Track Listing

1. Stand Back
2. Crash
3. Sara
4. If Anyone Falls in Love
5. Landslide Orchestra version
6. How Still My Love
7. Circle Dance
8. Fall From Grace
9. Sorcerer
10. Beauty and the Beast

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11051 in Music
• Released on: 2009-03-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: CD
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

CD Description
'The Soundstage Sessions' is the first live album of StevieNicks' four decade career, and was performed before a smallaudience in a studio in Chicago. The choice to record the album this way, with the help of producer Joe Thomas gave thesessions a unique sound. Two new original songs are included, along with 'Crash Into Me', a Dave Matthews Band cover.

Customer Reviews

Sounding good as ever
This album showcases Stevie and her live band performing together as one, and I believe a little overdubbing and studio tweaking was done afterwards. The result is almost a "live album for people who don't like live albums"! It's a good and eclectic choice of tracks from Stevie's catalogue, with some of her Fleetwood Mac favourites - a beautiful orchestral style "Landslide" is notable - and many of her best solo works. The mighty version of "Stand Back" will be familiar to anyone who has seen Stevie live and though she's obviously not as youthful as she was when some of these songs were written, her voice remains clear and powerful and delivers the goods. I recommend it as a must for anyone who is a fan of her solo material, and a good introduction to it for those who may know her only for her work with Fleetwood Mac.

Actually Its Rather Good!
For Stevie Nicks fans there are some particularly good gems that have taken ages to come to the stage and about time too. The surprise is however that the quality of this album shouldn't automatically be discounted for the lack of Fleetwood Mac hits; it exudes a better sound quality than Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance," album ever did. Largely down to technology Nicks who is now 60 years old isn't afraid to try new ways of improving her hits.

Of the songs that are more interesting though, Nicks' new band has made a decent stab at some songs. "Stand Back" which had its original analogue sound helped by keyboards a la Prince/Symbol/Whatever looses its sound to a more Beth Orton inspired grunge style and trots back happily to the heavy rock associated with most live concerts of Stevie Nicks. It's a good starter song to bring the album crashing to the ears of fans.

"Crash Into Me," by Dave Matthews is an old country ballad that brings a different slow style to the rhythmic urgency of the first song and it is clear to why she chose this song not just singing it in a style close to Bob Dylan. Although largely acoustic it is evident that Nicks has had her voice mixed electronically in this song but it doesn't destroy the beauty of the lyrics or overall output.

Strumming guitars and glistening, glinting acoustic guitars bring in the third track and to those who love Fleetwood Mac will instantly recognize Stevie's voice as she sings about her best friend in the song, "Sara."

The next song, "If Anyone Falls," is one of Stevie's early singles from "The Wild Heart," album of 1983 and it has always been one of my favourites. Here the signature keyboards are evident against a much-needed backdrop of electric guitar power chords, off beat bass line and a trio of strong backing vocalists, something that seems to be lacking in many artists akin to Nicks' era. The song works well although some of the verses at the end are lost due to the power of the backing vocalists. Musically though it works well as a live song although Stevie doesn't get the high notes as she does on her original album but that's no loss.


"Landslide," takes the original theme from Fleetwood Mac's album, "The White Album," and features a very similar Lindsey Buckingham-esque glinting acoustic guitar plucking and singing out its basic accompaniment. It's not until the chorus that you get to hear a decent string orchestra in the background and similar harmonies that the Dixie Chicks had done previously with Stevie's excellent homely song. Less dramatic and more poetic this version is well executed, particularly against the false drama that "The Dance," live reunion album by Fleetwood Mac gives.

The next song is a surprise and comes from Stevie's first album in the 1970's, from her best selling album, "Bella Donna." I've always had a soft spot for "How Still My Love," and the way in which it has been done live is very similar to the album version albeit with a lot more reverb and a certain hush from the guitars, bass guitars, drum kit and keyboards.

The next song is one I've fallen for simply because it's a brand new track and one that Stevie has taken from Bonnie Raitt. "Circle Dance," shows off how well Stevie is good at singing another pop female's work that isn't Sheryl Crow based! Not only slightly poetic helped by a solo country style violin, the song exudes warmth and sadness in proper string accompaniments that seems to be a new trait Nicks is fiddling with. With Vanessa Carlton at the helm as a duet partner, this song works extremely well and gives a different light to the usual Stevie Nicks material if not slightly reminiscent of Nicks' own song, "I Miss You," from "Trouble in Shangri-La." It is not the first time however that Carlton has duetted with Stevie; her own solo album shows off the inspirational similarity in the song, "The One."


Sadly the disappointing track on this live album is the song of revenge, "Fall from Grace." It doesn't work well live simply because the reverb doesn't sound as if it belongs there. Half the time it sounds as if Nicks is battling with supremacy against the electric guitar and her backing vocalists.

Last but not least, "Sorcerer," from "Trouble in Shangri-La," works surprisingly well even though its clear that this two beat tap song lacks the gloss of Sheryl Crow on backing vocals. Bouncing and dripping with guitars around, the vocals are clear and crystal like, which for a live version is a general improvement.

Undoubtedly the best has been kept to the last and in true Stevie Nicks fashion, the typical song of saying goodbye is heard in a piano solo and combined string orchestral arrangement of "Beauty and The Beast," much like the original but in a fuller and more welcomed way. At last as documented in the linear notes on "Timespace", the Greatest Hits of Stevie Nicks, Stevie gets her wish as granted; the song gets a decent orchestra to accompany Stevie on this song live, and in its production is a lot better than the Melbourne Orchestra version that suffered from flat and sharp out of tune notes.

The inlay booklet is awash with colour photos and very little extra text whilst the lack of an audience can be forgiven here although quite why Stevie never put her excellent cover of "Rock and Roll," by Led Zeppelin remains a mystery. Over the poorly engineered "Fall From Grace," the latter song would happily warrant me five stars for this album. Thanks for reading.

Stevie Nicks
Very dissapointing compilation. Only two maybe three tracks worth listening to. The rest is a dated combination of mediocre performances. I only bought it for the tracks Sarah and Landslide both of which are excellent but the rest are fairly dire