HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: The Other Side Of The Mirror – Stevie Nicks
What do you really know about STEVIE NICKS? Is it Edge Of Seventeen? Or perhaps it’s her tumultuous drug-fueled relationship with Lindsey Buckingham that helped FLEETWOOD MAC to craft what are regarded as some of the best albums of all time?
While each of the faces of FLEETWOOD MAC would use the time between the group’s album releases to pursue their solo careers; audiences and critics alike would always hark back to the golden days of Rumours (1977), when the band was at its most turbulent and their music was arguably at its best. The solo careers of each respective member would forever live in the shadow of one of the world’s most famous and successful bands, yet NICKS and her bandmates would not let this stop them.
The album itself opens with the lead single Rooms On Fire; a track that continues NICKS’ theme of writing deeply personal, almost biographical lyrics. In a 1989 interview NICKS stated “Rooms On Fire is about a girl who goes through a life like I have gone through, where she finally accepts the idea that there will never be those other things in her life. She will never be married, she will never have children, she will never do [that] part of life.” It’s a rare insight into NICKS’ life masqueraded as a story about someone else, a ploy that she uses heavily throughout her writing both solo and with FLEETWOOD MAC.
A commercial success, The Other Side Of The Mirror is NICKS’ highest charting album to date in several European countries including Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. While in part this is thanks to Rooms On Fire, NICKS had amassed her own following away from FLEETWOOD MAC that allowed her to take the album to Platinum status and sell in excess of a million units. Unfortunately, as with every other solo release for NICKS, it would follow an infamous FLEETWOOD MAC album. This time, it would be Tango In The Night (1987) that was released just two years prior.
As one of the most legendary females to make a name for herself in the rock genre, NICKS has managed to create a distinct sound that can only be described as, well, STEVIE NICKS. It’s equal blends of ethereal witchy themes, classic inoffensive pop melodies and deeply personal lyricism. Though these sounds bled over into FLEETWOOD MAC territory, with The Other Side Of The Mirror, NICKS managed to fully remove herself from the constraints of the group and as one of its three vocalists. Of all FLEETWOOD MAC band members past and present, there is no denying that she has been and will always be the most popular. With two top-five albums and nearly half a dozen top-ten singles under her belt by the end of the 1980s, NICKS’ success was unmatched by her bandmates. Though this success must come to an end eventually.
The Other Side Of The Mirror is by no means a perfect album but for the large part it plays into the incredibly safe hands of 80s synths and NICKS’ captivating melodies and the mystery that follows her. The smoke screen veil that follows NICKS is present in most of the album, the sound of her voice conjuring images of witchcraft, crystal balls and half-burnt candles.
NICKS is understandably comfortable in her abilities as a songwriter and musician and should have led with these skills first to emulate the emotive and poignant tracks that proceeded this album. Instead, she falls deep down a rabbit hole (pun intended) of Lewis Carrol and Alice In Wonderland references that don’t really make sense when you look back at NICKS’ previous work.
A lot of the album’s downfall could be attributed to outdated production techniques from lead producer Rupert Hine. With an expertise in turning rock musicians into popstars, Hine had good knowledge of what made good pop music; it’s jsut unfortunate that this was jarring synths and over the top elements, rather than the usual listener-friendly experience with a soft feel and subdued sound that we usually got from NICKS, making the record sound a little unpalatable. The album is full of risks, but they’re risks that didn’t exactly pay off – it feels less like an artist bending the rules of genre or dipping their toes into uncertain waters, and more like someone throwing things at a wall and hoping (praying) that something sticks.
It isn’t one of her more memorable records, but The Other Side Of The Mirror still carries the best parts of STEVIE NICKS’ style and grace, even if certain faux pas try to detract from this. Questionable topics and overpowering production choices are arguably the main reasons for its downfall, yet she was able to come out of the other side with her reputation as one of the world’s greatest songwriters untouched. That is testament to the notoriety and fame that NICKS holds in the music industry and further beyond.
The Other Side Of The Mirror was originally released on May 11, 1989 via Mordern Records.
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