“I’m back”: The album that saw Stevie Nicks rediscover her confidence
Almost 60 years into her career, Stevie Nicks remains one of the coolest and most confident frontwomen in rock. During her time with Fleetwood Mac, she penned some truly formidable soft rock hits, pouring her emotions into soft strums and magical lyrics, but her success and legacy extends far beyond ‘Dreams’. She’s a witchy fashion icon, a stellar solo artist, and an inspiration to young women with guitars all over the world.
When Nicks takes to the stage, she does so with impossible poise. She stands firmly behind her microphone, looking as if she belongs there, and stares the audience down. Sometimes, she even stares her bandmates down, too, delivering every word with unparalleled intent. This confidence doesn’t just exist in Nicks’ live performance.
Her recordings, too, are full of sonic self-assurance. It’s impossible not to feel her anger and emotion in Fleetwood Mac break-up songs like ‘Dreams’ and ‘Silver Springs’, while her solo career provided new heights of creative independence. Nicks has collaborated with contemporary pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey, and even linked up with Gorillaz for a feature.
Between her indomitable songwriting, her enduring live presence, and her ever-increasing legacy, it’s difficult to believe that Nicks has ever experienced a knock to her confidence. But there was a period in her solo career where she didn’t feel quite at her best. Struggles with her health led to a disappointing release in the mid-1990s with Street Angel, as Nicks recalled during an interview with Sheryl Crow for Interview Magazine.
“I had been so ill on klonopin for eight years that that record was just a disaster,” Nicks remembered, “It was not clear.” The Fleetwood Mac singer may not have been happy with Street Angel, which had been heavily impacted by her klonopin use, but she would soon regain confidence in her songwriting abilities with a follow-up record titled Trouble in Shangri-La.
Released in 2001, Trouble in Shangri-La was a return to form for Nicks. She had been to rehab and regained confidence in her own songwriting abilities, bolstered by some kind words from Tom Petty and the support of collaborators like Crow, Mike Campbell and even Lindsey Buckingham. The record reasserted her confidence in her own ability to write.
“Everything on this record is what I really wanted to say,” Nicks enthused, “And I’m back to being the poet I always thought I was. For a long time I was terrified that I had lost that.” Nicks certainly hadn’t lost her talent for poetry and songwriting, as she proved on Trouble in Shangri-La. She charted her struggles, and she regained confidence on the record, pulling in country twangs and trusted collaborators to do so.
Audiences regained faith in Nicks’ talents, showering Trouble in Shangri-La with praise and sales. But, more importantly, Nicks had regained faith in her own abilities. The record reminded her of who she was, of her songwriting prowess and the deserved confidence she had in them. “I’m so delighted with the fact that I’m OK,” Nicks concluded, “And that this record really tells everybody that I’m OK.”
From there, she has continued to reassert herself as one of the most self-assured artists in rock. With each performance, collaboration, and single—particularly her politically driven latest offering—Nicks reminds us why her name will go down in music history.
