Stevie Nicks
In Your Dreams
Reprise
May 3

By Sara M. Berry

It has been 30 years since Stevie Nicks broke away from Fleetwood Mac to release her first solo album, and her latest effort, In Your Dreams is perhaps her best since. It’s a perfect mix of the Fleetwood Mac-style rock of the 70s, the solo-Stevie ballads of the 80s, and her foray into the world of dance music in the 90s and 2000s. There’s something for everyone on this album.

My favorite aspect of Stevie Nicks’ work has always been her songwriting. Over the years, she has said many times that the vast majority of her lyrics are originally written as poetry, and it is always the stories that she tells that sucks me into her songs. It seems that Nicks can tell a story about almost any subject, from the age-old theme of love gone awry to current events.

The album opens with “Cheaper Than Free,” a collaboration with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. “Cheaper Than Free” is an almost jazz-like ballad singing the praises of the simple aspects of love. Nicks has been known for her outstanding duets with the likes of Tom Petty, Don Henley, and Kenny Loggins, and this is no exception. The deluxe version of the album includes the music video, a simple but beautiful filming of the making of the song.

“Soldier’s Angel” clearly comes out of the visits Nicks has paid to wounded soldiers over the past decade since 9/11, as she has been just one of the many celebrities to support our troops as they return from serving our country.

“Italian Summer” and “New Orleans” bring back the awesome imagery that I have always loved in Nicks’ ballads. Through the words that could be poems on their own, the listener can almost see the Islands of Capri and the spectacle that is New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

“Moonlight” tells the quintessential love story. Although it was technically written about the Twilight series, and the similarities between the fictional relationship between Bella and Edward and the real-life 1970s love affair between Nicks and fellow Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham, it could have been about any timeless love story.

Musically, the songs on In Your Dreams are a pleasant combination of piano, strings, and drums behind Nicks’ always-strong vocals. Thirty years ago, Nicks began a solo career as an outlet for establishing her own musical identity separate from Fleetwood Mac, and her work continues to be her own while still having elements of her work with the band that made her famous.