Best of

When Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974 they made the new and improve group the most popular band on the planet. Hit singles like "Rhiannon" and "Dreams" made Nicks stand out from the rest and in 1981 she recorded her solo debut album, "Bella Donna," which hit #1 on the Billboard album chart or the strength of duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" #3) and Don Henley ("Leather and Lace") as well as her hard rocker "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)." Three other solo efforts followed: 1983's "The Wild Heart," 1985's "Rock a Little," and 1989's "The Other Side of the Mirror." Those four albums make up the source material for "Timespace."

Nicks had almost a dozen Top 40 singles from those four albums, all of which feature her distinctive voice (I want to describe it as almost a Janis Joplin type of voice without the hard edge, but that seems so woefully inadequate and I cannot come up with anything better). Not all of her singles are here, with both "After the Glitter Fades" and "Needles and Pins," the other duet with Tom Petty, from her debut album missing. But of course you have her highest charting single, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and the gorgeous "Beauty and the Beast," with the wonderful piano bridge by Roy Brittan. "Stand Back," "Edge of Seventeen" and "Rooms of Fire," represent her hard rock side while "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You" offers another look at the softer side. There is also a "new" track to start off the album with "Sometimes It's a Bitch," co-written by Jon Bon Jovi.

While there is room to debate a few of the songs (I can replace both "Love's A Hard Came to Play" and "Desert Angel" with better tracks), I think there is agreement that the very best of the best of Stevie Nicks is here. If you do not have a Stevie Nicks album in your music collection, then this would definitely be the single CD to pick up to rectify that error.

The versions of the songs you hear on "Timespace: the Best Of Stevie Nicks" have all been re-mastered and digitilised. You can hear the difference most prominently when you play the original "Stand Back" from the second Nicks solo album, "The Wild Heart" and compare that to new version on "Timespace." These affects are used on most of the solo singles Nicks released during her time as a prolific Rcok writer during the eighties.

Although Stevie Nicks has not done so well on this side of the channel in terms of her solo output, Timespace reflects the good and not so good times of a rock and roll lady. "Sometimes Its A Bitch" isnt a terribly memorable song. But then, its a song which was written by Jon Bon Jovi. When it was released as a single in the U.K, all the radio stations played the song to death continuously for its expletive comment about falling in love!

Desert Angel (also the b-side to "Sometimes Its A Bitch") is a passionate cry for help during the Desert Storm Gulf War dispute during 1991. Its obviously something which affected Stevie's heart when she wrote this song.

If you can put up between the uses of bare electric synth and crisp guitars, then you will like the eccentricity of this album. Its really one of the best albums on the market which shows a facet of Ms Nicks's life. Downsides? Well she may be the American vocalist from Fleetwood Mac, but her solo works have made little impact here save the famous duet with Tom Petty "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." Some people may even remember the beautifully written "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?" written by Nicks.

For most people however, its important to remember that Miss Nicks devotes most of her time to her family and fans in the U.S This assumption stems from the stories and synopsis of songs she has written about. They are interesting..but not THAT interesting. Its a good album to buy if you are beginning to fall for the mysticism behind Stevie Nicks. And if you don't like the reasons she gives for her songs, make up your own dreams and visions.