As I’ve previously said, live albums are usually universally ignored by me. So I didn’t bother taking a look earlier this year when Stevie Nicks released The Soundstage Sessions, a companion album to the simultaneously issued Live In Chicago DVD, chronicling a 2007 performance for PBS’ Soundstage series.

Fast forward to last night, headed back into the city after a July 4th barbecue. With Sirius providing the soundtrack to my drive, I was alerted by a favorite-artist preset as I approached downtown. Actually only the song title, “Crash Into Me,” was displayed, which didn’t ring a bell, so I switched over, curious to see who this song belonged to.

Well, lo and behold, there on The Coffee House channel (Sirius’ ode to singer-songwriters and acoustic music) was Stevie Nicks, taking on the Dave Matthews Band’s 1997 hit. Matthews has described the song as being about “the worship of women,” written from the perspective of a Peeping Tom. An odd choice for a cover?

Nicks explains she fell in love with “Crash Into Me” back then and long wished to record a version herself, but was told it was a “guy’s song.” A decade later, she finally seized the opportunity, and I think Nicks’ bold reading of the lyrics makes this take so much more than a run-of-the-mill cover:

For The Soundstage Sessions CD, Nicks took the songs from her original performance into a Nashville studio and spent some time perfecting them. New strings and vocals were added to round out the sound, and the audience subtracted, resulting in a less traditional “live” album from one of my longtime faves that’s miles more appealing to me.

Purchase Stevie Nicks – “Crash Into Me” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.