A new bootleg release of Stevie Nicks’ 1994 concert at the House of Blues in Los Angeles will be released on double vinyl on August 19. Distributed by Plastic Head America, the two-record set features songs from the original Westwood One Superstars Concerts Series radio broadcast (track listing shown above).
Swirling eccentric Stevie Nicks may have a new solo record, Street Angel, to tout, but she played it safe Saturday night at the Starplex Ampitheatre by sticking to older hits, including a couple of songs from her days with Fleetwood Mac.
The place was a regular Victorian girl-fest, with a good chunk of the 9,000 in attendance suited up in lace-and-gauze homage. And you’ll surely never see as many rose bouquets presented at any other show.
For Ms. Nicks, lace and gauze hide a multitude of sins, which unfortunately will not appear in photo form. Ms. Nicks was unwilling to allow a photographer at the show – too distracting, was the word.
Appearance aside, it’s tough to flow with the decades when you’ve got an identity as distinctive as Ms. Nicks’. Her heyday occurred in the 1970s, but here in the ’90s, she comes off as someone rooted in the 18-70s, what with the shawls and the gauze and the new, crimped ‘do.
But flowing was not a problem during the show. Changing shawls at least half a dozen times, her performance contained only a little less flourish than a magic act.
A canvas backdrop featuring a gold-framed painting of some mountainous scene lent a baroque air. The seven-piece backup band of guitars, keyboards and percussion looked fairly typical, but the trio of witchy-women backup singers was more in line with Ms. Nicks’ persona.
Ironically, “Destiny,” one of the few songs she performed from her new record, is actually a song she wrote in 1973. Guess the creative wellspring’s run dry. The song was a real chugger and needed to stay in the ’70s.
Hits from prior solo records included “Rooms on Fire,” but probably the most popular numbers were the Fleetwood Mac tunes, including “Dreams” and “Gold Dust Woman.”
Ms. Nicks unfortunately stuck to the mid-range, vocally speaking, with none of the highs or lows that “Dreams” usually has. Plenty of vibrato, though.
“Rhiannon” began slowly, torchily, with Ms. Nicks emerging from backstage in a gauzy shawl, her arms upraised. The tempo stepped up, with a to-the-note solo by guitarist Rick Vito, who played with Fleetwood Mac.
Mr. Vito made for a nice distraction, but the show really rested on Ms. Nicks, on her shtick as much as her voice. She seems to fashion herself the heroine of her own romance novel. It’s a wonderful luxury to be at a point where you can live in a fantasy world, where everything’s colored crimson when it’s really just plain old red.
Teresa Gubbins / Dallas Morning News / September 11, 1994
Stevie Nicks (Greek Theater, Hollywood; 6,197 seats; $ 32.50 top)
Promoted by Nederlander. Band: Stevie Nicks, Russ Kunkel, Rick Vito, Carlos Rios, Don Boyette, Marty Grebb, Michael Ruff, Lenny Castro, Sharon Celani, Sara Fleetwood, Liza Edwards. Reviewed Aug. 25, 1994.
A Los Angeles-area concert from longtime local Stevie Nicks is almost always a special event, and this show, the first of two nights at the breezy Greek, was made even more memorable by the fortysomething singer’s spiritual attitude of late, not to mention the show’s numerous guest-star turns.
Nicks’ fifth solo album, the recently issued Street Angel (Modern/Atlantic), is full of the same simply composed, touching music that marked her early-’80s work, music that speaks volumes while often employing little more than a raspy whisper.
Though this 100-minute concert contained only a few songs from the new album, it was newer material, particularly the heart-breaking “Destiny,” that helped make the evening a memorable one.
That song, a beautiful, country-flavored confessional of love’s power, was written by Nicks in the early ’70s, yet played like a perfectly timed bridge for the diminutive singer to cross at this stage of her professional life. Capitol sax star Dave Koz frosted the number with his elegant, soaring performance.
Most in the crowd came for the classic material from Nicks’ Fleetwood Mac days, as well as her earliest solo efforts, and that seemed just fine with the shawl-covered vocalist. Smooth favorites like “Rhiannon,” which featured a haunting new ballad intro, “Edge of Seventeen” and “Dreams” brought the expected applause and were surprisingly affecting, more so when one considers the abrasive style of many of the latter-day female rock singers dominating the current music scene (Liz Phair, Courtney Love, etc.).
The show, which came within a couple hundred tickets of being a sellout, ended on a high note, as Nicks and band (by now featuring old friend Waddy Wachtel and show opening-act Darden Smith on guitar) tore through a cover of Tom Petty’s fiery “I Need to Know,” then closed the affair with a tear-filled version of 1985’s “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You,” a song of undying love inspired by one father’s grief for a lost child.
Though Nicks’ straightforward, soul-baring style and vulnerable personality seem irrelevant next to the bitter rage that marks contemporary modern rock, the enthusiasm she continues to instill in her adoring fans (who still shower the singer with all manner of gifts, by the way) is testament to the singer’s enduring appeal.
Troy J. Augusto / Daily Variety / August 29, 1994
WITH ALL the anniversary, reunion and comeback concerts this summer, it seems music-nostalgia madness has gripped the country. Stevie Nicks helped this highly contagious but seldom fatal malady reach epidemic proportions Tuesday night at Riverport Amphitheatre.
Although Nicks performed some songs from her current album, Street Angel, it was the infectious pop/rock beat of the ’70s and early ’80s that seduced the crowd into a rocking, shaking delirium. This began with the second number she performed, “Dreams,” from her days with Fleetwood Mac. With Nicks singing lead, the song hit No. 1 in 1977, becoming the only chart-topper for the now virtually legendary group.
A couple of songs later, Nicks unleashed the Fleetwood Mac virus again with “Rhiannon,” from 1976. She started with a very slow beat, showcasing the sultry, raspy voice that vaulted her to stardom. But then she sped up to a pace fast enough to rev up the crowd and get it moving.
A rousing rendition of “Stand Back,” from her 1983 The Wild Heart LP, kept the crowd feverishly ecstatic and marked probably the high point of the concert. The audience members returned to their seats for the next song, the slow-moving “Destiny.” Nicks actually wrote this tune more than 20 years ago, but recorded it only this year.
Nicks seemed to give her older fans a chance to recuperate with her new works. The crowd did not seem even to recognize “Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind,” her current single. She performed the catchy, tight refrain well, but meandered all over the looser verses.
Of course, Nicks was very successful with meandering, open-formated songs early in her solo career. A prime example is “Edge of Seventeen,” from her 1981 solo debut album, Bella Donna. The song peaked at No. 11 on the charts, but earned Nicks a Grammy nomination for best female rock vocal performance.
Nicks used “Edge of Seventeen” to close her set. Then, after several minutes of sustained applause, she returned for an encore.
“We’d like to dedicate this song to Elvis Presley,” Nicks told the crowd before rendering her version of “I Need to Know.”
She then left the stage again, but returned for a second encore after more applause. Eschewing fan favorites such as “Leather and Lace,” “Gypsy” and “Rooms on Fire,” she made another curious encore choice, the beautiful ballad “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You.”
The encores proved a rather disappointing anticlimax to an otherwise entertaining show.
Nicks delivered strong vocals with surprising clarity, considering that it sometimes sounds as if she is incoherently mumbling nonsensical lyrics on some of her recordings. She rested her voice during long instrumental breaks, which contributed to the low output of only 15 songs in a 90-minute show, but she made the waiting worthwhile with fervent performances.
She appeared to draw energy from the crowd, leaving the audience weary, yet happily suffering from incurable music-nostalgia madness.
Dennis Jacobs / St. Louis Post-Dispatch / August 18, 1994
Who: Stevie Nicks
When: 8 tonight
Where: Chastain Park Amphitheatre
Tickets: $22.50, $19.50. 249-6400
Why go? Because it’s Stevie Nicks. The 46-year-old rock goddess practically defined the often decadent, guitar-fueled era of late ’70s music. With lilting, dreamy songs such as “Rhiannon,” she helped Fleetwood Mac become one of the biggest selling rock groups in history. Her solo work (“Stand Back,” “Edge of Seventeen”) got steady airplay throughout the early ’80s but tottered on the brink of anachronism by the end of the decade. But this summer, she’s back with a new CD, Street Angel, that’s getting good reviews for its fresh batch of midlife songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” and the single “Blue Denim.”
What to expect: It depends on Nicks’ mood, the sign of the moon or maybe the Psychic Hotline. But that’s the appeal. Nicks’ mystical, gypsy image – stoked by lyrics about “crystal visions” and “timespace” – is as alluring as the music. Once the personification of cool, she still wears those platform boots and gauzy, beaded shawls. But these days the hair is tinged with gray, and she’s heftier. The voice is in great shape, contrary to longtime rumors that she is heavily produced. In her last solo Atlanta appearance at Lakewood, in 1991, she left the stage after nearly every song for an unexplained pause. But she packs power into a show that’s half greatest hits (including Fleetwod Mac’s “Dreams” and “Landslide”) and half new material.
Nicks in the ’90s: “I’m a much happier person now,” she recently told the Boston Globe, describing her reclusive life in the Arizona desert. “It’s a good time for me.” Nicks abandoned the Hotel California lifestyle last year when she moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix after the earthquake. Although her rock ‘n’ roll romances are legendary (with Don Henley, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Joe Walsh), she’s single and says she has no one special in her life. She no longer tours with Fleetwood Mac, so this is your only chance to catch her this year.
Concert trivia: Look for backup singer Sara Fleetwood, ex-wife of drummer Mick Fleetwood.
Recommended recordings: Timespace: Best of Stevie Nicks and Bella Donna, probably her best solo LP. Also Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Greatest Hits.
Miriam Longino / Atlanta Journal and Constitution / August 8, 1994
Stevie Nicks must hire a separate tour bus to haul her costumes.
The veteran singer appeared at the Classic Amphitheatre at Strawberry Hill on Saturday night in all of her glory — and all of her clothes.
On a pleasantly cool evening, Nicks carried an audience of nearly 6,000 through a 90-minute set that featured her solo work as well as hits from her Fleetwood Mac days.
Her habit of disappearing from the stage every couple of songs to change outfits might be disrupting, even annoying to some, but not to her devoted fans. It’s all part of the Nicks mystique: the hair, the voice, the shawls.
Stevie wannabes danced and sang along, including one very good facsimile who cavorted beneath a security light at the top of the lawn. She had Nicks’ act down, twirling and floating in a billowy skirt.
Nicks offered Fleetwood Mac hits such as “Dreams,” “Stand Back,” and a slow-at-first but then full-throttle version of “Rhiannon,” which was a highlight.
She served up a healthy portion from her sixth and latest solo album, Street Angel, including the catchy “Blue Denim” (during which she appeared to forget the words) and “Destiny,” a song she wrote more than 20 years ago but has never recorded.
She was supported by a solid band that spotlighted former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito and journeyman drummer Russ Kunkel.
For an encore, she covered Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “I Need to Know.” She closed with “Has Anybody Ever Written Anything for You?” — a soft, sorrowful tune that might have been her best of the night.
Nicks’ production — seven-piece band, three backup singers, giant doily draped over the edge of the stage — was in stark contrast to opening act Darden Smith.
Smith, a 32-year-old Texan whose work features strong lyrics and a knack for storytelling, stood alone before a simple, black backdrop and played guitar on eight songs. He sat at the piano for a ninth.
The personable Smith bantered with the crowd in the front rows — “Do I want a cigarette? No thanks, I’m working” — as he delivered five tunes from his most recent album, Little Victories.
Bill Lohmann / Richmond Times Dispatch / August 8, 1994
Stevie Nicks believes in angels. In fact, she believes they helped arrange her current concert tour.
”The angels cleared everything in my life so I could concentrate on this,” she says matter-of-factly. ”I believe angels protect us all.”
And that’s not all Nicks believes. When talking to the singer, she’s never far from expressing some kind of New Age faith. No matter what you ask, she ends her answer with something like:
”If you keep a positive attitude, things will work out.”
Or: ”When one door closes, another one opens.”
Or: ”We all go back to the sea.”
All of which only further endears the ethereal singer to her fans.
With a new album just out — Street Angel, her fifth — and a year-long tour, Nicks has sustained the most productive solo career of any former member of Fleetwood Mac.
This despite being a figure of easy ridicule. For years, Nicks has been lampooned in some circles as a kind of rock dinosaur, at 46 still writing badly embroidered school-girl poetry while wearing the same suede platforms and elaborate shawls as in her ’70s heyday.
Still, Nicks wears her lack of trendiness as a badge of honor.
Nicks says the lacy look always appealed to her.
”Even when I was little, I loved the idea of seeing grandmother’s clothes,” she says. ”I’m fascinated by garments that are 100 years old. And being in Fleetwood Mac, I got to travel the world and buy these beautiful things.”
Not that Fleetwood Mac was all joy and shopping sprees. In fact, Nicks says she’s glad the superstar era of her life with the group has ended so she can concentrate ”on singing and writing. I don’t need to headline massive arenas. I need to make music and entertain — to find an intimacy with people.”
It also pleases Nicks that she no longer has to balance a solo career with any Fleetwood Mac duties. Before the group’s final breakup in 1991, Nicks says that whenever she returned from a solo tour, the rest of the band already would be working in the studio ”and they wouldn’t be very happy with me.”
Worse, Nicks had to endure the barbs of ex-lover and Fleetwood Mac producer Lindsey Buckingham.
”I make Lindsey cringe,” Nicks says flatly. ”He says, “How can she be so popular? She can’t sing or write music.’ Everything I did that was successful would make his hair stand on end.”
Still, what has long embarrassed some about Nicks — her exaggerated femininity, her vague and dainty lyrics — makes others swoon. If anything, the singer knows that the last thing her fans want is a trendy Nicks.
”I think people like the fact that I don’t change,” she explains. ”They think, “If she stays the same, then it means she’ll always be with us.”
Even at 46, Stevie Nicks still is partial to the elaborate shawls she’s worn since Fleetwood Mac’s ’70s heyday.
Jim Farber / New York Daily News / July 29, 1994
For an artist usually portrayed as some pre-new-age waif, a singer and songwriter whose records set mystical visions and broken hearts to slick, mellow Southern California pop, Stevie Nicks came across more like a female Tom Petty Sunday at Jones Beach.
On the second date of Nicks’ summer tour, her taut backing band — which featured Russ Kunkel on drums and onetime Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito — exhibited the same kind of rock muscle for which Petty’s Heartbreakers are famous. Meanwhile, the solid, well-paced show — a surprisingly brief hour-and-a-half — was careful to spotlight Nicks’ voice, as seductively throaty as always, yet clear and steady — particularly on the edgier rock songs.
Opening with “Blue Denim,” a song about lost love from her striking new solo album, Street Angel, Nicks then dredged up one of her vintage Fleetwood Mac hits, “Dreams.” Although it lacked the subtlety of the chart-topping 1977 studio original and missed the unbeatable rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the song still had an otherworldly power. “Rhiannon,” another Mac hit of Nicks’, began as an almost unrecognizable, dreamy hymn, but she eventually kicked it closer to the original; even after a million radio plays, it’s still a moving song.
Nicks’ rendition of 1983’s “Stand Back” was a bit overwrought; the bombastic musical backing at times risked drowning out Nicks’ vocals. “Gold Dust Woman” began with an almost techno feel and benefitted from the terse, rhythmic combination of Kunkel and percussionist Lenny Castro. “Talk to Me,” from 1985’s Rock a Little album, and “Edge of Seventeen,” were done in barn-burning rock fashion and led the way for her first encore, a faithful reading of Tom Petty’s old rave-up, “I Need to Know.”
There were a few Mac songs missing: “Landslide,” “Gypsy” and especially “Sara”; such Nicks solo material as “Bella Donna” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” her first hit duet with Petty, would also have fit in well.
With an album as strong as Street Angel and a live show this confident and fiery, Nicks seems beyond the occasionally synth-heavy indulgences of her past. Not only did Stevie Nicks rock a little on this clear summer night by the water, she rocked a lot.
Steve Matteo / Newsday / July 26, 1994
MANSFIELD — Rock ‘n’ roll has many special rituals, but none more extraordinary than when Stevie Nicks receives gifts from the audience at the end of her show. The affectionate moment always comes during the song “Edge of Seventeen,” and it always yields a booty that has to be seen to be believed. As Nicks walked the front of the stage last night, she was handed all manner of stuffed animals, hats, flowers, wreathes and even a book entitled Angel Voices.
“I’ll look at it all,” Nicks promised to an intensely loyal and rabid following of 10,000 fans last night at Great Woods. Many of the fans, in another ritual that surrounds her shows, treated the night like a summer Halloween party, dressing in diaphanously witchy, lacy black outfits just like Nicks.
We’re happy to report that Nicks justified the audience kudos last night. It was the opening date of her first tour in three years, but she sounded as strong as she has in a decade. She’s unfortunately famed for blowing her voice out during some tours (dating back to her days in Fleetwood Mac), but her voice was a model of resilience and power last night, as she really belted though such revved-up tunes as “Rhiannon,” “Stand Back” and a scorching version of Tom Petty’s late-’70s garage-rock gem, “I Need to Know.”
Nicks also won points for her gracious honesty. “I’m very nervous. We haven’t played a show in a long time,” she said. “But I’m very glad to be in Boston. Boston has been a special place for me.”
She made it special by really pouring her heart out last night. She played fashion icon with nine costume changes (most were accessorized additions of rock-princess scarves, robes and crystal-bedecked shirts), but what stood out was the emotional commitment to her music, from the opening “Dreams” (a Fleetwood Mac hit) to soft piano ballads and several midtempo songs from her new disc, Street Angel.
As solid as the show was, though, she could have chosen better tunes from the new album. The hazy “Docklands” and vacantly poppy “Blue Denim” were performed, but this listener, at least, would have preferred more deep-meaning new tracks “Greta,” “Jane” (a tribute to nature scientist Jane Goodall) and Nicks’ exalted cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman.”
But there was no quibbling with Nicks’ emphatic vocal energy last night, nor with her chomping-at-the-bit band, featuring cut-loose guitarist Rick Vito (a Fleetwood Mac alumnus), dual keyboardists Marty Grebb and Dan Garfield, drummer nonpareil Russ Kunkel (formerly with James Taylor) and a trio of lively backup singers that included Sara Fleetwood, the former wife of Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood.
The show belonged to Nicks, however, whose regal tastes extended to stage design as well. The stage looked like a Victorian mantle, with floral-colored furniture chests out frong and a large, gold-framed picture of a Sulamith Wulfing painting (a bizarre scene of a dragon fighting a mermaid at sea) in the back. Not your average rock set, but Nicks, as she proved dramatically last night, is hardly your average rock singer.
Opening act Darden Smith played subtly tuneful solo acoustic and solo keyboard songs, but they should have put up a curtain so he could have created his own mood and not be confused with the Victorian setting in the back.
Steve Morse / Boston Globe / July 23, 1994
