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The album is quite simply perfect from the opening notes of the title track to the haunting closing strings of the final track Love Is.Stevie has worked with Sheryl Crow on this album and Sheryls guitar driven music is evident although at no time does it overpower the feeling of this album.
Stand out tracks are the title track Trouble In Shangri La,Planets of the Universe,Every Day.Too Far from Texas,Its Only Love,I Miss you and Love Is.
The album features guest vocals from Sheryl Crow,the Dixie Chicks very own Natalie Maines,Macy Gray and on the closing track Sarah McLachlan..Each guest artist adds their own touch to this amazing album and the album is enriched by their presence but this is without a doubt a Stevie Nicks record.
This is the finest album Stevie has made since Bella Donna.To not own this album would be a crime.This record could do for Stevie Nicks what Supernatural did for Carlos Santana.
As all Stevie fans will know, she herself was somewhat disapointed with 1994's "Street Angel". Having suffered stinging reviews from critics, both for the album and the ensuing tour, her confidence was badly dented. Then along came Clinton's election campaign, and "The Dance". Realising her fans had not deserted her, and being a prolific songwriter, it was time for a new album.
I will say now that the two tracks that never did it for me are 'Everyday' and 'Too Far from Texas'. Personally, I don't think either of these show her voice as it should be, and I find 'Too Far from Texas' somewhat droney, so it would not be fair for me to review them.
But to the album:
We open with the wonderful 'TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA', a song that seems to build like a rising wind ("in pillars of colour"). It's gentle, then it rocks, briefly comes back down again, then the drums kick and it rocks out!
'CANDLEBRIGHT' originated as a song from the Buckingham Nicks days called 'Nomad'. It has a mystical & early 1970's feel (makes me think of Christine McVie's 'Say You Love Me').
'SORCERER' had its debut in the Buckingham Nicks live performances of 1973/74. It emerged again in a rock-ballad form in 1984 on the soundtrack to 'Streets of Fire', performed by Marylin Martin with Stevie singing backing. There are hints of 'Rhiannon', 'Enchanted' & 'Blue Denim' in there. It's an upbeat rock song - think 'Angel'!... Read more ›
There are a number of excellent songs - personal favourites being the hard-rock of "Fall from Grace", the heartbreaking ballad "Love Is", the pop of "Love Changes" and long-time Stevie fans will be glad to hear that Stevie's trademark mysticism remains intact on "Candlebright" and "Sorceror".
A real treat, and my favourite album of the year.
I won't bore you with a track by track review. If you love Stevie but are totally indifferent to Fleetwood Mac, then this is for you. Just to underline the point, she is real to the edge of raw naked hurt, while the Mac were/are a megabucks ex-blues band that struck lucky by meeting up with Stevie. Her female comradeship acts as a buffer against the misogynistic lifestyle of 70s California.
Like Joni Mitchell she was screwed over by these lesser talents, but she will outlast them.
There's the usual mix of love, loss and mysticism that is Ms Nicks's trademark. As the title suggests, the wreckage of shattered dreams is strewn across the album. Superstars fretting about the price of fame might not always be endearing, but Stevie always sings from the heart, there's no artifice, and no angling for the sympathy vote.
'Trouble in Shangri-La' kicks the set off in classic Mac style - broken promises and broken relationships in counter-point to the life-affirming feel of the chorus. It's a trick she plays to killing effect on 'Sorceror', as she sings "in my misery" while moving up the register to cut you in two. Tired, thirsty (for love) and world weary, she sings: "All around black ink darkness . . . Timeless in your finery/it's a high price/for your luxury" - then you see that this (like 'Candlebright') was written thirty years ago, in her pre-Mac days - she saw it coming!
Although Lindsay Buckingham only contributes to one track, his ghost permeates the whole album, lyrically and musically - cf. the guitar break in 'Planets of the Universe', which teases us with a 'Rhiannon'-style guitar figure opening. Written in '79 this would sit happily on 'Tusk'. 'Everyday' boasts an FM-friendly hook, undercut by the lyric: "I close my eyes, that gives me hope/it cures the silence".
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