When Sheryl Crow helped induct Stevie Nicks and her Fleetwood Mac mates into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Crow called the siren “the woman all young girls wanted to be and all men wanted to be with.” After years of drug abuse and health problems in the 80’s, Nicks has not only cleaned up her act, she has polished it. On her first solo album since 1994, she reins in her loopy side with an assist from Crow, who co-produces, plays guitar and sings backup on a few tracks. And though Nicks dresses like Rhiannon heading for Wicca practice on the cover photo, she keeps things real lyrically — ”Sorcerer” is apparently about a deal dealer, not a mystic. Enlisting the gravelly soul of Macy Gray on “Bombay Sapphires” and the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines on “Too Far from Texas,” she also keeps it real vocally. Best of all is “Fall from Grace,” a rocker about sin and redemption from one who has been there and back.
Bottom line: Another side of pop paradise
Steve Dougherty, Picks & Pans / People / May 7, 2001
