I have mixed feelings about Stevie Nicks’ latest album ‘The Soundstage Sessions’. No doubt her long-time fans will appreciate this collection of standards recorded in front of a live audience. These most recent renditions of old hits are arranged and harmonized very similarly to the originals. Tracks like ‘Landslide’ – first recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1975 – and ‘Stand Back’ – released on a solo album in 1983 – are barely distinguishable from the originals.
On this collection she covers Dave Matthew’s ‘Crash Into Me’ and Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Circle Dance’. Now, I’ve always been a big fan of good covers. I love hearing the performing artist pay tribute to the initial version of a song I love by putting their own special style and spin on an old favorite. (The first time I heard The Gourds’ rendition of ‘Gin and Juice’ I squealed and clapped my hands with glee. I had a similar reaction to Faith No More’s take on ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning’ and Sam Bush doing ‘Everyday I Write The Book’ by Elvis Costello.) However, Nicks uses arrangements almost identical to those used by Raitt and Matthews. While both of these artists and tunes are favorites of mine, I don’t really get the point of covering them in ways that are so similar to their origins.
The recording is unusually sharp and precise for being live. In fact, unless I’d read in the liner notes that it was recorded in front of an audience, I would have thought that it was recorded entirely in a studio. There are no hints of audience participation at all. According to a Wikipedia article, this was Nicks intent from the album’s conception. I don’t quite understand the point of that, but I cannot argue the technical precision of the engineering.
This disc is certainly a pleasant listen, but I don’t think I would put it on my list of essential Stevie Nicks must-haves.
