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As a music geek, Stevie Nicks has always been an artist I had very mixed feelings about. Her contributions to Fleetwood Mac are without a doubt masterful. Artistically, she brought an element to the band that resonates in their catalog to this day. Emotionally, she was oneof the catalysts in that band creating their masterpiece Rumors album. On her own  though, Stevie Nicks has been one of those artists that seemed to walk a fine line just this side of parody. All of the lace, candles and gypsy imagery just begs a sarcastic son of a bitch like me to take potshots at her.
So, reviewing Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks is an interesting endeavor. The set contains one audio CD and one DVD. The CD track listing immediately made me dread putting it in because about a third of the songs on here are not the popular versions once played on your favorite radio station. They are instead alternate mixes ("Dreams" club mix) or live versions ("Landslide", "Rhianon", etc.). That's not surprising when you actually separate the Fleetwood Mac hits from Nicks' solo career and realize how few she actually has that she can call a "Stevie Nicks hit". That's not to say she hasn't written great songs. It's just saying that buying a CD called The Very Best of Stevie Nicks which focused only on her solo career would be underwhelming for casual fans.
And that is where the problem with this disc lies. The live and alternate versions of the Fleetwood Mac hits on this CD aren't nearly as good as their originals. Additionally, the live version of her covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" is flat when you compare it to Heart's version. As for the hits on here that are hers, many suffer from the sound of the times. For example, the big 80s drums and keyboards on "Stand Back", "Talk To Me" and "If Anyone Falls" are almost cringe inducing now. "Leather and Lace" has become cliché as it's so overplayed on adult contemporary radio. Of all the songs on here, the only two that hit me just as hard as when I first heard them are "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "Edge of Seventeen" (the studio version, not the live symphony version also included here).
Still, if you are buying this set, chances are you are already a huge fan and getting those alternate versions will be a boost to your personal Stevie Nicks collection. You know, the group of CDs you keep on a separate shelf, sitting on a crocheted doily, surrounded by deep crimson candles and guarded by your cat.
 That said, let's move on to the DVD because really, that's where the meat on this collection is. The DVD contains every single video from Nicks' solo career and while that's reason enough for a fan to buy it, each video also comes with commentary by Stevie Nicks herself. That's huge. Nicks talks pretty candidly about each one, beginning with "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" where she rightly points out how poorly she's lip syncing. In fact, she barely knew the song when they were filming and if you watch, there are moments when she's not even mouthing the right words. It's pretty funny. Her sense of humor is pretty good on most of these. At the same time, she shares some pretty personal moments about songs like "Edge of Seventeen" (she was in tears from stagefright before the show) and "If Anyone Falls". She comes off as warm and open and while she doesn't really address anything on a "Behind the Music" level, she doesn't seem to shy away from anything either.
Additionally, the DVD contains home movie footage of the recording of Bella Donna (Nicks' first solo album). The quality is pretty awful but there are some truly funny and enlightening moments on here that give you a good glimpse of how Nicks works in the studio.
 Finally, I can't wrap up this review without mentioning the packaging. The set comes with a booklet where Nicks has written notes for each of the songs on the CD and included personal photographs with many of the musicians who accompanied her. The notes are going to be great for fans and do add some insight into where she was when she wrote each song and where she is now in comparison.
All in all, it's easy to take this set and say, "Well, it's not really the best of Stevie Nicks" but I'd venture to say that's not the point. The point was to give her fans something that truly said, "Thank you" for years of support. In that regard, Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks is a fine collection.
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