Stevie Nicks Albums (6)
'Trouble in Shangri-La'
Release Date 5/1/2001
Tracks 13
Label Reprise
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What The Critics Say
Stevie Nicks calls in a few friends on this one. Trouble in Shangri-La enlists some of music's most popular females, including Macy Gray, Sarah McLachlan, and Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. If Nicks hadn't been doing it for years, this might feel like a calculated attempt to follow the trend set by Santana's Supernatural. Her liner notes have always been star-studded. Over the years she's gotten help from the likes of Don Henley, Don Felder, Bruce Hornsby, Mike Campbell, and Tom Petty. Most prominent on this album is Sheryl Crow, who co-produced five of the album's 13 tracks. Her signature guitar sound shines through on many of the songs. Maines performs the album's only true duet on "Too Far From Texas." The other guests are noticeable, but act mostly as backup voices and musicians. Make no mistake about it -- this is a Nicks album from beginning to end, and she's at the top of her game here. It's not a departure, but a renewed energy makes this her best work since 1985's Rock a Little. Titles like "Sorcerer" and "Bombay Sapphires" preserve her mystical persona, and despite their mythical sound, they touch on human and very personal subject matter. Her deliberate lyrics sometimes feel a bit more like prose than verse, but the conviction in her voice adds legitimacy to her words. While Nicks' voice has matured, it is just as strong as it ever was. She shows great range, from the heartbroken tenderness of "Love Changes" to the aggressive rock of "Fall From Grace." Trouble in Shangri-La not only reminds listeners what Nicks has meant to music, but it finds her a place in modern-day pop. ~ Brad Kohlenstein, All Music Guide
'The Other Side of the Mirror'
Release Date 1/1/1989
Tracks 12
Label Modern
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What The Critics Say
Stevie Nicks' fourth solo album received more than its share of negative reviews from rock critics, who seemed to mistake her poetic and not always terribly discernible lyrics for pretentiousness. Although not as strong as Nicks' three previous solo dates, The Other Side of the Mirror is a decent album that has many more pluses than minuses. While there are a few less-than-memorable moments, some of the songs -- including "Long Way to Go," "Ghosts," and "Whole Lotta Trouble" -- are fairly strong. Nicks' more devoted followers will want this album, which should be purchased only if one already has Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock a Little. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In contrast to the earthy, rootsy qualities of Bella Donna, Stevie Nicks took a slicker, more high-tech approach on her third solo album, Rock a Little. But for all its glossiness, this pop/rock CD comes across as sincere and heartfelt rather than formulaic or contrived. From the catchy "I Can't Wait" to the intense "No Spoken Word" to the dark "The Nightmare," everything on Rock a Little is as honest as it is memorable. Assisting Jimmy Iovine and Rick Nowels with the production, Nicks wisely sees to it that technology adds to her songs instead of smothering or overpowering them. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Stevie Nicks was following both her debut solo album, Bella Donna (1981), which had topped the charts, sold over a million copies (now over four million), and spawned four Top 40 hits, and Fleetwood Mac's Mirage (1982), which had topped the charts, sold over a million copies (now over two million), and spawned three Top 40 hits (including her "Gypsy"), when she released her second solo album, The Wild Heart. She was the most successful American female pop singer of the time. Not surprisingly, she played it safe: The Wild Heart contained nothing that would disturb fans of her previous work and much that echoed it. As on Bella Donna, producer Jimmy Iovine took a simpler, more conventional pop/rock approach to the arrangements than Fleetwood Mac's inventive Lindsey Buckingham did on Nicks's songs, which meant the music was more straightforward than her typically elliptical lyrics. Iovine did get a Mac-like sound on "Nightbird," in which Nicks repeated her invocation to "the white winged dove" from Bella Donna's "Edge of Seventeen," and on "Sable on Blond," a "Gypsy" soundalike. His most daring effort was the album's leadoff single, "Stand Back," which boasted a disco tempo. Elsewhere, the songs were largely interchangeable with those on Bella Donna, even down to the obligatory duet with Tom Petty. Nicks seemed to know what she was up to -- one song was called "Nothing Ever Changes." As a result, The Wild Heart sold to the faithful -- it made the Top Ten, sold over a million copies, and spawned three Top 40 hits ("Stand Back," "Nightbird," and "If Anyone Falls"). And that was appropriate: if you loved Bella Donna, you would like The Wild Heart very much. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Stevie Nicks' solo career was off to an impressive, if overdue, start with Bella Donna, which left no doubt that she could function quite well without the input of her colleagues in Fleetwood Mac (a band she would remain a member of until 1993). The album yielded a number of hits that seemed omnipresent in the '80s, including the moving "Leather and Lace" (which unites Nicks with Don Henley), the poetic "Edge of Seventeen," and her rootsy duet with Tom Petty, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." But equally engaging are less exposed tracks like the haunting "After the Glitter Fades." Hit producer Jimmy Iovine wisely avoids over-producing, and keeps things sounding organic on this striking debut. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
