Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, and Rumors

My parents were in a rock band when I was growing up.  Not only was it amazing to see them evolve into wonderful musicians themselves, but I was also introduced to a lot of music that kids my age weren't a custom to.  Fleetwood Mac was one of those bands that I did not really appreciate growing up but now that I am an adult they are one of my all-time favorite classic rock bands.  Though I know their music quite well I knew little about the bandmates themselves and their rocky history until I read the latest Stevie Nicks biography Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, and Rumors by Zoe Howe.

I personally fell in love with Stevie Nicks when she did her solo album Rock a Little which was released in 1985.  Stevie's unique voice and her beauty and fashion sense are something I've always admired.  Reading about who she was as a person, where she came from, and the tumultuous journey that she has been on in her music career was something I was very excited about.

I've always heard about her love/hate relationship with Lindsey Buckingham but I never realized the depth!  I loved hearing about her start with Fleetwood Mac and the stories behind many of their songs.  I wish there would've been more focus on Stevie and her solo career but the author seemed to stick with Stevie and her association with Fleetwood Mac more than anything.  Fleetwood Mac is touring this year so I'm sure this biography was a push to get more interest in the band reuniting and the tour itself.  

There were many quotes that I did not find cited which I thought was strange and, to be honest, the book was hard to get through for me.  It is extremely long and after awhile you feel like the story becomes redundant.  I still think the story of Stevie Nicks is fascinating and I plan on picking up Gold Dust Woman by Stephen Davis, which is coming out in November of this year.  I hope Davis delves deeper into his subject more than Ms. Howe has.

For someone who has never read anything on Stevie Nicks, or Fleetwood Mac for that matter, I would say this is a decent book to start out with, since the majority of the book is bits and pieces of other articles and interviews.  But I do believe this book could've been better.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review