Rock A Little turns 40

[Macfan4life]

OMG shame on all of you for missing and not mentioning RAL turned 40 on November 18. I can remember the first time hearing Talk To Me on the radio. The local rock station was announcing it would be played and it was Halloween night 1985. The album was released about 3 weeks later. I was at the mall and record store immediately after its release. This is when my chiffon started to have holes in it. I waited for 2 years and it was finally here. I had a secret disappointment deep inside. I think RAL is one of the worst albums of the entire 1980s decade. The saddest part is it had incredible potential. But sadly the drugs completely took over and consumed her life. Not only was the first cut of the album so bad they had to bring her simple pop songs just to get the thing out to the public. But her producer also walked out in the middle of it. Because of her state there was zero promotion of the album and her Talk To Me video was so late the song was in the top 20 when the video finally debuted. The album only hit #12 for a brief window and came nowhere near the charting of Bella Donna #1 and Wild Heart #5.

Happy 40th birthday Rock A Little

How will you feel 40 years from now? Well she's still going!

[Villavic]

I quite liked Talk To Me. Never liked I Can't Wait that much.

I remember a friend of mine liked to dress similar to Stevie's look in the album cover.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TCs2rMzcR3w/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLC-POb_MkaY-T-tTvZb8TSrLwo0FQ

[bwboy]

Happy 40th birthday Rock A Little

How will you feel 40 years from now? Well she's still going!

I know you’re not a fan of Talk to Me, but it m really curious what you thought of I Can’t Wait when you first heard it, especially as it was probably her first dance song. Rock a Little was the first Stevie album I’d bought, so I didn’t realize how different RAL was from her previous albums, but your post had me wondering whether fans appreciated Stevie’s attempt at dance or if they were horrified at the time.

[Macfan4life]

I know you’re not a fan of Talk to Me, but it m really curious what you thought of I Can’t Wait when you first heard it, especially as it was probably her first dance song. Rock a Little was the first Stevie album I’d bought, so I didn’t realize how different RAL was from her previous albums, but your post had me wondering whether fans appreciated Stevie’s attempt at dance or if they were horrified at the time.
I can't wait is one of the few songs I like from the album. Had the disco swishes and merry go round keyboards been removed there was a much better track there and should have been the lead single. Songs like Sister Honey and If I Were You were funky, trendy, and really cheezy IMHO. Even a good song like No Spoken Word is so synthed out with program bass, drum machine, etc. That 1985 sound just ruined the song. Her vocals were fried on many songs. But it is what it is and its a miracle an album was even put out during this time. Its very incohesive. Even I Sing For Things is ruined by another programmed bass and her raspy vocals. All other versions of the song are better.

[Villavic]

especially as it was probably her first dance song.

I've never heard I Can't Wait at clubs, and never seen it as a dance song. Though I love and enjoyed disco and 80s lot of dance songs, I never included ICW in that group. But maybe my latin ear doesn't recognize that song that way.

[Macfan4life]

I've never heard I Can't Wait at clubs, and never seen it as a dance song. Though I love and enjoyed disco and 80s lot of dance songs, I never included ICW in that group. But maybe my latin ear doesn't recognize that song that way.
Agreed. I don't think of it as a dance song either. But you can moonwalk and breakdance to Sister Honey :)

[BLY]

I love RAL. I loved it when it came out and still do. Yes, it was a departure from her previous releases but I welcomed the “synthesizer/drum machine” era. If I Were You is sill one of my all time favorite tracks from a solo release of hers.

[Macfan4life]

Some reviews of this album were medium to good. But Rolling Stone trashed it and made the claim that Stevie was close to becoming a parody of herself with this album. OUCH!

Nicks Slips Out Of Touch, Rolling Stone, January 30, 1986, by Mark Coleman

"You can talk to me," Stevie Nicks coos on the chorus of her latest hit single. "You can set your secrets free, baby." She's got a sympathetic ear, all right. On the rest of Rock a Little, she comes on like an AM-radio psychologist, dispensing stern but friendly advice, spinning little parables and probing deep feelings with incredibly vague language. Its all quite earnest and usually fairly tuneful; Stevie's distinctive growl can attach a hook to some pretty slippery sentiments. But for a pop album, Rock a Little sounds strangely distant, out of touch. Plopped down next to purring synthesizers and the patter of drum machines, Stevie's sugary moans sound harsh and jarring. The attempts to "contemporize" some of these 4/4 strum-along ditties ruin what would otherwise be an untouched curio, a relic from the forgotten age of the singer/songwriter.

Not that it was all that long ago. But its odd how so many of the rock and pop bands of the Seventies have lost their way in this decade. Even such sturdy pines as Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne bend and sway on their recent releases, battered by shifting tastes not only in music but in subject matter and style as well. Only the newly shorn former Eagles Don Henley and Glenn Frey, recasting themselves as sleek, rough-voiced crooners in the Miami Vice mold, have managed to age gracefully. And compared with Henley's taut command of modern dance music on Building the Perfect Beast, Stevie seems a bit shaky. The guitar-based music on Rock a Little sounds unfocused, at times almost nostalgic. Its disquieting hearing a song with the line "Our voices stray from the common ground where they could meet" on the same station with, oh, "Stop using sex as a weapon."

Stevie Nicks may have prefigured Madonna's and Prince's lace fetishes, but the tart frankness of today's Top Ten makes her seem a bit of a prude. "Talk to Me" plows along with the easy momentum of a Cyndi Lauper hit, the chugging guitars broken by synth wallops for emphasis. But Stevie's bluesy murmur sounds a little tired, as if all she wants to do is talk, thanks. On the opening cut, "I Cant Wait," she waxes urgent but ultimately gets shellacked by layers of buzz-saw guitars and a nervous beat box. As for a statement of purpose, "I Sing for the Things" ("that money cant buy," natch) is definitely postfeminist: "Ill take off my cape for you...Anything you want me to do...Ill sit at home and wait for you." Maybe its just my taste, but the combined synths and steel guitars on that track achieve the consistency of curdled milk. On the aforementioned tunes, at least, Stevie is being direct. When she starts setting her secrets free, weaving apocryphal situations and creating moony, enigmatic characters, the going gets a bit thick.

Well, theres "Sister Honey," who discovers that "a soul thats true is your ride to glory." Or take Lily, the "rock and roll ballerina" in the title tune, who seems to have a paralyzing case of the willies; the subdued gasp of the guitar line on that one sounds as hesitant as Lily does. Then there's the hopeless dreamer who confuses reality with "The Nightmare" and gets "blinded by the light of the day." Its a silly line that Stevie intones with all the strained majesty she used with something like "Thunder only happens when its raining." As unrealistic (and unfair) as it is to hold artists pasts against them, its telling that Stevie Nicks sounds most comfortable, and most convincing, on songs that recall Fleetwood Mac.

Though her attempts at profundity may fall short, Stevie Nicks can still take an unassuming little rock song and polish it into a gem. Her melismatic slurs turn the treacly melody of "Some Become Strangers" into a lush, extended sigh gilded with a rich and gooey guitar texture. Wistful but not maudlin, its the sort of pop confection Fleetwood Mac and Rumours were strewn with. And at the other extreme, the ringing guitar chords and electric organ washes of "Imperial Hotel" force Stevie to drop the therapists mask and wail for a while, reaching a delectable screech reminiscent of her saddle-sore crooning with Tom Petty on "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." Since the newer song was cowritten with Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, thats only appropriate. Its the albums high point, despite meandering lyrics depicting the usual moody figures in a shady rendezvous. (This is something we'll be hearing more and more often, I âm afraid ¾ songs that conjure up images from yet unmade videos.) Given decent material like "Some Become Strangers" or her collaboration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stevie Nicks wields an authoritative, even stunning instrument ¾ itd be great for her to wrap her tentacles around one of Holly Knights modern-day pop psychodramas like "Obsession." But left to her won devices, Stevie Nicks veers dangerously close to self-parody. The sensitive rock artiste, making self-indulgent solo statements in a vacuum, supposedly died out with the dinosaurs in the late Seventies. But these days, it often seems like punk never happened anyway. The real shame is that Stevie Nicks could make good records again, if shed only follow her own advice and rock a little.

[bwboy]

I love RAL. I loved it when it came out and still do. Yes, it was a departure from her previous releases but I welcomed the “synthesizer/drum machine” era. If I Were You is sill one of my all time favorite tracks from a solo release of hers.

Me too. Probably more than any other Stevie album, RAL is the one I can listen to from start to finish, with the exception of I Sing For the Things. Even the odder songs like Sister Honey, Rock a Little, and the Nightmare keep me engaged. If I Were You is also one of my all time favorite Stevie songs.

The review from Rolling Stone was interesting, and I think it was fair. I’ve always thought that RAL was Stevie’s attempt to counteract the darker elements of Bella Donna and Wild Heart, as well as her way of lightening up after her friend Robin’s death. Talk to Me, I Can’t Wait, and Has Anyone Ever are probably my favorite back to back singles, in terms of range and genres from one album.

[Macfan4life]

Me too. Probably more than any other Stevie album, RAL is the one I can listen to from start to finish, with the exception of I Sing For the Things. Even the odder songs like Sister Honey, Rock a Little, and the Nightmare keep me engaged. If I Were You is also one of my all time favorite Stevie songs.

The review from Rolling Stone was interesting, and I think it was fair. I’ve always thought that RAL was Stevie’s attempt to counteract the darker elements of Bella Donna and Wild Heart, as well as her way of lightening up after her friend Robin’s death. Talk to Me, I Can’t Wait, and Has Anyone Ever are probably my favorite back to back singles, in terms of range and genres from one album.
What is it about I Sing For The Things that you don't like? The Wild Heart version was really good but I think it was axed because Roy had lots of bouncy piano on that album and it was another one. Like the reviewer I hate the steel guitars. The bass is programmed and her vocal is horrible. Its a rare one that she wrote on the album and its ruined by mid 80s synth just like No Spoken Word. But we agree at least on that song and curious what you don't like about it.

[mitzo]

I am with the RAL fans here. The songs are quite eclectic and the often derided synth sound to me lifts Stevie much more than the mostly guitar driven stuff on her two previous albums. In many ways it's her most interesting album and the re-entry to her solo work for me after disappointment with Bella Donna.

[Macfan4life]

"the subdued gasp of the guitar line on that one sounds as hesitant as Lily does".

Omg, that line about the title track made me LOL. Remember the malls during the 1980s during Christmas time. They had these Casio organs that they would sell and there would be a man playing them to showcase what they could do. If you hit a button you would get a background programmed track. The song Rock A Little sounds exactly like those Casio pre-recorded backing tracks. All Waddy did was throw in some guitar licks. Its quite the odd song and another swing and miss IMHO. From the first time I played the album could not believe the track made the album. The guitar gasps do sound as hesitant as Lily :lol:

[Villavic]

They had these Casio organs that they would sell and there would be a man playing them to showcase what they could do. If you hit a button you would get a background programmed track.

Oh you made me remember my 1990 vacations in Miami, visiting a friend. If I'm not mistaken we "played" Rick Astley's Together Forever. at Bayside Marketplace. :lol: :laugh:

[bwboy]

What is it about I Sing For The Things that you don't like? The bass is programmed and her vocal is horrible. It’s a rare one that she wrote on the album and it’s ruined by mid 80s synth just like No Spoken Word. But we agree at least on that song and curious what you don't like about it.

Hmmm, I’m not sure why I dislike I Sing For the Things… it’s awfully slow, for one thing, and I really don’t like her vocal. When she’s singing in such a raw voice, it sounds to me like she’s croaking, which does the song no favors. It also reminds me of When I See You Again, another song I really dislike from Tango. It’s unfortunate that when Stevie finally added a deep cut on her last tour, she chose I Sing For the Things over virtually any other song from her catalogue. Doing the Best That I Can, Ooh My Love, If I Were You, Nothing Ever Changes, Think About It, good grief- ANY of those songs would have gone over better with the audience than I Sing For the Things!

[Macfan4life]

Hmmm, I’m not sure why I dislike I Sing For the Things… it’s awfully slow, for one thing, and I really don’t like her vocal. When she’s singing in such a raw voice, it sounds to me like she’s croaking, which does the song no favors. It also reminds me of When I See You Again, another song I really dislike from Tango. It’s unfortunate that when Stevie finally added a deep cut on her last tour, she chose I Sing For the Things over virtually any other song from her catalogue. Doing the Best That I Can, Ooh My Love, If I Were You, Nothing Ever Changes, Think About It, good grief- ANY of those songs would have gone over better with the audience than I Sing For the Things!
She was probably trying to throw you people that like RAL a bone even though she only performed it one time. The version on the Wild Heart deluxe reissue is actually pretty good. The way you feel about this song is pretty much how I feel about most of the album ;)
Clearly she is not proud of this era which is why she rarely performs a song from the album except maybe No Spoken Word or HAEWAFY

We get lots of recycled lyrics on this album too: Don't let that golden hair get in your way baby, Sisters of the Moon, drowning in a sea, etc. I think this is what Rolling Stone was calling her out for becoming a parody of herself. Her voice was fried yet she seemed unaware how she sounded because no one dared to tell her. She threw in her Stevieisms here and there trying to be clever.
She has always been honest that her biggest annoyance was people trying to tell her how to sing. She would say she only wanted to sing once because she felt it was always the best first time. IMHO this is why there are so many crappy vocals.

[bombaysaffires]

Gawd The Nightmare is the stinkiest pile of poo......:distress:

Really melodic songs like If I Were You and Some Become Strangers are really catchy but just DROWNING in overdubs and synths..... sadly they had to go to outside writers for them because her writing dried up so bad. They could have been sooo much better with some weed whacking of some tracks

I didn't mind the title track, or I Can't Wait but ICW again is an outside writer (Rick Nowels) saving her backside coz she just had so little to bring.

[Villavic]

but ICW again is an outside writer (Rick Nowels) saving her backside coz she just had so little to bring.

Nowels appears in 2 RAL songs and in 4 TOSOTM songs, all of them as cowriter (other songs have other cowriters too). Then he is absent in the following albums. Just curious about why he didn't write with her anymore, but the main point is that Yes, most songs from the 1985-1994 albums were "co-written". How much did she contribute, I think we'll never know. But one doesn't have to be a genius to know why she didn't wrote most of her songs alone. So sad, indeed.

[UnwindedDreams]

Can anybody guess why Stevie doesn't perform any of the singles off Rock A Little on her concert tours?

Stevie hasn't performed Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You? on a concert tour in 18 years. I Sing For The Things was a surprise. But nothing else from RAL now since that one song in 2023. Yet Free Falling and Wild Heart + Bella Donna mix for years now.

[Macfan4life]

Can anybody guess why Stevie doesn't perform any of the singles off Rock A Little on her concert tours?

Stevie hasn't performed Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You? on a concert tour in 18 years. I Sing For The Things was a surprise. But nothing else from RAL now since that one song in 2023. Yet Free Falling and Wild Heart + Bella Donna mix for years now.
Did she not introduce I Sing For Things that it was a part of her life where she was not well. I think the whole era is painful to her. I do not think she ever liked Talk To Me. I think the 2 songs she did perform regularly she has pride in is No Spoken Word and HAEWAFY.

[Macfan4life]

Sort of long but Jeremy's panel of Stevie experts really made this an incredible review of RAL. This is a must watch. As the one guy who worked for Stevie's record label states at the beginning, the end of the Wild Heart tour was a train wreck that morphed into 1984 and 1985 where little is know about Stevie. The one panelist actually wrote her parents a letter on note book paper telling them how sad and out of control she was. But he brings up a good point. From 1985 to 1986 she looked like she aged so many years.
This will make you laugh several times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkW7aNln9Ag

[UnwindedDreams]

Did she not introduce I Sing For Things that it was a part of her life where she was not well. I think the whole era is painful to her. I do not think she ever liked Talk To Me. I think the 2 songs she did perform regularly she has pride in is No Spoken Word and HAEWAFY.
You’re totally right in that she did say that the album version of ISFTT is “agonizing.” I think you’re right that she said she wasn’t okay at the time. She did perform it at every solo concert in 2023. I wonder why she didn’t try No Spoken Word since it’s such a rocker! What’s incredible is that the song played when she walked onstage as she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was “Talk To Me.”

[bombaysaffires]

You’re totally right in that she did say that the album version of ISFTT is “agonizing.” I think you’re right that she said she wasn’t okay at the time. She did perform it at every solo concert in 2023. I wonder why she didn’t try No Spoken Word since it’s such a rocker! What’s incredible is that the song played when she walked onstage as she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was “Talk To Me.”

which she didn't write, or even co-write :shrug:

I'm trying to remember the interview, I'm pretty sure it was a Jimmy Iovine interview where he said he was always on the lookout for songs for Stevie, songs that could be hit singles for her during this time. As someone noted the mid 80s she went way downhill... Tango in the Night fell during that period as well, and she couldn't even provide her usual minimum 3 songs for that... Seven Wonders was all Sandy Stewart no matter what the bogus writing credits say. And other than that we got Wassamatta Baby and Welcome to the Room Sara which I find interesting as a document of her experiences in rehab but isn't frankly a great song. Where did that horrible carribean-style arrangement even come from....??

also HAEWAFY was about Joe, and she was so messed up in the head about him and he was such a dingus about her and that relationship that maybe now with more reflection she doesn't want to relive it...:shrug:

On a totally unrelated note I find it curious we have not seen Mick show up to any of her shows on this tour or even make mention of it or her on any of his socials (which he is on all the time). We did get a few pics of him with LB at some function or other but...

[Villavic]

that horrible carribean-style arrangement even come from....??

What is Lindsey. I suppose.
I like WTTRS anyway. Even with that arrangement, it is much nicer than Whattamattababy.

[bwboy]

[QUOTE=Villavic;1303895]Nowels appears in 2 RAL songs and in 4 TOSOTM songs, all of them as cowriter (other songs have other cowriters too). Then he is absent in the following albums. Just curious about why he didn't write with her anymore, but the main point is that Yes, most songs from the 1985-1994 albums were "co-written". [/ QUOTE]

If I’m remembering correctly, Rick Nowels went from Stevie on RAL to produce (and write) Belinda Carlisle’s 1987 album Heaven on Earth, which really jump started Belinda’s solo career and elevated his status an in demand producer. Then he did the four songs on Stevie’s Other Side of the Mirror album before producing Belinda’s next album Runaway Horses, both of which were released in 1989. By then Nowels was really successful and went on to work with Madonna on Ray of Light, Celine Dion, Adele, Dido, Lykke Li, Dua Lipa, Lana Del Ray, etc. I’m pretty sure Nowels helped Stevie on Trouble in Shangri-Li.

[HomerMcvie]

also HAEWAFY was about Joe, and she was so messed up in the head about him and he was such a dingus about her and that relationship that maybe now with more reflection she doesn't want to relive it...:shrug:

Much like every other man she screwed, I'd say that Joe had 5 seconds of sobriety, and realized he needed to run for the hills, to get away from nut job Stevie. Because she's cuckoo for Coco Puffs, and always has been.

[bombaysaffires]

Much like every other man she screwed, I'd say that Joe had 5 seconds of sobriety, and realized he needed to run for the hills, to get away from nut job Stevie. Because she's cuckoo for Coco Puffs, and always has been.

Neither of them is Einstein. He was a slobbering piggy mess and still talks like he's had multiple strokes which no bad face lift can fix. And after all the porn stars and hookers he's banged, there's not enough penicillin in the world.

[HomerMcvie]

Neither of them is Einstein. He was a slobbering piggy mess and still talks like he's had multiple strokes which no bad face lift can fix. And after all the porn stars and hookers he's banged, there's not enough penicillin in the world.

They really were perfect for each other.

[Macfan4life]

I watched the RAL panel review again yesterday and it brought back a major reason I rebelled against this album. Yes many vocals are bad, yes she did not write many songs, yes it has way too much synth.
Stevie was 38 when the album came out. Today that is young but in 1985 that was an aging pop/rock star. There was a clear attempt for Stevie to compete with younger acts like Madonna. For that reason it just came off so inauthentic. Talk To Me is an empty song. Anyone could have done it. At least on some songs like Some Become Strangers she tries to make it her own. Sister Honey is a lame attempt to sound like Prince. Stevie you are no Madonna and no Prince so please do not try. I agree that the song If I Were You is a polished pop gem and could have been a single. But that bridge is so perky its so un-Stevie. Stevie does not beg men for anything. She does not beg men to talk to her, or to teach them to develop from boy to man. Stevie writes as a scorned woman. She will follow you down to the sound of her voice will haunt you. She's not waiting by the telephone begging for you to talk to her. I think most of us like Stevie for her poetic writing and singing. This album just is so inauthentic and so un-Stevie. Bella Donna as the title track is one of the best songs on Bella Donna. Wild Heart is no Bella Donna but still a fairly strong track. Yet for RAL we got this oddball. The whole vibe of the record is wrong and Stevie and her record company trying to make her compete with younger pop stars. This is why as a fan it just rubbed me the wrong way.
Another thing that is odd and it was refreshing to hear the panel say what I always felt was songs like The Nightmare or Some Become Strangers every other version of the song is better than what appears on the album. One panelist said something I never thought about before that The Nightmare was probably about her marriage to Kim. After he said that I can sort of see that.

[UnwindedDreams]

which she didn't write, or even co-write :shrug:Good point! Free Falling, Rock and Roll, For What It's Worth and Not Fade Away get the love from her instead of Talk To Me!

[sleepless child]

I started think that the nightmare was also about her marriage to Kim. While I liked Rock a Little because I was such a fan, it is the beginning of the fall of her great songwriting. Someone that can write Rhiannon to Beauty and the Beast comes out with The Nightmare? Doesn't compare at all.

[Macfan4life]

I started think that the nightmare was also about her marriage to Kim. While I liked Rock a Little because I was such a fan, it is the beginning of the fall of her great songwriting. Someone that can write Rhiannon to Beauty and the Beast comes out with The Nightmare? Doesn't compare at all.
Ha Ha. Rolling Stone said "blinded by the light of the day" is no "thunder only happens when it's raining." :lol:

When Jeremy and the crew talked about The Nightmare I fell out of my chair when somone asked what Chris Nicks did to deserve to get a co-write and Jeremy says "he brought the same glass table into room" In the 12" version I love at the end of it she keeps saying in a low voice "how dare heeeeeeee how dare heeeeeee"


This is not the world not the world not the real world
:lol:

[Villavic]

Yes many vocals are bad, yes she did not write many songs, yes it has way too much synth.


I never bought the RAL album, but from what I could hear, I agree that she went too far with the '80s sound, and on top of that, her songwriting talent was practically nonexistent, so the result had to be bad. I admit I liked Talk to Me, but not big deal, and it wasn't enough good to make me buy the album.

But I did buy Go Insane, and I think I only listened to it a couple of times and never again, I didn't like its sound. Interesting that Wikipedia classified it as rock/new wave/synth-pop genre. And RAL as pop rock/synth-rock. I think both Lindsey and Stevie tried to keep up cool with the times but they didn't get it right. Yes the age was against them, too. Specially comparing to young Madonna, Prince, etc. But Phil Collins was was a chubby, bald 34-year-old singer when he released Not Jacked Required in 1985, and he rocked! Not to mention Tina Turner. I guess L&S didn't get it with those albums.

Fortunately, and although many didn't like it because of its 80s feel, Fleetwood Mac didn't go that far with Tango in the Night; in fact, Wikipedia listed it as pop rock/soft rock. Or maybe it's because I really love that album. :)

[HomerMcvie]

I still ~pretty much~ liked RAL. OSOTM was the dog turd that drove me away.

It's difficult to imagine now, that an "artist" that out of their mind on substances, could continue to have a recording contract. And of course it couldn't be now that people buy 50k copies.

[Villavic]

It's difficult to imagine now, that an "artist" that out of their mind on substances, could continue to have a recording contract. And of course it couldn't be now that people buy 50k copies.

I've always thought that many times record labels don't care about protecting their artists when they see them falling into drugs, and they squeeze them like oranges until they're no longer financially attractive, because they've lost their talent or gone out of fashion.

Stevie Nicks' name had earned a place in people's minds, so in spite of bad albums, the tours wentwell, or so I read. And thankfully she was able to recover, but if she had continued using drugs, even her tours would have failed.

Whitney wasn't selling records like she used to, but she came back and her tours generated great expectation, but then they were a disappointment; I think they even booed her for her terrible performance. And well, we know how it ended. In her case, I think Clive Davis did try to help her, but when an addict doesn't want to, it's impossible. Stevie was lucky, but she paid the toll anyway; her talent for writing was never the same. Ande her diva behavior, well, say no more.

[Macfan4life]

I've always thought that many times record labels don't care about protecting their artists when they see them falling into drugs, and they squeeze them like oranges until they're no longer financially attractive, because they've lost their talent or gone out of fashion.

Stevie Nicks' name had earned a place in people's minds, so in spite of bad albums, the tours wentwell, or so I read. And thankfully she was able to recover, but if she had continued using drugs, even her tours would have failed.

Whitney wasn't selling records like she used to, but she came back and her tours generated great expectation, but then they were a disappointment; I think they even booed her for her terrible performance. And well, we know how it ended. In her case, I think Clive Davis did try to help her, but when an addict doesn't want to, it's impossible. Stevie was lucky, but she paid the toll anyway; her talent for writing was never the same. Ande her diva behavior, well, say no more.
Her management forced her into rehab which at the time she resented. She left rehab early and fired her management company. They not only saved her life but her career but she did not know it at the time. She was advised by a doctor to stop cocaine immediately but she still went out on the road and did cocaine anyway. Her management did the best they could. They kept her away from interviews and album promotions. She barely got through 2 videos which were considered quite cheap in the day. Its quite shocking what she transformed into. Her HBO Bella Donna show was recorded in December 1981. In July 1986 she was transformed into another person in just 4 years.
Had her management not intervened she would of ended up dead or her career would have majorly suffered. Even in RAL's wackiness it still was successful. It was a slight disappointment compared to the sales of her earlier albums but it still had some success. I think the album still hurt her image though. What made her famous in her own style suddenly she was chasing current trends trying to appear to be hip and younger. When she revealed her neon half gloves at the end of Talk To Me was a major cringe moment.

[bwboy]

Her management forced her into rehab which at the time she resented. She left rehab early and fired her management company. They not only saved her life but her career but she did not know it at the time. She was advised by a doctor to stop cocaine immediately but she still went out on the road and did cocaine anyway. Her management did the best they could. They kept her away from interviews and album promotions. She barely got through 2 videos which were considered quite cheap in the day. Its quite shocking what she transformed into. Her HBO Bella Donna show was recorded in December 1981. In July 1986 she was transformed into another person in just 4 years.
Had her management not intervened she would of ended up dead or her career would have majorly suffered. Even in RAL's wackiness it still was successful. It was a slight disappointment compared to the sales of her earlier albums but it still had some success. I think the album still hurt her image though. What made her famous in her own style suddenly she was chasing current trends trying to appear to be hip and younger. When she revealed her neon half gloves at the end of Talk To Me was a major cringe moment.

I agree with Villavic and think you’re being generous when you speak of her management so highly. Do I think their intervention ultimately saved Stevie’s life? Yes. But notice they did the intervention AFTER she completed her tour. They wanted it both ways, but financial reasons were why they waited to do an intervention, so that paints a different picture of their efforts to help her. “Stevie needs help… but we’ll wait until she finishes her tour first, take our cut of the tour, and then we’ll do an intervention.” And yes, I’m sure Stevie resented them for the intervention, as virtually every person does when an intervention is done. An intervention can be an effective way to convince someone to seek help, but it is basically an ambush, and most people resent being ambushed, even if it’s for a good reason.

[Macfan4life]

I agree with Villavic and think you’re being generous when you speak of her management so highly. Do I think their intervention ultimately saved Stevie’s life? Yes. But notice they did the intervention AFTER she completed her tour. They wanted it both ways, but financial reasons were why they waited to do an intervention, so that paints a different picture of their efforts to help her. “Stevie needs help… but we’ll wait until she finishes her tour first, take our cut of the tour, and then we’ll do an intervention.” And yes, I’m sure Stevie resented them for the intervention, as virtually every person does when an intervention is done. An intervention can be an effective way to convince someone to seek help, but it is basically an ambush, and most people resent being ambushed, even if it’s for a good reason.
I disagree. I don't think it was an ambush. She was in the middle of recording an album for 2 years. She had drivers and she had assistants that kept her in her bubble. Mick wrote in his book that she revealed to him the doctor said she had to stop but no way she could go cold turkey on the road. But she still went. The road just made everything worse. I think they tried to manage her the best way they could. They kept her away from embarrassing interviews and promotions. I think they thought they could manage her but waited until the RAL era was over before really trying to convince her to go. I see it you are trying to have it both ways. They could have not said a word and just kept managing the money. She surrounded herself with YES people. In the perfect world they could have done it right after Wild Heart or not done it at all. You finding fault when it was done is perplexing. Things got so bad that someone had to do something. You work in rehab so you should know that no one can help you if you do not want to be helped.

[Macfan4life]

Did anyone see on the Fleetwood Mac website that RAL is expected to get a re-issue in 2026 just over its 40th anniversary. It mentioned nothing about demos or unreleased tracks. It could be a good opportunity but I am betting it will be a stale re-issue and re-mixing with new art and stuff. But we will see.

From the site:
Release Dates: TBA

2026 brings a major celebration for Rock a Little, which turns 40. Expect high-quality MoFi remastering, expanded artwork, and the first ultra-audiophile editions of this mid-’80s synth-driven classic.

Given the historical success of I Can’t Wait, and Talk to Me, these reissues will likely rank among the most anticipated Stevie Nicks releases of the decade.

[Phoenixgypsy]

I'm excited about the 2026 re-release. I know I'm in the minority but I love the Rock A Little album. I won't hold my breath but here's hoping they include at least The Nightmare remix on this release!