[daniellaaarisen]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Everyone is getting so hung up on the timeline....

Stevie and Joe started their relationship during the Wild Heart tour of 83' which had wrapped by Jan. 84'. Stevie began sessions for her 3rd solo record Spring-Summer of 84' which was originally suppose to drop the fall of 84' (we all know what happened after this...the recordings were shelved and Stevie went back to the drawing board w/o Iovine to what would become RAL released Nov. 1985)

Stevie and Dave Stewart had to have their encounter roughly around Spring/Summer of 84' while Iovine was working on RAL. Its no secret that Iovine was actively looking for collaborator's which would yield the almighty next hit single, he was instrumental in introducing Stevie to Dave.

Joe and Stevie had a very volatile and drug fueled relationship to which I'm sure they broke up many times in typical dramatic "Stevie" fashion during their fuzzy 2 yr. relationship which emotionally ended finally when Joe sent a car for Stevie in the middle of the night to share the final acetate of RAL before it's release, (inspiring the song "Long Way To Go".) She told her housemates at the time...This is a long way to go to say goodbye all over again...the encounter ended badly with Stevie leaving without her acetate and crying all the way home, vowing she would never be that vulnerable again!

Stevie has documented many strained occasions of Joe & her relationship during this era, remember the time she recounted that Joe ruined a session cause he was clowning around with her studio musicians, many of which Joe was also friends with, afterwards he told her he was flying to Australia the next morning...and she told him "if you walk out that door...you cease to exist".

This era was a very bloated and excessive time for Stevie. She was at her pinnacle as a solo artist...having accomplished the back to back trifecta that was Bella Donna-Mirage-Wild Heart, and coming off her very successful WH tour....and steadfastly into a heady and dysfunctional relationship with Joe Walsh. Undoubtably the RAL era was the unraveling of the Stevie Nicks the world had come to love, and would never see again till her unparralled re-emergence during "The Dance".

The dizzying combination of success, the death of Robin, impulsive decisions (marriage to Kim Anderson to start with....) dysfunctional relationships, alcohol and of course the ominpresent "marching powder" all aligned to shift Stevie forever. Its no wonder why many fans are fascinated by this time.

Written beautifully-- and all very interesting. You're right. This time period is totally enthralling.