The 10 most underrated Stevie Nicks songs
When thinking about the ultimate woman of rock, there’s no one who can hold a candle to Stevie Nicks. During her time as a cornerstone of Fleetwood Mac, she gave the band no end of hits that have gone on to be some of the most timelessly beloved tracks in music history. Then, as a solo artist, the quality only continued as she proved just how enduring her talent is. But still, with a generation-spanning fan base, some of her finest works have fallen under the radar and been left without the appreciation they deserve.
While tragic, it’s easily done. Few stars have a discography quite as expansive as Nicks. Within Fleetwood Mac, she was part of seven records, including the expansive double album Tusk. Then, during her solo career, she released eight albums full of treasure that has always lived criminally in the shadows of her band work. Having written tracks as well-known as ‘Dreams’ or ‘Gypsy’, it’s hard for some of her solo efforts to get a look in.
But they deserve it. Nicks’ quality never dropped as even some of her latest work, sitting on her 2011 album In Your Dreams, is just as deserving of attention and appreciation. Her lyrical voice remains sharp and powerful, still imbued with her poetic flare and unique language of witchy images and meaningful metaphors. Sonically, too, her music has forever evolved, spanning all corners of rock and pop as she remains one of the most powerful voices around.
In an attempt to bring some of her most underrated tracks into the light, this list is populated with stunning songs that might have slipped into the shadows of some of her most well-known anthems. From Fleetwood Mac album cuts to her soundtrack work, here are 10 Stevie Nicks songs that demand more attention.
The 10 most underrated Stevie Nicks songs
‘Storms’
Stevie Nicks spilt some of her most vulnerable and tender feelings across the Fleetwood Mac discography. As a band that was fraught with personal drama and inextricably connected to her love for and heartache over bandmate Lindsey Buckingham, it was a situation that regularly brought out the most gut-wrenching and hard-to-handle feelings as Nicks poured them into her lyrics.
But while people often talk about ‘Dreams’ or ‘Landslide’, ‘Storms’ is an underrated yet stunning cut. Sitting on their 1979 album Tusk, the album track sees Nicks introspecting about her emotional nature, capacity to love and be loved, and how difficult the combination of the two might be. “But never have I been a blue calm sea / I have always been a storm.” she sings as one of the most beautiful lyrics ever penned.
‘For What It’s Worth’
On her 2011 album, In Your Dreams, Nicks seemed to reunite with herself. ‘For What It’s Worth’ feels like an anthem for that, inspired by time spent back on the road during Fleetwood Mac’s comeback tours and her return to regular live performances in the late 2000s. Seemingly bringing her back to her youth spent chasing her passion, along with the various situations and relationships that scatter the path of her history, the track reflects on all that.
But beyond the lyricism, ‘For What It’s Worth’ is musically brilliant, delivering a track that’s just as catchy and creative as her earliest work. It proves that even in her later years, decades into her career, Nicks still has an undeniable and unshakable flair and talent.
‘Leather and Lace’
“Don always treated me very special,” Nicks said of her connection with the Eagles’ Don Henley, adding, “I think he found in me something that he has not probably found since.” Theirs was a powerful connection, one that became one of the most important and formative relationships in Nicks’ life.
On ‘Leather and Lace’, the two musicians come together to sing about that, merging the leather of Henley’s rock with the lace of Nicks’ floaty, ethereal energy. It’s a perfect love song to capture a fleeting yet impactful romance between two musical legends.
‘Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You’
For this 1986 track from her Rock A Little album, Nicks gets stunningly and devastatingly meta with this love song about writing love songs. Calling out to a special person to pause and listen to this song as clear proof of their importance to Nicks, she writes them an ode as if it’s her love language to do so.
With such a long history of writing songs for or about her loved ones, this self-aware moment that engages with that very act feels like such a special track and one that deserves more attention. “I have given that to you / IIf it’s all I ever do / This is your song,” she sings, with the knowledge that her talent is a gift.
‘Blue Lamp’
As one of the most beloved and well-known voices in rock music, it’s always great when Nicks delivers an all out rock track. When it comes to her solo works, ‘Blue Lamp’ is one of her finest offerings yet it never got an official spot on a track listing.
Instead, the track was made for the soundtrack of Heavy Metal, a 1981 sci-fi anthology flick. But while the movie might be largely forgotten over time, this song shouldn’t be as it’s packed full of great guitar lines, a solid melody and a classically brilliant vocal performance from Nicks. But who would expect anything less?
‘If I Were You’
But while it’s great when Stevie Nicks goes full rock, her 1980s pop tracks are also just as great as she bridged the gap between her original rock decade and the new age of high-production radio hits. ‘If I Were You’ is one of the finest offerings in this realm, sitting somewhere between Blondie and Duran Duran as off-its-age synth keys are paired with a chugging rock guitar.
The entirety of her third album, Rock A Little, is packed with underappreciated gold as her solo efforts so often fall into the shadows of Fleetwood Mac. But these tracks deserve just as much of a spot in her incredible musical legacy as anything she created within the band.
‘How Still My Love’
In the same realm as ‘Rhiannon’, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ or ‘Sisters Of The Moon’, Nicks delivers another seductive, rousing hit right here. As the track builds from a tender start into a huge climax, it bottles the same witchy spirit that colours so many of her best tracks. There’s something hypnotic about it, as if these big songs just pour out of her as fully formed things, coming as naturally as breathing to her.
Sitting on her debut solo album, the whole of Bella Donna deserves more love. As an album, it was a statement. It was a clear comment that Nicks’ talent was bigger than just being a member of a band and that even without Lindsey Buckingham, she still had what it takes to be one of the most important and impactful voices in music.
‘Sara’
Maybe adding this track is a cop out with it being a huge Fleetwood Mac track. But the lyrical and musical power of ‘Sara’ feels impossible to overstate and still hasn’t got the appreciation it deserves. Like with all the best of Nicks’ songs, the lyrics feel more like a poem being recited, managing to pack so much beauty and so many incredible images and lines into it. But as the band swells around her with one of their most textured and interesting instrumentals, her words gain the glorious and ethereal nest they deserve.
The story of ‘Sara’ is also a deeply tender and moving one. On one hand, the track appears to be about Sara Recor, the woman who married Nicks’ bandmate and ex-lover, Mick Fleetwood. With this reading, the lyrics become a moving tale of letting go and passing on the baton of love. However, the other reading is that the song is about the child she fell pregnant with during her relationship with Don Henley. Nicks didn’t follow through with the pregnancy, but she once said, “Had I married Don and had that baby, and had she been a girl, I would have named her Sara.” In this light, the song becomes a moving take on love and sacrifice. Either way, it stands as one of her most impactful lyrical moments.
‘Angel’
When people think about Fleetwood Mac, more often than not they think about Rumours. Every album before and after lives in the shadows of that flawless classic. However, the 1979 album Tusk is full of underappreciated gold. Made during a time of intense creativity for the band, the record swelled to a huge double album, with the second record opening with this stunning track from Nicks.
While Lindsey Buckingham became obsessed with experimentation and post-punk during the making of the record, ‘Angel’ acts at Nicks standing her ground and staying on course with her own artistic voice. It’s lyrically great, musically solid and another stellar example of her unique approach to storytelling.
‘Crystal’
The song ‘Crystal’ has a long history. It was first recorded for Buckingham and Nicks’ self-titled debut album, written within their romantic and musical partnership. Then, when the couple joined Fleetwood Mac, it appeared on their first album with the group, with Buckingham singing the lead. Finally, in 1998, Nicks re-recorded the track for the Practical Magic soundtrack, singing lead vocals herself.
Even just that history alone stands for why ‘Crystal’ feels so powerful. As the lyrics themselves deal with the evolving nature of love, singing, “How the faces of love have changed turning the pages”, the song seems to capture that fact perfectly. By the time Nicks recorded her vocal version, ‘Crystal’ feels beautifully heavy with meaning and history, making it even better.
The 10 most underrated Stevie Nicks songs:
- ‘Storms’
- ‘For What It’s Worth’
- ‘Leather And Lace’
- ‘Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You’
- ‘Blue Lamp’
- ‘If I Were You’
- ‘How Still My Love’
- ‘Sara’
- ‘Angel’
- ‘Crystal’
