The Other Side of the Mirror turns 30

[Macfan4life]

Can you believe it's been 30 years already. I can still remember the day I bought it. I was 19 and working at a grocery store. When the album came out, I drove to the mall and bought the cassette and listened to it in the car.
OSOTM does not get lots of love around here so I am probably in the minority who thinks its a fairly good album with many songs landing in the winner's circle. A few interesting stats on the album. It peaked at #10 album on the hot 100 in the USA. Rooms on fire (released 30 years ago tomorrow April 21, 1989) peaked at #16 both in the USA and UK and also reached #9 in Canada. My first impressions of the album were quite good because I was really worrying about Stevie during the RAL era. I thought OSOTM was a bounce back or step up from RAL. Her voice was strong and not coke fried out. She wrote most of the songs again and for the most part real instruments were used. The album does have a few 80s sound tricks but the album holds up today, something that IMHO RAL does not. Rooms on Fire got me really excited for the album's release because it was a great song and the video was really good. Its probably my favorite Stevie video. And lastly, for some reason Rooms on Fire made a personal connection to me. I understand and have lived through the love at first sight thing which is something very real and powerful. Its weird but its almost like I felt like I wrote the song. Most of the album's best songs are on the first side so first impressions were strong. Stevie's lyrics on this album are very personal. She does not hide things or beat around the bush. "High in my life, obsessive was my love." Many forget but Stevie ran away from Betty Ford. She did not complete the full stay. She even titled a track "Escape from Berlin." Lyrically speaking, OSOTM is my second favorite Stevie album after Bella Donna. Her songs were crafted very well right before klonopin turned out all the lights. I also admired Stevie's desire to do something a bit daring and going in another direction. Tom Petty did not sing a song with her this time for the first album. However, Tom was very busy working on his own solo career in 1988 so maybe he did not have the time. Although a Heartbreaker does work with her on the album. I have categorized the songs from Outstanding, Good, Average, and should have been dropped.

Outstanding:
Rooms on Fire
Long Way To Go - one of her best rockers. lyrics combining love/break up and drug addition the way only Stevie could do
Ooh My Love - wow esp compared to the Tango demo
Doing the Best that I can - I love the hypnotic feel, captures the poet song perfectly


Good:

Ghosts - love the past, present and future Stevie almost like a Christmas Carol
Two Kinds of Love - took awhile but it grew on my - amazing lyrics and probably one of very few openly sexual songs about love and lust
Whole Lotta Trouble - its good but it could have been better with a slightly faster beat and started as track 1 on side 2


Average
Fire Burning - its catchy and amazing to think its really about Stevie's house on fire and what could she take and survive the fire
Other Side of the Mirror - used to not care for it but its catchy
Juliet - pretty good/average

Should have been dropped
Cry Wolf - Stevie had better songs, no need to put a Laura Brannigan song on the album. She does a pretty good job but just does not belong on the album
I still miss someone (Blue Eyes) - ok please Johnny Cash with a drum machine and merry go round keyboards ahhhh NO. Maybe this was Stevie's hidden Lindsey moment?

How the album could have been better? Let me count the ways. I would have added the song Mirror Mirror like the version she recorded a few years later in 1992. She also could have added Smile at You and Running through the Garden. I think her band at the time could have made them work.

As much as I liked the album, the tour was my least favorite of any Stevie tour. So glad she performed 5 songs from the album but I did not care for the songs she performed that year.

The album really is a glimpse into Stevie's life in the mid to late 80s. We get 2 songs about Joe Walsh: Long Way To Go which is about the booty call Joe called her right after RAL was finished. She took the first cut of the album to play it for him and he kept it...something that she says she still does not forgive him for. It was a long way to go to say goodbye again. The have fun, tell the world part is coded language for F*ck You Joe. Stevie does not swear in songs but it was a good metaphor. Stevie worked with Bruce Hornsby and Kenny G who were the hottest and biggest guys in 1988. Stevie fell in love with Songbird when she was on tour with the Mac in the fall of 1987 and heard the song on the radio. She sought him out to record with. Many don't like his contributions to the album. I think they fit in a whimsical kind of way on a magic album. I think Thousand Days could have been added to the album with Kenny G on sax.

So glad she got to put this album out before things got scary again. The night I saw her in the summer of 1989, I could tell something was wrong.


So what are your favorites (if any) from the album?

[Jondalar]

Can you believe it's been 30 years already. I can still remember the day I bought it. I was 19 and working at a grocery store. When the album came out, I drove to the mall and bought the cassette and listened to it in the car.
OSOTM does not get lots of love around here so I am probably in the minority who thinks its a fairly good album with many songs landing in the winner's circle. A few interesting stats on the album. It peaked at #10 album on the hot 100 in the USA. Rooms on fire (released 30 years ago tomorrow April 21, 1989) peaked at #16 both in the USA and UK and also reached #9 in Canada. My first impressions of the album were quite good because I was really worrying about Stevie during the RAL era. I thought OSOTM was a bounce back or step up from RAL. Her voice was strong and not coke fried out. She wrote most of the songs again and for the most part real instruments were used. The album does have a few 80s sound tricks but the album holds up today, something that IMHO RAL does not. Rooms on Fire got me really excited for the album's release because it was a great song and the video was really good. Its probably my favorite Stevie video. And lastly, for some reason Rooms on Fire made a personal connection to me. I understand and have lived through the love at first sight thing which is something very real and powerful. Its weird but its almost like I felt like I wrote the song. Most of the album's best songs are on the first side so first impressions were strong. Stevie's lyrics on this album are very personal. She does not hide things or beat around the bush. "High in my life, obsessive was my love." Many forget but Stevie ran away from Betty Ford. She did not complete the full stay. She even titled a track "Escape from Berlin." Lyrically speaking, OSOTM is my second favorite Stevie album after Bella Donna. Her songs were crafted very well right before klonopin turned out all the lights. I also admired Stevie's desire to do something a bit daring and going in another direction. Tom Petty did not sing a song with her this time for the first album. However, Tom was very busy working on his own solo career in 1988 so maybe he did not have the time. Although a Heartbreaker does work with her on the album. I have categorized the songs from Outstanding, Good, Average, and should have been dropped.

Outstanding:
Rooms on Fire
Long Way To Go - one of her best rockers. lyrics combining love and drug addition the way only Stevie could do
Ooh My Love - wow esp compared to the Tango demo
Doing the Best that I can - I love the hypnotic feel, captures the poet song perfectly


Good:

Ghosts - love the past, present and future Stevie almost like a Christmas Carol
Two Kinds of Love - took awhile but it grew on my - amazing lyrics and probably one of very few openly sexual songs about love and lust
Whole Lotta Trouble - its good but it could have been better with a slightly faster beat and started as track 1 on side 2


Average
Fire Burning - its catchy and amazing to think its really about Stevie's house on fire and what could she take and survive the fire
Other Side of the Mirror - used to not care for it but its catchy
Juliet - pretty good/average

Should have been dropped
Cry Wolf - Stevie had better songs, no need to put a Laura Brannigan song on the album. She does a pretty good job but just does not belong on the album
I still miss someone (Blue Eyes) - ok please Johnny Cash with a drum machine and merry go round keyboards ahhhh NO. Maybe this was Stevie's hidden Lindsey moment?

How the album could have been better? Let me count the ways. I would have added the song Mirror Mirror like the version she recorded a few years later in 1992. She also could have added Smile at You and Running through the Garden. I think her band at the time could have made them work.

As much as I liked the album, the tour was my least favorite of any Stevie tour. So glad she performed 5 songs from the album but I did not care for the songs she performed that year.

The album really is a glimpse into Stevie's life in the mid to late 80s. We get 2 songs about Joe Walsh: Long Way To Go which is about the booty call Joe called her right after RAL was finished. She took the first cut of the album to play it for him and he kept it...something that she says she still does not forgive him for. It was a long way to go to say goodbye again. The have fun, tell the world part is coded language for F*ck You Joe. Stevie does not swear in songs but it was a good metaphor. Stevie worked with Bruce Hornsby and Kenny G who were the hottest and biggest guys in 1988. Stevie fell in love with Songbird when she was on tour with the Mac in the fall of 1987 and heard the song on the radio. She sought him out to record with. Many don't like his contributions to the album. I think they fit in a whimsical kind of way on a magic album. I think Thousand Days could have been added to the album with Kenny G on sax.

So glad she got to put this album out before things got scary again. The night I saw her in the summer of 1989, I could tell something was wrong.


So what are your favorites (if any) from the album?

Like Docklands, Cry Wolf is a great song but Stevie can’t sing it. Her voice is like sandpaper on these well written songs and she doesn’t sound fully committed to them. Terrible vocal and production.

[svnwndrs]

You beat me to it! I know with what’s been going on with Stevie and the rest of FM within the past year, and how we’ve all reacted to that drama, I was kinda worried nobody would mention the 30th Anniversary of this album. I love this era in contemporary music in general, so my love for this album is “big” to say the least. It was the very first Stevie album I ever bought. And once I listened to it a few times I was hooked. I was about 14 and really started to get into a lot of REAL music. Not teeny bopper stuff. I love pretty much every song, except for Cry Wolf. Stevie had her own songs that were much better and would’ve been better inclusions (Beautiful Ghost, Love And War...). I know the production puts a lot of people off, but I think it was the perfect balance of her usual trademark sound and the sound of the late 80’s. Also, Rooms On Fire and a few other songs need some attention on any future tours.

[AliceLover]

She needs to do "Ooh My Love" on stage before everything is all said and done. That song is just amazing.

[TheWILDheart]

Other Side of the Mirror - used to not care for it but its catchy


I used to feel the same about "Alice" (there isn't actually a song called 'Other Side of the Mirror', so I presume that's the song you're talking about) until I realised how personal of a song it really is.

"Like Alice through the looking glass, she used to know who she was...call out my name, but I get no answer". She's talking about herself. It's possibly the most honest song of that era, it really describes how zonked out she was on coke and then klonopin, to the extent that she was completely losing who she was as a person and damaging her career and everything she believed in as a writer and musician. I think "I'm going back to the other side of the mirror" was partly a wake up call for Stevie...she was wanting to leave behind this crazy drug fuelled world she had built around her and get back to the real girl she was - back to the Gypsy ("you cannot tell a gypsy that she's no longer a member").

Overall, I think OSOTM is kind of weak. I love 'Rooms On Fire', 'Long Way To Go', 'Ooh My Love', 'Alice' and 'Doing The Best I Can'. 'Whole Lotta Trouble' and 'Juliet' are fun too. But I think the album is lacking something that I can only put down to production. I don't like Rupert Hines approach, I think it's all a little bit flat and lifeless in parts. OSOTM needed Jimmy really to breath some life into it. The state Stevie was in at the time, it needed more than Rupert Hine.

[Macfan4life]

Another thing that I miss about music in general is reading the liner notes, lyrics, credits etc. LOVED reading the notes for this album. Stevie was getting tech and modern and remember her thanking the "computer baby", Los Angeles for all its smog ( a joke), and thanking Lindsey Buckingham which in 1989 2 years after the big blow out was rather interesting.
I know this sounds petty and trivial but IMHO if the album was released 1 year earlier, I believe it would have done so much better. Bruce and Kenny were some of the biggest stars of 1988 and their limelight would have shined a little on the album.
Two Kinds of Love was the first second solo album single that did not chart. No video also in the peak of MTV days.

[petep9000]

TOSOTM gives me a dull headache.

[Dragon]

I like The Other Side of the Mirror. I find The Other Side of the Mirror easier to listen to than Rock a Little.

I am wondering which songs did not make The Other Side of the Mirror.

[On Ice]

I like The Other Side of the Mirror. I find The Other Side of the Mirror easier to listen to than Rock a Little.

I am wondering which songs did not make The Other Side of the Mirror.


I liked OSOTM better than Rock a Little and the show I caught on the tour in Toronto was quite good- nice to hear the 5 tracks from the new album. I remember reading somewhere that the "Tragedy of One's Own Soul" (there's a mouthful lol), Dial the Number and Don't Treat me Like a Stranger" were originally considered for the album. As with all albums after the exquisite Bella Donna, each had misfires and stellar songs left off. OSOTM did not need ANY cover songs- bad idea. Mirror Mirror in the '92 vibe would've fit perfectly, Thousand Days with some lyric edits, Running Through the Garden to name a few- also would've been a good spot for one or two of the Rhiannon soundtrack songs. Overall contains 3 or 4 of her best tunes but the rest has little staying power. Rooms on Fire belongs in her top 5 songs for sure and was even played back in the day by radio stations that would not have touched a Stevie Nicks song, which is saying a lot!

[Macfan4life]

I liked OSOTM better than Rock a Little and the show I caught on the tour in Toronto was quite good- nice to hear the 5 tracks from the new album. I remember reading somewhere that the "Tragedy of One's Own Soul" (there's a mouthful lol), Dial the Number and Don't Treat me Like a Stranger" were originally considered for the album. As with all albums after the exquisite Bella Donna, each had misfires and stellar songs left off. OSOTM did not need ANY cover songs- bad idea. Mirror Mirror in the '92 vibe would've fit perfectly, Thousand Days with some lyric edits, Running Through the Garden to name a few- also would've been a good spot for one or two of the Rhiannon soundtrack songs. Overall contains 3 or 4 of her best tunes but the rest has little staying power. Rooms on Fire belongs in her top 5 songs for sure and was even played back in the day by radio stations that would not have touched a Stevie Nicks song, which is saying a lot!
Those OSOTM demos like Dial the number are horrible and no surprise why they did not make the album. They are lifeless and she is zonked out singing them.
Oddly enough, I hate RAL but love the RAL demos or songs left off the album
I really like OSOTM but hate the demos and songs that were left off. OSOTM had an easier chance of being an excellent album. The magical Stevie was back. RAL was funky pop songs that never fit Stevie IMHO. Its the worst thing to be something you are not. I never considered Stevie a pop star but it almost seemed like with RAL she was trying to be one against her will. Stevie said that once Tom Petty called her a pop star and she said she ran across the other side of the room and was offended by the comment.

[Jondalar]

The Other Side of the Mirror consistently ranks as one of her worst albums.

[petep9000]

Even the album cover. The odd pose on the floor, the over done lips, the red dress.

[Macfan4life]

Even the album cover. The odd pose on the floor, the over done lips, the red dress.
You forgot those lifeless eyes

[AliceLover]

The Other Side of the Mirror consistently ranks as one of her worst albums.

..and yet it still remains as one of Stevie's favorites today.

Its funny how revered some people find it. Of course, I love it, but I can see how the public might not. It's glossy, weird, overdone but somehow still fabulous.

[Neal]

It's one of my Top 3 solo albums. The other 2 can fluctuate from time to time, but TOSOTM has stayed there.

"Rooms on Fire" has arguably been my favorite song off and on from the first time I heard it, and I've related to it in good times and in bad.

[David]

..and yet it still remains as one of Stevie's favorites today.

Its funny how revered some people find it. Of course, I love it, but I can see how the public might not. It's glossy, weird, overdone but somehow still fabulous.

It's a good collection of songs but I don't like the way any of them are rendered. To my ears, the album "sounds" like shoulder pads and puffy satin sleeves. It's kind of a turnoff to me.

If I look back on Rupert Hine's discography as a producer, I guess I'm not overly thrilled. Chris de Burgh? Suzanne Vega? Rush? Thompson Twins? The Fixx? Howard Jones? I like a little pop fluff from this catalogue here and there. But overall it's a vacuous approach to music making. After almost ten years with Iovine and his sound, it was definitely time for a change. But I wouldn't have chosen this direction.

[michelej1]

This and Wild Heart are my favorites. I liked Bella Donna when it was released, but less over time. I would put Bella Donna behind OSOTM. Rooms on Fire, Fire Burning and I Still Miss Someone are my favorites.

[BlueLight]

A while back someone on the Ledge described the experience of listening to OSOTM as listening to an album in a room filled with Christmas lights at 3:00 am, after the party was over and after drinking a bottle of red wine. :lol:

Which in many ways is so spot on.

The album has grown on me. Juliet is by far my favorite track on the album - if only it had her vocals from OSOTM, but with the production from the scrapped Book of Miracles on TITN.

[Macfan4life]

This and Wild Heart are my favorites. I liked Bella Donna when it was released, but less over time. I would put Bella Donna behind OSOTM. Rooms on Fire, Fire Burning and I Still Miss Someone are my favorites.
You have more credibility than anyone here. So with your blessing on OSOTM we are off!
The lurkers may not be afraid to post now.
However, Bella Donna behind OSOTM? You may have made a few enemies on that one :)
There is a support group for this and for lovers of Welcome to the room Sara ;)

[michelej1]

You have more credibility than anyone here. So with your blessing on OSOTM we are off!
The lurkers may not be afraid to post now.
However, Bella Donna behind OSOTM? You may have made a few enemies on that one :)
There is a support group for this and for lovers of Welcome to the room Sara ;)

There's no fire burning, just a soul wandering the streets muttering, "Whatsamatter, baby?"

[BombaySapphire3]

I consider myself one of TOSOTM cultist .Rooms On Fire ,Long Way To Go,Oh My Love and Doing The Best That I Can are some of her very best solo songs.I think it's closest cousin production wise if In Your Dreams.

[bombaysaffires]

I feel like OSOTM promises more than it delivers. Some songs just could have been so much better--- for example Ghosts. Emotionally it's such a deep song-- her coming to terms with certain life choices--- and the lyrics on the bridge are amazing "To fill the empty spaces she's feeling/She depends on her music like a husband" etc.

But either the drugs or the laziness or something that lead to using the same lyrics for the first verse AND the choruses just diminishes it. (And yes, I WOULD say that to Bob Dylan).

Doing the Best That I Can is emotionally just as deep. "In my distress/I wanted someone to blame me/In my devastation/I wanted so to change/In my way/disaster was the only thing/that I could depend on" is some of her best ever.

But I Still Miss Someone is just filler. Juliet is blech; too many words stuffed together; Whole Lotta Trouble had so much potential but again the overly repetitive lyrics sink it down (especially live where she'd really mess it up- "would you change your mind at the very last second/would you say stop for a second/so that you could think for a second" "I think we should stop for a moment so we can think for a moment"; :distress: and then "and the angel said/you must have had a dream/ and you remembered it/ til the dream followed through/to the end of the dream/and the dream came true" -- what?? I just can't follow all the permutations of that damned dream!

Reminds me of Wassamatta Baby "and the dream says I want you/and the dream is gone/ so she stays up nights on end/well at least there is a dream left" -- what?? Is the dream gone or is it still left?? :shrug:

A writer (in Rolling Stone I think) once wrote in a review something like "is there a witch who can banish the word dream from her vocabulary?"

Cry Wolf is intersting; Long Way To Go is a good look at her messed up relationship with Joe; Alice is also emotionally deep but the massively overdone vocal tracks and synths turn it into white noise.

The emotions are great on the whole but the sloppy lyrics and the production on this album really dates it.., too many synths

[MikeInNV]

You have more credibility than anyone here. So with your blessing on OSOTM we are off!
The lurkers may not be afraid to post now.
However, Bella Donna behind OSOTM? You may have made a few enemies on that one :)
There is a support group for this and for lovers of Welcome to the room Sara ;)

I'm always thrilled by the diversity of opinions you can find. I knew someone had to consider I Still Miss Someone a favorite, but until today I didn't know it was Michele. And just a few weeks ago someone published a list of Fleetwood Mac's 50 best songs, and WTTRS was on it.

[michelej1]

I tend to gravitate towards country, so I was predisposed to like it. Similarly,
when TISL first came out, Too Far from Texas was my favorite, but that did not last. I took to it first, but then the more I listened the more other songs usurped it.

[AliceLover]

I forgot how much I love "Ghosts." It really is an anthem on that record, yet so ethereal at the same time.

OSOTM cultist...I like it.

Also, just have to re-mention that when Stevie was doing press for "In Your Dreams" she said "I haven't had this great of a response (to an album) since The Other Side of the Mirror." That made me very happy.

[vivfox]

This was the only Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac album that took me by surprise. I was such an obsessed fan in those days but literally had no idea Stevie had made a new album. As far as I knew FM had released Greatest Hits in 1988 and were working on Behind The Mask. I also knew they were touring in Europe in 1988.
One day in April of 1989 a friend called and raved about the new SN single she heard on the radio. I figured she must have heard an obscure track from the past and just assumed it was new. But she insisted so I decided to call a local radio station and the DJ confirmed it was a song called Rooms on Fire. I couldn't believe it! I still remember hearing it for the first time. It was at night during a partly cloudy sky with a bright moon and me staring out the window in what was the first apartment I ever had. And I loved it from the moment I heard it. Loved the video as well from the moment I saw that. To this day the song has stood the test of time. I enjoyed the album and played all the songs endlessly for many years.

[michelej1]

Yes, I loved the video as well. I thought it dreamy. I had a VCR and sometimes I would run it to catch a favorite video, but I also recall that the music channels would replay their daytime programming again at night. So, when I saw a video I liked in the daytime I would set my watch so that I could catch it again at night. I remember doing that with ROF.

[Macfan4life]

I feel like OSOTM promises more than it delivers. Some songs just could have been so much better--- for example Ghosts. Emotionally it's such a deep song-- her coming to terms with certain life choices--- and the lyrics on the bridge are amazing "To fill the empty spaces she's feeling/She depends on her music like a husband" etc.

But either the drugs or the laziness or something that lead to using the same lyrics for the first verse AND the choruses just diminishes it. (And yes, I WOULD say that to Bob Dylan).

Doing the Best That I Can is emotionally just as deep. "In my distress/I wanted someone to blame me/In my devastation/I wanted so to change/In my way/disaster was the only thing/that I could depend on" is some of her best ever.

But I Still Miss Someone is just filler. Juliet is blech; too many words stuffed together; Whole Lotta Trouble had so much potential but again the overly repetitive lyrics sink it down (especially live where she'd really mess it up- "would you change your mind at the very last second/would you say stop for a second/so that you could think for a second" "I think we should stop for a moment so we can think for a moment"; :distress: and then "and the angel said/you must have had a dream/ and you remembered it/ til the dream followed through/to the end of the dream/and the dream came true" -- what?? I just can't follow all the permutations of that damned dream!

Reminds me of Wassamatta Baby "and the dream says I want you/and the dream is gone/ so she stays up nights on end/well at least there is a dream left" -- what?? Is the dream gone or is it still left?? :shrug:

A writer (in Rolling Stone I think) once wrote in a review something like "is there a witch who can banish the word dream from her vocabulary?"

Cry Wolf is intersting; Long Way To Go is a good look at her messed up relationship with Joe; Alice is also emotionally deep but the massively overdone vocal tracks and synths turn it into white noise.

The emotions are great on the whole but the sloppy lyrics and the production on this album really dates it.., too many synths
Yes her lyrics can be very dreamy to the point of not understanding. Your post brought back a memory. It was the Pittsburgh Press concert review from her 1989 show. It blasted Stevie on many fronts claiming her solo career was running out of steam (even though the arena was pretty much sold out) but took aim at her lyrics
"Somewhere out in the back of your mind
Comes your real life and the life that you know
It seems like it was one of the creations
of some of those same old things
It seemed to be the only thing left out in the light"

Those lines were written followed by a big "HUH?"

I guess I am a bit too dreamy myself because I understand them perfectly LMAO
I know exactly what she is talking about. Its hard to describe but just a feeling or spiritual connection.

However this is what I appreciated about the album. It was a classic Stevie, overly dreamy, overly honest journal of her songs. Having said that, I do agree with the criticisms you point out. It was so refreshing to hear the dreamy Stevie back after RAL and so many of those songs she never wrote.

I give Rupert special appreciation for Doing The Best That I can. Those lyrics would be almost impossible to put to music and song. Very similar to Illume. Its a story told through poetry... not meant for a simple pop song.

Stevie ripped the scab off and told many truths of her life in the late 80s. However, as I originally stated, most of these songs were brand new or late 80s. A few classics like Mirror Mirror, Running/Garden, or Smile at you would have been sensational.

[michelej1]

The lyrics worked, when they worked, because they were open enough to let you fit in all of your own meanings and when she sang them, the catch in her voice synched with the catch in your heart.

[kak125]

Ahh I adore OSOTM so much. It's up there as one of my favorite Stevie albums.
I still listen to Rooms on Fire, Long Way to Go & Doing the Best That I can pretty much daily.

I really love the extended version of Rooms on Fire as well as this piano cover that some guy did and posted to youtube.



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[petep9000]

To my ears, the album "sounds" like shoulder pads and puffy satin sleeves. It's kind of a turnoff to me.


It sure does. Whenever I hear it those are really the first things that come to mind. Such an odd period for her, both musically and visually.

[michelej1]

When I hear shoulder pads and puffy satin things, I immediately think of Dynasty. I don't recall Linda Evans dancing to OSOTM

[greendaze5]

Some random thoughts:

- Love: 'Rooms On Fire' (great track with a great video), 'Two Kinds of Love', 'Ooh My Love' (cool percussion intro, this version is way better than the one with the plagiarized Tom Petty 'Runaway Trains' musical track).

- The vocal on 'Juliet' on the 'Tango' deluxe box set is plain awful. It's hilarious when you hear her say how good it is at the end. :lol:

- Dislike: 'Cry Wolf'. A boring forgettable song which she didn't even write. Should have been replaced with her own 'Real Tears'.

- Not my favorite album, but better in my opinion than 'Rock A Little' and 'Street Angel'.

- Hate her awkward talk-singing in 'Juliet': 'Turn to the blue crystal mirror...' and then 'Let the crisis become a bridge...'

- Very nice tour book with great pictures. They really went downhill after the 'Street Angel' one when Christopher Nicks completely took over. :mad:

- There were some cool promo items: a kaleidoscope and a hologram. A small hologram came free in the UK releases of the album, and there was a bigger framed one too that you can buy a special light fixture for.

- Interesting that the album, thanks to 'Rooms On Fire' was a hit in Europe. Stevie even got to tour the UK , France, and I think the Netherlands and Germany too.

- As the OSOTM tour was the first time I saw Stevie solo (at the Great Woods Amphitheater in Mansfield, MA, and then in Saratoga Springs, NY), it was a big thrill. Quite a number of gals dressed up, looking like Sisters of the Moon, and holding up signs like 'Forest of the Black Roses'. But in retrospect, the shows were pretty terrible. Stevie was so zonked out on klonopin, and made no interaction with the audiences. She basically stood there, sang with a dead look on her face, walked out, changed clothes, came out again, and did the same all over again. She would be a little more alive as the show went out, like when she did 'Stand Back' and 'Whole Lotta Trouble'.

- I hate her stage style at this time - the big whitish hair, the giant shoulder pads, the bustiers, the little wedding hats, the large crosses.... :distress:

- There was a very interesting demo of 'Two Kinds of Love' circulated among fans (I still have it on an old cassette somewhere). The music was the same, but it was sung by Rupert Hine, and some of the lyrics were different. From what I can recall, the words were something like:

'Ooh, mistaken as she was
The pain has ended
You wanted this to happen here
Understand it
Well, it's just another test...'

The rest is the same, except from what I remember, at the end of the chorus, Rupert sings the line, 'You can keep your heart-shaped diamond'.

- In the pre-internet world of 1989, the latest Stevie/FM news was from mail order fanzines. Anyone here remember those?! There were 'Dreams' and 'Rumours'. Then later ones like 'Frozen Love', 'Affairs of the Heart', 'Belle Fleur'/'Mirror Mirror', 'Crystal', and 'Silver Springs'.

- Sadly, when 'Two Kinds of Love' and 'Whole Lotta of Trouble' failed to chart, it marked the beginning of a slump in Stevie's career. Things didn't get better until 'The Dance' reunion.

[greendaze5]

Some random thoughts:

- Love: 'Rooms On Fire' (great track with a great video), 'Two Kinds of Love', 'Ooh My Love' (cool percussion intro, this version is way better than the one with the plagiarized Tom Petty 'Runaway Trains' musical track).

- The vocal on 'Juliet' on the 'Tango' deluxe box set is plain awful. It's hilarious when you hear her say how good it is at the end. :lol:

- Dislike: 'Cry Wolf'. A boring forgettable song which she didn't even write. Should have been replaced with her own 'Real Tears'.

- Not my favorite album, but better in my opinion than 'Rock A Little' and 'Street Angel'.

- Hate her awkward talk-singing in 'Juliet': 'Turn to the blue crystal mirror...' and then 'Let the crisis become a bridge...'

- Very nice tour book with great pictures. They really went downhill after the 'Street Angel' one when Christopher Nicks completely took over. :mad:

- There were some cool promo items: a kaleidoscope and a hologram. A small hologram came free in the UK releases of the album, and there was a bigger framed one too that you can buy a special light fixture for.

- Interesting that the album, thanks to 'Rooms On Fire' was a hit in Europe. Stevie even got to tour the UK , France, and I think the Netherlands and Germany too.

- As the OSOTM tour was the first time I saw Stevie solo (at the Great Woods Amphitheater in Mansfield, MA, and then in Saratoga Springs, NY), it was a big thrill. Quite a number of gals dressed up, looking like Sisters of the Moon, and holding up signs like 'Forest of the Black Roses'. But in retrospect, the shows were pretty terrible. Stevie was so zonked out on klonopin, and made no interaction with the audiences. She basically stood there, sang with a dead look on her face, walked out, changed clothes, came out again, and did the same all over again. She would be a little more alive as the show went out, like when she did 'Stand Back' and 'Whole Lotta Trouble'.

- I hate her stage style at this time - the big whitish hair, the giant shoulder pads, the bustiers, the little wedding hats, the large crosses.... :distress:

- There was a very interesting demo of 'Two Kinds of Love' circulated among fans (I still have it on an old cassette somewhere). The music was the same, but it was sung by Rupert Hine, and some of the lyrics were different. From what I can recall, the words were something like:

'Ooh, mistaken as she was
The pain has ended
You wanted this to happen here
Understand it
Well, it's just another test...'

The rest is the same, except from what I remember, at the end of the chorus, Rupert sings the line, 'You can keep your heart-shaped diamond'.

- In the pre-internet world of 1989, the latest Stevie/FM news was from mail order fanzines. Anyone here remember those?! There were 'Dreams' and 'Rumours'. Then later ones like 'Frozen Love', 'Affairs of the Heart', 'Belle Fleur'/'Mirror Mirror', 'Crystal', and 'Silver Springs'.

- Sadly, when 'Two Kinds of Love' and 'Whole Lotta of Trouble' failed to chart, it marked the beginning of a slump in Stevie's career. Things didn't get better until 'The Dance' reunion.

[David]

When I hear shoulder pads and puffy satin things, I immediately think of Dynasty. I don't recall Linda Evans dancing to OSOTM
Those were the days. Those were the styles.

Shoulder pads.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTMyNTE1OTk4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjg3MDQ2._V1_.jpg

Satin dancing.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/e0a77dbfffb16ab244c594b3259feb2b/tumblr_o98p3aw9zO1sj4u2so1_1280.jpg

But I think that whole Rooms on Fire thing just went too far.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a9/50/43/a9504338542542b6917a76397d8cc22f.jpg

[SaraRhiannon]

It's a good collection of songs but I don't like the way any of them are rendered. To my ears, the album "sounds" like shoulder pads and puffy satin sleeves. It's kind of a turnoff to me.


Wow, yes, you nailed that. I feel the same way about RAL...sounds like black lace fingerless gloves and Aqua Net. :sorry:

[michelej1]

- Dislike: 'Cry Wolf'. A boring forgettable song which she didn't even write. Should have been replaced with her own 'Real Tears'.

-

Agreed. I don’t like it when a song she didn’t write takes up the place of one of hers, but if it has to happen, let it be with Some Become Strangers, not something the low caliber Cry Wolf.

[Macfan4life]

People seem to flame her about the shoulder pads and big hair but in 1989 if she did not have big hair and shoulder pads, people would have laughed at her because she would have been so out of style. In 1989 and Tango 1987/88 tour the pads were just sprouting. On her 1991 tour, she practically had a curtain rod going from one shoulder to the other. Then she added gloves which I could not stand. IMHO real rock stars don't wear full gloves on stage. However, her 1991 tour had my favorite backing band. She added another guitarist which really made the band rock. Stevie finally put If Anyone Falls back into the set after not performing it for 2 tours. But nothing was as tacky that it is laughable coolness to add explosions during the beginning of Edge of 17 :eek:
IMHO the 1989 tour had her the most zonked out because its when klonopin took over and turned the lights out. I think her body adjusted to being lifeless later on. She just stood there in 1989 and even the newspaper the next day asked why she never moved. She had more life the next year when I saw her with the Mac in 1990 dancing a lot on stage. In 1991, she was really out of it but still having fun on stage.

[greendaze5]

People seem to flame her about the shoulder pads and big hair but in 1989 if she did not have big hair and shoulder pads, people would have laughed at her because she would have been so out of style. In 1989 and Tango 1987/88 tour the pads were just sprouting.

Very true! Look at Ann and Nancy Wilson in the mid to late 80's too! :nod:

I remember seeing the 2nd leg of the 'Behind the Mask' tour (in Mansfield, MA). Stevie had slimmed down a bit and was proudly wearing a mini-skirt.

I saw the 1991 solo tour too (in Toronto, Canada), and yes, it was a thrill that she brought back 'If Anyone Falls'. No 'Sometimes It's A Bitch' or 'Hard Game to Play' as she toured right before 'TimeSpace' came out.

[Macfan4life]

Very true! Look at Ann and Nancy Wilson in the mid to late 80's too! :nod:

I remember seeing the 2nd leg of the 'Behind the Mask' tour (in Mansfield, MA). Stevie had slimmed down a bit and was proudly wearing a mini-skirt.

I saw the 1991 solo tour too (in Toronto, Canada), and yes, it was a thrill that she brought back 'If Anyone Falls'. No 'Sometimes It's A Bitch' or 'Hard Game to Play' as she toured right before 'TimeSpace' came out.
Yes both Stevie and Chris wore mini skirts on the BTM and Farewell tour. I do remember as you that she slimmed down some and seemed more alive than 1989.

[He's So Unusual]

Rooms on Fire
Ooh My Love
Long Way to Go
Doing the Best I Can
Cry Wolf
Whole Lotta Trouble

I love these tracks. I don't care for the rest of the album. I Still Miss Someone is one of the worst songs Stevie has recorded. Two Kinds of Love had the potential to be a great song (the chorus is lovely), but the naff lyrics in the verses and the awful saxophone (screw you, Kenny G!) ruin it.

Mirror, Mirror should have been included on the album. It boggles the mind why Stevie continued to overlook this gem for so long.

[cbBen]

Yes both Stevie and Chris wore mini skirts on the BTM and Farewell tour. I do remember as you that she slimmed down some and seemed more alive than 1989.

What is the "Farewell" tour?

[jmn3]

What is the "Farewell" tour?

Pretty sure it refers to what a lot of people would call the second and final leg of the Behind the Mask shows in 1990. If memory serves correctly, they took a break when Chris's father died and then the last leg of shows took place after both Chris and Stevie announced they would no longer be touring with Fleetwood Mac.

[Macfan4life]

Pretty sure it refers to what a lot of people would call the second and final leg of the Behind the Mask shows in 1990. If memory serves correctly, they took a break when Chris's father died and then the last leg of shows took place after both Chris and Stevie announced they would no longer be touring with Fleetwood Mac.
Yes exactly. After the tour got postponed in July 1990 due to Christine's father's passing, the band regrouped and made up the dates starting in early October 1990. The tour was no longer called Behind the Mask but officially the "Farewell tour." I believe it was even printed on the tour shirts. It was an end of an era. The band worked so hard on a studio album that many considered a flop with no big hits and even with the marketing of "Farewell" the tour was not putting up huge numbers. Stevie was leaving and Chris was not going to tour anymore. Oddly enough, these were incredible shows. The Farewell tour was when Stevie put Landslide back into the set after 10 years! I saw them in December 1990 and it was one of my favorite Mac concerts ever.

Back to OSOTM. Just thought of another song that could have really perked up the album. Starshine. It would have sounded great to have the Heartbreakers on the album and its a great song.

[greendaze5]

I don't remember if it was the 1st or 2nd leg of this tour, but it interestingly began with 'In the Back of My Mind'.

The was a huge curtain in front of the stage, and song began playing with the weird sound effects and all, as it is on the album. Then as the band got into place onstage, the curtain was suddenly and dramatically lifted, and they started singing, "Well I try and I try... you can't forget her...'

At the Toronto show, Stevie and Rick Vito actually did 'Love is Dangerous'. :nod:

[petep9000]

I don't remember if it was the 1st or 2nd leg of this tour, but it interestingly began with 'In the Back of My Mind'.

The was a huge curtain in front of the stage, and song began playing with the weird sound effects and all, as it is on the album. Then as the band got into place onstage, the curtain was suddenly and dramatically lifted, and they started singing, "Well I try and I try... you can't forget her...'


I recall this being one of my favorite moments of the show. It worked better at the Jones Beach show I saw, first N America leg the tour- maybe because it was an amphitheater. When I saw the Madison Square Garden stop, months later, second leg, it didn't work quite as well. I think because I had already seen it, or maybe because the venue was configured different and the sound wasn't as good. Anyway, I recall at Jones Beach the crowd going wild when the curtain rolled up revealing the band playing. Lindsey-less, I'd say a large number of the crowd were Chiffonheads, ecstatic to see Stevie.

[Macfan4life]

I recall this being one of my favorite moments of the show. It worked better at the Jones Beach show I saw, first N America leg the tour- maybe because it was an amphitheater. When I saw the Madison Square Garden stop, months later, second leg, it didn't work quite as well. I think because I had already seen it, or maybe because the venue was configured different and the sound wasn't as good. Anyway, I recall at Jones Beach the crowd going wild when the curtain rolled up revealing the band playing. Lindsey-less, I'd say a large number of the crowd were Chiffonheads, ecstatic to see Stevie.
Those were the days before the internet. The fun and excitement of not knowing what songs were in the set. I remembered being floored that they opened with the song and how the masks and curtain came up was really something.

[AliceLover]

Since people are mentioning the Behind the Mask tour, there were a few fans who SWEAR Stevie sang Affairs of the Heart in Australia on the opening night. I always prayed we would find a recording.

[Macfan4life]

Since people are mentioning the Behind the Mask tour, there were a few fans who SWEAR Stevie sang Affairs of the Heart in Australia on the opening night. I always prayed we would find a recording.
I never heard that before but its very possible. The BTM tour started in Australia and I never have seen any footage or set list. It was a new song and I bet they were testing songs out. They started in Australia because the band made Australia a priority since they had to cancel the 1987/88 tour there because Stevie was ill.

[petep9000]

the band made Australia a priority since they had to cancel the 1987/88 tour there because Stevie was ill.

Epstein-Barr? Klonopin? Ruptured breast implants? Broken ankle? Asthma? Pneumonia? Drinking? Our girl is a frail little flower...

[Macfan4life]

Bruce Horsby came on the radio at work the other day and it hit me. He does not really sing but talks through the song with only barely singing a few words.
I read someone flaming Stevie for her almost speaking through Juliet and Two Kinds of Love. I think maybe Bruce's style wore off on Stevie more than I originally thought.
I never cared for Bruce. He plays a great piano but his songs were just too cheezy and filled with moral stories. Not a great singer either. Piano bar on a cruise ship maybe. But he was HUGE in 1988.

[Macfan4life]

Epstein-Barr? Klonopin? Ruptured breast implants? Broken ankle? Asthma? Pneumonia? Drinking? Our girl is a frail little flower...
You forgot how she needed to breathe steam backstage during Mac shows. She really took care of herself ;)

[Dragon]

Since people are mentioning the Behind the Mask tour, there were a few fans who SWEAR Stevie sang Affairs of the Heart in Australia on the opening night. I always prayed we would find a recording.

"Affairs of the Heart" has been one of my favorites from Behind the Mask. I do not know if it was released as a single.

[petep9000]

I read someone flaming Stevie for her almost speaking through Juliet and Two Kinds of Love.

She talk-sang through a lot of songs on that album. "I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes)" is one of my less-disliked songs on the album because she pretty much sings it through.

[bombaysaffires]

Bruce Horsby came on the radio at work the other day and it hit me. He does not really sing but talks through the song with only barely singing a few words.
I read someone flaming Stevie for her almost speaking through Juliet and Two Kinds of Love. I think maybe Bruce's style wore off on Stevie more than I originally thought.
I never cared for Bruce. He plays a great piano but his songs were just too cheezy and filled with moral stories. Not a great singer either. Piano bar on a cruise ship maybe. But he was HUGE in 1988.

exactly why she would have worked with him. Her typical latch onto whoever is big in the moment and try and get some of that association with the youngest, hippest performer of the moment-- forget whether they are good or just a flash in the pan,

[SpyNote]

So according to the NicksFix, TOSOTM was released on May 11, 1989, which was a Thursday. Was it really released on a Thursday?? I know albums used to be released on Mondays, then it changed to Tuesdays, and now it's Fridays unless you're Beyonce or Taylor Swift when you can release it any day you want :laugh::laugh: Wikipedia says May 11, but they probably lifted that from NickFix.

[Macfan4life]

exactly why she would have worked with him. Her typical latch onto whoever is big in the moment and try and get some of that association with the youngest, hippest performer of the moment-- forget whether they are good or just a flash in the pan,
Well I think she gravitated to people and music she liked just like with the Heartbreakers. She stated she fell in love with Kenny G while on the Shake the Cage tour. His songbird when to #1 that year. She probably loved Bruce's piano playing too. I am sometimes fascinated at Stevie's keen pop culture references during her career especially during the wild days. It shows she watched MTV and listened to the radio. During her 1985 pre-RAL interview she talks about Cindi Lauper flying over the audience in a garbage can which showed she watched a lot of MTV. During one of her Wild Heart tours after the first song she exclaimed "They'rrrrrre here" which was a pop culture reference in the early 80s from Poltergeist. I sometimes would think her lifestyle of up all night partying and sleeping during the day that she was not very into pop culture. For example, in 1990 Joe Walsh was on Rockline and a caller asked him to talk about the Kentucky Fried Chicken incident. Whoever the caller was heard this urban legend and wanted Joe to explain. Joe stated that in the mid-80s he and Stevie were at a party for the world premiere of a Prince video. The TV had a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial on and Stevie thought it was the video. Joe described it was the commercial where the cub scouts come marching into KFC with big buckets of chicken. When Stevie was told it was not the video, she and the rest of the group could not stop laughing the entire night. I mean how messed up in the head do you have to be to mistake a KFC commercial for a Prince video. So I am always amazed when her knowledge of pop culture comes through.
However, I do get what you are stating. Her people thought she had jumped the shark and brought in 1990's biggest acts: Bon Jovi and Poison who wrote songs for her. Stevie did not pick those artists but I do believe she picked Kenny G and Bruce Hornsby.

[greendaze5]

Her people thought she had jumped the shark and brought in 1990's biggest acts: Bon Jovi and Poison who wrote songs for her. Stevie did not pick those artists but I do believe she picked Kenny G and Bruce Hornsby.

Let's not forget Jesse Camp with whom Stevie sang on 'My Little Saviour' in 1999.

I wonder how that came about. :confused:

[David]

Since people are mentioning the Behind the Mask tour, there were a few fans who SWEAR Stevie sang Affairs of the Heart in Australia on the opening night. I always prayed we would find a recording.There was another fan story going around that year that Billy sang Rhiannon at one show—why? who knows.

[Macfan4life]

There was another fan story going around that year that Billy sang Rhiannon at one show—why? who knows.
And another one that the Mac opened their concert with Sara in NJ in 1990. No proof of that either.

[MikeInNV]

So according to the NicksFix, TOSOTM was released on May 11, 1989, which was a Thursday. Was it really released on a Thursday?? I know albums used to be released on Mondays, then it changed to Tuesdays, and now it's Fridays unless you're Beyonce or Taylor Swift when you can release it any day you want :laugh::laugh: Wikipedia says May 11, but they probably lifted that from NickFix.

Somewhere in my big boxes of stuff I'm sure I could find a release date for TOSOTM. Not sure I have the time or the energy to actually do that, but I don't believe anything was ever released on a Thursday in those days.

[HoursAndHours]

The RIAA website (https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Stevie+Nicks&ti=The+Other+Side+of+the+Mirror#search_section) lists the release date as May 11th, in addition to their certification dates.

[Macfan4life]

The RIAA website (https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Stevie+Nicks&ti=The+Other+Side+of+the+Mirror#search_section) lists the release date as May 11th, in addition to their certification dates.
Yep. I would never remember release dates of albums in the 80's but May 11 is a significant date for me and I do remember the excitement of the day and the new release.

[Nathan]

This was the only Stevie Nicks or Fleetwood Mac album that took me by surprise. I was such an obsessed fan in those days but literally had no idea Stevie had made a new album. As far as I knew FM had released Greatest Hits in 1988 and were working on Behind The Mask. I also knew they were touring in Europe in 1988.
One day in April of 1989 a friend called and raved about the new SN single she heard on the radio. I figured she must have heard an obscure track from the past and just assumed it was new. But she insisted so I decided to call a local radio station and the DJ confirmed it was a song called Rooms on Fire. I couldn't believe it! I still remember hearing it for the first time. It was at night during a partly cloudy sky with a bright moon and me staring out the window in what was the first apartment I ever had. And I loved it from the moment I heard it. Loved the video as well from the moment I saw that. To this day the song has stood the test of time. I enjoyed the album and played all the songs endlessly for many years.

Good story