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Originally posted by joe
obviously, you're a newer fan....David's right. I've been a fan since 1981 and back then (and even before that) she wasn't NOT getting praise all around as an icon. She definately was viewed as airy fairy and ditzy. It wasn't until the 90's that she was getting more of the praise. I think when she first started her solo career she was still considered relatively new and they type of persona she adopted was not really the norm so a lot of people didn't know what to do with her except roll their eyes and chuckle. When you're a little off center that's the kind of reaction you're going to get. The public has to have enough time to really adapt and then appreciate you. It also helps that she was in a legendary band like FM.
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Actually, I have been a fan since 1975 - so I remember the really bad reviews with FM in the early days
But, when Bella Donna came out, it got good and some great reviews. Yes, "they" (mostly men who had no clue what she was talking about and/or her delivery of it) were calling her music a fairy tale, but Rolling Stone and other main stream periodicals did not 100% slam her for Bella Donna. To wit - "Bella Donna proves that Fleetwood Mac's blond priestess of the occult can stand on her own as a solo act." See
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/....asp?aid=49138 Granted the article slams her writing as airy fairy, but concludes it has a place in the world and it works - they gave it three stars out of five, which is a good review. In fact, that review is where the phrase "how can anyone so hip also be so incredibly silly," not "stupid," came from. Also, it is important to remember the times were changing about then from rock and roll being basically male dominated in every aspect (producer on down) to stronger women asserting themselves and demanding respect a la Pat Benatar which made the road easier for the women in rock today. All in all, I think that for as dizzy as Stevie's lyrics can be, the critics (again mostly male) were somewhat nice to her solo stuff and her longevity and popularity even in the 1989-94 years certainly proved her critics wrong as many of them have admitted.
My $0.02
Also, to be fair, Rolling Stone slammed her next three records and then Street Angel
Yet, even in the slamming, the reviewers always complimented her. It was all a little schizo to me. It was like they were saying "Well, if I don't slam her I am out of the boys club, but I will put enough in there so that I do not betray the fact that I really like her stuff even though it is not considered cool by my peers to do so"
Actually, my favorite quote is from the Rolling Stone review of "The Other Side of the Mirror" - "Though she's a performer whose reputation is tightly entwined with her personality, Stevie Nicks is usually only as good as the collaborators with whom she chooses to make music" and then "Like her previous records, The Other Side of the Mirror shows Nicks can stand tall with the top rank of contemporary rockers, but she's not nearly consistent enough to sustain a whole album."
Interestingly, Stevie has pretty much always admitted she is only as good as her producers.