Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 27, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000N3ST7A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,327 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #83 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With a career that's seen her soar from struggling journeywoman to superstar via a fateful invitation to join Fleetwoood Mac, the singer who now bills herself as the most successful female artist in rock history looks back on the various facets of her iconography via this 16-track career retrospective. The mystic-folkie ethos that has long been her caricature are well-showcased via the cult fave Rumours outtake/B-side "Silver Spring," the muscular Sheryl Crow collaboration "Sorcerer," and a live version of the moody "Rhiannon" that casts it in even longer shadows. Yet Stevie Nicks has always displayed a willingness to push herself beyond her hippie muse, as witnessed by the dense aura of Deep Dish's remix of Mac's "Dreams" and such disparate, pop-savvy solo highlights as "I Can't Wait," "Stand Back," and shrewd, successful duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather and Lace"). Indeed, bookended by the original version of the hit "Edge of Seventeen" and a live revamping with the Melbourne Symphony that amps its every melodramatic nuance, reinvention often seems the anthology's subtext. The album is also available in a deluxe edition featuring a DVD packed with videos, commentary, and more. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

How beloved is Stevie Nicks? All six of her original solo albums, spanning 1981.2001, plus two best of collections,have been certified at least gold. With rock's superstar chanteuse about to go back on the road after guesting on Tom Petty's Highway Companion tour, Crystal Visions... covers her entire solo career for the first time in a CD+DVD package. Featured are several previously unreleased live tracks on the CD, as well as Stevie's voice-over commentary for each video and her artwork on the DVD. Crystal Visions...The Best Of Stevie Nicks is exactly that. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 78 Minutes, March 31, 2007

By 

Steven Haarala (Mandeville, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (Audio CD)

78 minutes of power and pleasure, that's what this is. Not a weak track on here. All 7 of Stevie's major solo hits are included, and they sound fabulous! Then there are 3 solo songs that I was not familiar with: "Sorceror", "Rooms On Fire" and "Planets Of The Universe". All 3 are good, strong tracks, especially "Sorceror", which opens with a line that I can frequently relate to: "I'm tired, I'm thirsty, I'm wild-eyed in my misery..." For a little more variety, we have live versions of "Rhiannon" and "Landslide". "Rhiannon" packs quite a punch once the intro is done, and the orchestra gives "Landslide" an added dimension, making a song that was already beautiful even more so. And I'm glad to have the studio version of "Silver Springs", because I had never heard it before. Getting into some really different territory, there is the Deep Dish version of "Dreams", which is faster and harder than the original. And I absolutely never imagined that I would ever hear Stevie Nicks burn up the place with Led Zep's "Rock And Roll", but here it is.

Now - why 2 versions of "Edge Of 17"? Well, the studio version obviously is the one most people would want, so it is right up front. But by ending the album with the same track, we complete the circle, which, in Stevie's mystical world, just might be a cosmic necessity. (The End is just The Beginning, right?) Also, this album needs a very muscular finish, and with Stevie, the backup singers, the rock musicians and the orchestra having a field day at the end with additional lyrics and instrumental passages, the finale is quite a musical catharsis. Whew! I'll say it again: 78 minutes of power and pleasure!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Near-perfect collection, April 11, 2007

By 

Tom (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (Audio CD)

Stevie Nicks is one of the last of the greats in pop/rock and roll music. Here is a woman who lived the mythical rock story: sex, drugs and rock and roll. Besides that, though, she is an excellent singer/songwriter who undoubtedly had to deal with the male egos of both Fleetwood Mac and record executives. She's one of the few female artists to find success in both a music group and solo career.

This collection may not have all the original versions of her hits but the live verisons and remixes that do replace the originals are still worthy of a listen. The recent live version of "Rhiannon" is powerful, and hearing "Dreams" in a dance version brings this timeless song into the millennium. It's a treat to hear the original "Silver Springs". It's hard to believe this track was not included on the original pressing of "Rumours". It's simply brilliant, and it's easy to understand why Nicks was upset that it wasn't originally included. But at least this song is getting its due. It's become an important part of Nicks' legacy.

And there are so many more great songs: "Edge of Seventeen", "I Can't Wait", "Talk to Me", "Stand Back", and "Rooms on Fire".

It would have been a perfect collection if this compilation included "Gypsy" and "Sara", two of Nicks' finest songs with Fleetwood Mac, but ultimately integral to Nicks' own career.

Small quibbles aside, this is highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crystal Visions, September 8, 2007

By 

E. Anderson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Visions - The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (Audio CD)

I really can't say I am a diehard Stevie Nicks fan but I always have enjoyed a good number of her popular hits (with and without Fleetwood Mac). Her best of collection CRYSTAL VISIONS is perfect for casual listeners like msyelf. The cd contains all of my favorite songs that Stevie has done in the past and present. My personal favorite songs? "Room on Fire" and "Talk to Me" (which goth band Diva Destruction does a spectacular cover for the indie film GYPSY 83). I never really was crazy about Fleetwood Mac's music but in this case I really enjoyed songs like "Silver Springs" and "Landslide".

In this day and age of Hannah Montana, The Pussycat Dolls, and other disposable pop tarts who tries to pass themselves off as singers, it is refreshing to hear Stevie Nicks. In my opinion, Stevie sounds as good as ever with her distinct raspy vocals which I absolutely adore. She can definitely teach the latest pop du jour on a thing or two about singing and maintaining a career that has gone on for more than the proverbial 15 minutes. CRYSTAL VISIONS is a great testament to Stevie's longevity in an industry that is more concerned with the bottom line than creating long-lasting careers for artists.