Pick a past Stevie hit. Could it make it on the radio if it debuted today?
 

Pretend the song was never released. Could it be a hit today? Here's the catch:
It has to be the song as it was produced when it was released, not altered or updated in any way.

I'm thinking maybe Landslide or Leather and Lace because the production isn't too dated, or Stop Draggin' My Heart Around because it's a solid rocker. Edge of Seventeen might be my top pick. Guess Bella Donna is the album that remains the most radio-friendly IMO, even if TWH is my favorite.

- Jake

i agree with all the songs you listed...and that bella donna is more radio friendly. the wild heart, while bad ass~is reeeeally dated, you know? i cant see something like stand back being a big hit now...at all.
i DEFINITELY think landslide would still be a hit today...its just one of those songs...timeless~
:cool:

I hate that Nightbird missed its chance to hit the big time (though it was a single) and has not returned to the setlist. It's such a great song, but definitely dated for radio.

I think GDW has a unique sound that might be alternative enough for today's radio, but I can't count it here since it was never really a hit.

A song like Gypsy was a hit & is a classic but has a distinctly 80s sound. Who knows if it could have been a hit then or now if an acoustic version had been released like from the Heart Institute thing. Guitar ages at a slower pace, I suppose.

- Jake

Interesting question, and complicated too.
In a way, I don't think any past Stevie hit, released today, would be a hit. There's just too much bias among radio programmers against Stevie and Fleetwood Mac. They're "old," "dated."
On the other hand, if Stevie or Mac were relatively new artists, I think there are a few songs that would stand a chance on the Hot 100 today.
"Landslide" and "Leather and Lace," as others have said, are among the most likely because they don't have much production and therefore don't sound dated. (Although technically, "Landslide" in its original version was never a hit in the first place, because it wasn't released as a single.)
I also think "Dreams," with its grooving bass line and sexy vocal, would make it.
On the next level, I'd put "Rhiannon," "Silver Springs" and "Gypsy," none of which sound very dated to me.
"Seven Wonders" and "Edge of Seventeen" would be long shots.
"Sara" is just too long and subtle to be a radio hit today. (Though it is one of my favorite Stevie songs.)
WAY dated: "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Stand Back," "If Anyone Falls in Love," "Nightbird," "Talk To Me," "I Can't Wait," "Rooms on Fire."

I agree a lot of the songs on Bella Donna...but a lot of her post BD 80s work would be too "80s sounding" for today's radio...After the Glitter Fades would make a total country/pop hit today as well as Leather and Lace


Chris

On another note, I was listening to Violet & Blue yesterday...and I think that if it WAS released as a single (back then) it would have been a hit. The only thing is...what album should it have gone on? I think Belladonna...but I can't remember if it was written pre-1981 or not.

Leather and Lace- If it was released to country stations, definitely.

Stop Draggin'- Surefire hit.

Edge of 17- HELL YES!

After the Glitter Fades- Nope, not a snowballs chance in hell.

Stand Back- Could be a dance hit, but probably not a radio hit.

Nightbird- Not on your life.

If Anyone Falls- Chubby Checkers would have a better chance at a hit.

I Can't Wait- I actually think it would do pretty damn good.

Talk To Me- TOO 80s and way too cheesy.

HAEWAFY- Never.

Rooms On Fire- Too dated.

Long Way To Go- Also very dated, but I think it could turn some heads.

Two Kinds of Love- Maybe if it was put on heavy rotation in elevators.

Sometime's It's A Bitch- Blech.

Love's A Hard Game To Play- Egads.

Blue Denim- Corporate rock at it's finest.

Maybe Love- It's a toss up, but I'm leaning towards no.

Every Day- It never should have been a single to begin with...(I just had to add that!)

:D

It's not that Bella Donna is more "radio friendly" than her other work. There is nothing friendly about radio these days. It's that the production on that album gives it a classic timelessness. Still, given the current radio climate, if Bella Donna was released today, I don't think it would have had such a huge mass impact and success.

It would if Stevie showed her hooters, kissed Madonna, and ran in a thong rather than just on a neon treadmill. Thus marketeth the classic album of today.:cool:
1st single: "Who let the Yorkie Out?"

- Jake

Exactly, Jake! lol

I disagree in that although I think the record was perfect, brilliant, work of a genius, etc., I also think Bella Donna owes a significant protion if its initial succes to the huge success of FM and the sex symbol image Stevie had clearly established. I think that although she was not, as she has said, an established solo rock and roller, she had a built in interest in her before the record was released, which made it easier for Bella Donna to be successful.

I am not in any way saying Bella Donna could not have made it if Stevie had been an unknown. Nor am I saying that Bella Donna was in any way less of an artitic success. I am just saying the immense popularity of FM and Stevie herself made it easier for Bella Donna to make it as a successful commercial venture. So, I think the same logic applies today and in the past.

Many examples exist to support my theory (Steve Perry/Journey, Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs, Justin Timberlake/N'Sync, etc.)

My $0.02

I have to agree withe StrandintheWind, Stevie was way big at that time-clearly the focalpoint of Fleetwood Mac and there was much buzz about the album. She really didn't even need to tour to support the album (and the tour she did do was so short it almost doesn't count anyways). I mean if she was a big moneygrubber (i.e. if her real name was Mick Fleetwood) she could've toured for 2 years and made bank because of the success of that album. The initial excitement/anticipation/buzz around a successful bandmember's first solo album is never really recaptured for any subsequent albums.
Call me Koo-Koo, but to me I think Stand Back could be a hit today. It has lots of synth but the synthesizer is still used today. And with grunge came the whole earthy "unplugged" popularity similar in style to some of the 70's music but now that is getting old and the backlash to that is, naturally "plugged" music or whatever you would call it. A lot of top 40 stuff sounds overproduced to me in that 80's way.
And about Nightbird, as much as I love it, I am still surprised it was released as a single and entered the top 40 (I think it peaked at #33 or 35?). To me Enchanted seemed like the next obvious single. I think Nightbird is catchy but weird in that Stevie way we love. Enchanted is catchy without quite the lyrics that makes the average American scxratch their heads.
I think Sara and Edge of 17 are too long. Big hits today are short as the current generation has a collective case of Attention Deficit Disorder but not everyone has ritilin. So I vote for Landslide or Stand Back.

I think "Rhiannon" would be hit even if released today... All my friends who don't really like Stevie Nicks or FM really really like this song.. and ask me to play it for them. So my bet would be "Rhiannon". Stevie would be a one-hit wonder. :p