[The Nicks Fix]

Rolling Stone
May 14, 1998, issue 786
Review of "Enchanted: The Works of Stevie Nicks"

3 1/2 stars

-by Rob Sheffield

Stevie Nicks is more than a rock icon: She's the high priestess of her own religion, ruling a world of prancing gypsies, gold-dust princesses and white-winged doves, all without going anywhere with a sensible shoe. Like David Bowie or Bryan Ferry, Nicks has spent a career turning her private fantasies into an elaborate pop mythology. And even when she gets carried away, she still has that soulful ache in her voice. On "Enchanted," a three-CD retrospective of her solo career, you can hear how faithfully Nicks has followed her vision. As she confesses in 1983's excellent "Nightbird," "I wear boots all summer long."

"Enchanted" combines live rarities and B sides with radio hits like "Stand Back." But the emotional highlight is "Ooh My Love" (originally buried in the long-forgotten "The Other Side of the Mirror"), about a princess who feels like a prisoner in her own castle even though she's still terrified of the world outside. It's Nicks' love letter to her fans, and, like the rest of "Enchanted," it makes you admire her fierce compassion for the lost girls in her flock. She's lasted so long as an icon because she's never forgotten how it feels to teeter in high heels on the edge of seventeen.

Thanks to Amy Thompson for sending this article to The Nicks Fix.


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