Stand Back: 1981-2017

There have been a number of compilations of Stevie Nicks solo material over the years with the three CD set “Enchanted” from 1999 probably being the best. Enchanted is now a bit of a rare collector's item and unless you are prepared to pay a silly price for it you will probably end up buying this new Stevie Nicks three CD collection “Stand Back 1981-2017”, which was released by Rhino on the 19th April 2019. Stand Back is a collection of pretty decent material but it seems very little effort from Stevie herself actually went into compiling it – the release production was by Jason Day & Bill Inglot, with Dan Hersch & Bill Inglot taking care of the remastering at D2 Mastering. The material featured here starts in 1981 with the release of the solo album Bella Donna and so there is nothing from “Buckingham Nicks” (1973) or any Seventies-era Fleetwood Mac, and although there are a number of duets and recordings with other artists from later on, this is very much a solo project. As the CD cover sticker says what is featured here are 50 Essential Recordings on 3 CDs - All the Spirited Hits, Live Performances and Esteemed Collaborations; where it scores over “Enchanted” is the inclusion of material recorded after 1999. Stevie Nicks Stand Back is a reasonable release that fills a gap if you don't already have much of this material in your music collection. The CDs are presented in a card gatefold sleeve with pockets for each disc and one for the booklet – the rather basic booklet features notes by Craig McLean, release details of each track and a couple of photos of Stevie. There is no MP3 AutoRip version of this album and only 40 of the 50 tracks are featured on the streaming services – must be a copyright nightmare! The sound quality of the CD remastering will vary with different players, but both Dan Hersch & Bill Inglot are very well respected American audio engineers with many years of experience behind them so you are unlikely to better their sound if you playback on the right equipment. Currently around eighteen pounds from Amazon “Stand Back 1981-2017” is not bad value for a 50 track, 3 CD set – and although we all would have chosen a different selection of tracks the ones included are pretty impressive! Five stars for the music if not for the whole package.

Great, just what I like.

This is a truly excellent set in terms of the content and mastering/pressing quality. Some of the original recordings were a product of their time and often rather brittle at the top end. These remasters can't hide that entirely but never stray into harshness and somehow the transients seem sharper and elements of the music have been given more space to breathe.There are many favourites from her solo and group career, plus some unusual tracks I have nowhere else in my collection and some from a live set I remember hearing broadcast live on the radio back in 1982 at the start of her solo career.I have a few compilation albums and all have their merits but overall I would say that if you want just one, then this is the one to go for.A real bonus is that it is a Rhino release and these are well-pressed discs, with low surface noise, flat and free of pops and ticks.

The first and third discs of this compilation are excellent, however I must take off one star for disc two. The main reason is the track selection, who thought it would be a good idea to put on a Christmas song? A very bad idea, that ruins the flow of the album completely along with the track "gold". Surely with the immense solo back catalogue something better could have been picked. A shame really.

Love Stevie nicks this is worth the money if you are a fan

Absolutely brilliant collection of Stevie’s greatest hits and also includes some lesser known songs and collaborations. Would 100 percent recommend to any fan of Stevie Nicks. You’ll discover some new favourites as well as revisiting the classics. You won’t regret it. Vinyl quality is brilliant too.

To dispel the rumours from some reviewers that this remastered box set sounds poor, it doesn't! In fact it sounds terrific and is a great cross section of Ms Nick's musical career, from a lady with a unique, beautiful voice.

I know most of her stuff, but for some reason I've never had any of her records so it was no surprise that I loved this.