Well the lovely Ms Nicks needs no introduction. But just in case... one of the members of the Rumours lineup of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks wrote a great number of the group's hits-including their only number one single, Dreams. When she announced that she was going solo while Fleetwood Mac were taking a break, many believed that she wouldn't have the same success. However she proved the critics wrong and the album went on to sell over 4 million records. Believed to be Nicks' best solo album, it features a lot of great tracks, including Edge Of Seventeen, Bella Donna and Stop Draggin My Heart Around. Bella Donna sets the tone for an emotional and openly revealing work with its lyrics which are steeped in so much imagery, and accompanied beautifully by a soft piano. Nicks is on top form vocally speaking, going from soft to strong in a matter of seconds to emphasize different emotions.
Stop Draggin My Heart Around was written by Tom Petty and Michael Campbell. Petty, who also sings on the song, and the Heartbreakers all play on this song... excellent guitar playing, and the organ adds an extra flavour which really sets it apart from the rest of the songs on the album. Petty's vocals go very well with Stevie's and this song truly deserves a 9/10.
However the strongest track, in my opinion, would have to be Edge Of Seventeen. Everything involved in this song makes it what it is... the wonderful piano which comes in at the perfect times, the flawless harmonising of Stevie's back-up singers, Stevie's own great voice... but the thing that really makes it is the guitar riff. Sampled by Destiny's Child in their hit song "Bootylicious" this is the first place where I came across the riff and it was the stand out feature of that track as well. The same steady rhythm plays the whole way through and it really completes the song. Nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance in Rock, it was well and truly deserving of the award-which unfortunately, it did not get!
Then there are the other great tunes... Kind Of Woman, Leather and Lace Outside The Rain, How Still My Love, Think About It are all excellent in their own ways. Stevie seems to be a great fan of the piano because there are very few tracks on the album which don't feature at least one tinkle of the ivorys. But this adds to the magic of the album, the magic that Stevie was always so fond of.
But there are three tracks on the album which just don't tickle my fancy at all, namely After The Glitter Fades and The Highway Man. The latter, almost definitely written about Lindsey Buckingham (it was written in 1975) and After The Glitter Fades are good tracks, Stevie performs both well... but they're both a bit too country for me, if you get what I'm saying. I myself am more of a fan of Stevie's weirdly enchanting, stranger lyrics and her rock material... so these just didn't do it for me. But I'm sure there are a lot of people who would rank these at the top of their polls.
Bella Donna-9/10
Kind Of Woman-7/10
Stop Draggin My Heart Around-9/10
Think About It-8/10
After The Glitter Fades-4/10
Edge Of Seventeen-10/10
How Still My Love-7.5/10
Leather And Lace-7/10
Outside The Rain-8/10
The Highway Man-5/10
Overall, a great album that i thoroughly enjoyed. I highly recommened it to any Fleetwood Mac fan. 9.5/10
