical accompaniment and Nicks interpretation of the poetic words have produced one of the prettiest songs she has ever recorded.

The album nearly ends on another highlight with the lovely, orchestrated `Italian Summer' but strangely that song has been sequenced as the penultimate number with `Cheaper Than Free' closing proceedings.
The latter features Dave Stewart (co-producer of the album and co-writer of half the songs) dueting with Nicks but unfortunately the song just isn't strong enough to close out the album. It doesn't add anything to musical proceedings and, quite frankly, In Your Dreams becomes a stronger album with the song removed.

But that said, what we have here is not only the first Stevie Nicks album in ten years but the best Stevie Nicks album since the 80's, when the singer just wanted to Rock a Little outside of Fleetwood Mac.
And she did. And she does. Very successfully.