Singer Stevie Nicks had recorded songs with producer Sheryl Crow for her upcoming new CD, Trouble in Shangri-La, but now Nicks may be aiming for the R&B/hip-hop kids, reports Entertainment Weekly.

While in Hawaii, Nicks listened to TLC's current CD Fan Mail and noted how the single Unpretty resembled Fleetwood Mac's lush vocal style. "I've got to get the guy who produced this to produce my next album," she reportedly said.

The guy is Dallas Austin, known for his work with TLC, Madonna and Brandy. He says even old '70s Fleetwood Mac tunes like Nicks' Rhiannon and Dreams have a R&B groove running through them.

Nicks' CD is due in 2000. No word on whether the Crow-produced tracks will surface. "

The Musician's Planet - Summer '99

with Sheryl Crow

"Sheryl somehow found time or a break during the massive, globally reaching Globe tour to return to that producer's chair this past May for four weeks in the studio with Stevie Nicks, the famed Fleetwood Mac vocalist turned solo artist. Sheryl and Stevie had previously collaborated on two tracks for 1998's Practical Magic soundtrack, "If You Ever Did Believe" and "Crystal"-completed during a "crazy," whirlwind, two-day session, no less-and had already recorded four more cuts for Nick's next solo album before she hit the road. "It's exciting," Sheryl says of working with Stevie again. "She's a little bit daunting, but fun. She's amazing to be around and to work with. She's very present and down to earth, an incredible dictionary of all kinds of references."

Sheryl's already pleased with some of the results. "Lindsey Buckingham [also of Fleetwood Mac and solo fame] came in for one track," she reports. "He's amazing; pretty close to perfect. Any guitar he picks up, you can identify his playing immediately." Sheryl hopes to be able to produce the entire record before the year's end, but she regretfully acknowledges that she may have to share the producer spot if the sessions pick up again after May, as she's already committed to being out on the road.

with Sheryl Crow

"Sheryl has become a very personal songwriter" says Stevie Nicks. "And that's what will make her a big part of rock history in 15 years." Crow has written and produced several songs for the former Fleetwood Mac singer since 1995 - and is at the console again for about half of Nicks' next as-yet-untitled album. The two have become great friends. When they get together, says Nicks, "We have a whole girlfest. That's fun, because we know a lot of famous people. We can talk about everybody. So we have a great time."

Crow plans to spend most of the rest of the year touring; she'll be on the entire run of this summer's Lilith Fair and will be playing some acoustic shows, probably on college campuses, in the fall. She'd also like to put some dates together with Stevie Nicks, the once and future Fleetwood Mac singer and a personal hero with whom Crow collaborated on the soundtrack for ''Practical Magic,'' which led to the two working together on Nicks' next solo album.

``I guess my role in this is really to try and create what she feels is an accurate picture of who she is,'' Crow says. ''She's a really prolific writer. I think the thing she has suffered in the last few years is when she goes into the studio, there's always a male producer that wants to make her into something that is maybe not as intimate as what she sees her music as being. Trying to get that on tape is going to be the real trick.''

The phones are still ringing for Crow, despite her change of address. Her latest album, "The Globe Sessions," features several songs drawn from romantic breakups that have occurred during her tour-heavy schedule of the past five years. She's also stretching her career out. She made her film debut as a junkie in Dwight Yoakam's "Minus Man," which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. She hopes to write a film score in the future. She's producing a new album for Fleetwood Mac's queen bee, Stevie Nicks, for whom she produced two songs on the recent "Practical Magic" soundtrack. Most recently, Crow embarked on another tour in March -- it includes two shows next week at Oakland's Paramount Theatre -- featuring new guitarist Peter Stroud from Pete Droge's band. Despite the success of her albums, "Tuesday Night Music Club" (1993) and "Sheryl Crow" (1996), Crow endured frequent criticism from those who felt her success was based more on her looks and from the contributions of other writers and musicians. Though she is grateful to have been embraced by the Stones, Dylan, et al., nothing has been more satisfying than her recent alliance with Fleetwood Mac's Nicks. "She and I have had such a similar path," says Crow. "She became well-known at 29 and I got my first record deal when I was 29. We're also similar in that we're both matriarchal. When we go out on the road, we take care of everybody. We're not just the captain of the ship, we are the mother -- and the person who is challenging everyone musically. "But when you come home, it's a different thing. That was my experience when I came off the road this last time. All of a sudden, the family that I built around me wasn't my family. They all went home to their families. And that's what motivates you to continue to go out on the road."

Like Nicks, Crow is a rock 'n' roll lifer ("it's my calling"), but "the one difference is that I'd like to have children pretty soon." (Nicks, who just turned 50, has voiced regret that she never had children.) Crow has spent time co-writing songs with Nicks for the latter's album. "Right now, we're doing five songs for the album that she had already. And two of them are Buckingham/Nicks songs," Crows says, referring to Nicks' pre-Fleetwood Mac collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham.

Musician: Are you working with Stevie Nicks on an ongoing basis?

Sheryl Crow: It's going to be ongoing because I'm on and off the road. We did two songs for a soundtrack [Practical Magic], but we're also working on her upcoming [solo] album, which I think will be out in the early fall.

Musician: How did the offer to begin working with her come about?

Sheryl Crow: She called me when we were getting ready to do Storytellers, and she asked if there was any way I would be available to record two songs. I had two days right between my Storytellers and going to Europe. I said, "This is all I have and we'll just really push the envelope and try to pull it off." So that's what we did.

Musician: Are you contributing to the album?

Sheryl Crow: The work we've done so far has been on stuff that she has already written. We've done four songs and we're getting ready to do the fifth one. Then we're going to start writing.

Musician: Are you learning anything new working strictly from a producer's perspective?

Sheryl Crow: The big difference for me is that I pretty much know as I'm creating a track how it's going to fit with my voice because I'm recording as I go. I've learned with Stevie that I can create a really great mood, but when she comes in and starts singing over it, that is going to be the determining factor-how it works with her voice.

An interview on CDNow with Sheryl Crow:

Talk about the album you're co-producing for Stevie Nicks. Is this a bit of a reclamation project?

I don't know if it's that so much as ... I think the thing she has suffered in the last few years is when she goes into the studio, there's always a male producer that wants to make her into something that is maybe not as intimate as what she sees her music as being. I guess my role is to try and create what she feels is an accurate picture of who she is. It's really challenging just being around her, and trying to get that on tape is going to be the real trick.

Will the two of you tour together at some point?

We're always talking about that. I mean, you can't believe the stuff we've come up with. We're driving our managers crazy; "O.K., now we need to get a private plane so we can just tour together for all the months of August, September, and October, and we're gonna go out and play three-hour sets." It's over the top, but it's really fun. You just get fired up when you have this connection with somebody, and she is a person that, when you're around her, you feel like you've known her your whole life.

Crow plans to spend most of the rest of the year touring; she's on the entire run of this summer's Lilith Fair, and she's contemplating a series of acoustic shows, probably on college campuses, during the fall.

She'd also like to put some dates together with Stevie Nicks, the once and future Fleetwood Mac singer and a personal hero who Crow collaborated with on the soundtrack for Practical Magic, which led to the two working together on Nicks' next solo album.

"I guess my role in this is really to try and create what she feels is an accurate picture of who she is," Crow says. "She's a really prolific writer. I think the thing she has suffered in the last few years is when she goes into the studio, there's always a male producer that wants to make her into something that is maybe not as intimate as what she sees her music as being. Trying to get that on tape is going to be the real trick."