In Your Dreams (2013) Stevie Nicks, David A. Stewart
Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart team up to present this documentary of the creation of their musical collaboration, “In Your Dreams” an album released in 2011.
After listening to the album when I got home, I have to be honest that it doesn’t resonate with me like her other songs that I’ve enjoyed over the years. There are some great songs on the album, so don’t dismiss it entirely. However, I very much enjoyed watching the creative process that was involved in making this record.
Stevie Nicks is graciously assertive during the production, loving, and an incredibly empathetic artist. She’s amazingly loyal to the friends she’s made over the years, working with old friends from Fleetwood Mac, Glen Ballard, and even having the same two back up singers since the early 80’s, Lori Perry and Sharon Celani. The three of them, with their blonde, red, and black hair, almost invoke a triple goddess aspect that has been “The Stevie Nicks sound” that has made magic for our ears for so long. She says, “I could be a chameleon like Madonna” but goes on to say that her fans are comforted by her consistency. She’s so right about that.
The documentary begins with Dave Stewart saying that he’s been filming since he was a young boy. I wasn’t previously aware of his talents in the film genre, only of his prolific talents as a guitarist and half of the Eurythmics. Much of the production of the documentary took place at Stevie Nick’s house where the album was recorded. With its chandeliers, artwork and spiral staircase with grand piano it’s something out of a romance novel. One shouldn’t expect any less from Ms. Nicks and it just adds to her charm. Dave Stewart does an excellent job in capturing this.
I was pleased to see familiar faces throughout the documentary: the towering and talented Mick Fleetwood, even Lindsay Buckingham who I recognized by sound before his name appeared on the screen (he looks so different!). Stevie insisted that he was the only one who could provide the sound that she was looking for on one of the songs. Spot on, she showed that after all this time they still work well together, despite their previous turmoils. My friend Amy said it best as we were discussing the film afterwards, “Sometimes they’re oil and water, other times they’re oil and vinegar” and when it’s the latter they complement one another so well.
All told, this was an enjoyable film that provided a unique opportunity to get a look behind the scenes at the visionary involved in blending together personalities, egos, musical tastes and talents, and heart to conjure an album that’s appreciated by so many. Stevie Nicks continues to be the incomparable musical enchantress.