Amazon.co.uk Review
As one half of
Fleetwood Mac's twin female leads,
Stevie Nicks is possessed of one its most distinctive voices.
Trouble in Shangri La, her first solo album since 1994s
Street Angel, demonstrates Nicks has lost none of her flair for penning richly textured baroque-flavoured folkrock. Despite the presence of former paramour Lindsey Buckingham on the dreamy ballad "I Miss You", a duet with Sarah McLachlan, a guest appearance from
Macy Gray (on the iridescent "Bombay Sapphires") and diverse contributions from
Sheryl Crow who acts as sounding board, co-producer for five tracks and contributes one song, "It's Only Love", this is very much Nicks's work, a labour of love that she spent the best part of five years on. Polished and burnished to a lacquered sheen, songs like "Planets Of The Universe" glow like embers while Nicks's aching world-weary lyricism frames the tableau. --
Mike Pattenden
CD Description
Free of an addiction to anti-depressants, Stevie Nicks hunkered down with a coterie of friends for her first album since 1994's STREET ANGEL. Sounding revitalised and strong of voice, Nicks changes stylistic gears throughout SHANGRI-LA, going from the driving force of "Fall From Grace" to the exotic, Sting-like worldbeat of "Bombay Sapphire" (featuring guest vocals by Macy Gray). Peppered with sitar-flavoured guitarand unobtrusive drum-loops, the chugging self-empowerment anthem "That Made Me Stronger" serves as the core of this creative rebirth. Nicks' strongest studio album since her 1981 debut BELLA DONNA.
Sheryl Crow guests on "Candlebright" and "Sorcerer", which date back to the early '70s, and were dug out of Nicks' vault of previously unreleased material. Both fuse Crow's rootsy sound with Nicks' trademark mysticism.Other highlights include Nicks' duet with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines on the twangy "Too Far From Texas", and the delicate "Love Is", an ethereal collaboration with Sarah McLachlanand her band.