Happy Birthday to Stevie's greatest album

[The Highwayman]

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Bella Donna, my favorite Fleetwood Mac-related album. To me, it's a flawless record, and something that was obviously long in coming for Stevie since she always had a backlog of great songs while only having 3 or so songs per FM album. Had she never started a solo career to go hand in hand with her career with the band, it's entirely possible she would've left the band a lot earlier. Thank god for Bella Donna.

Stevie's songs that she was cutting for the album were all so consistently strong, she didn't even need 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around', but for commercial purposes. But she wanted Tom Petty, whom she admired, as part of her record. She wanted that Heartbreakers sound,the same producer and engineer, and the rock feel of Bella Donna is very distinct from Fleetwood Mac's (or more properly, Lindsey Buckingham's) sound.

Every song is at very least great, a handful being utterly amazing. Never a dull moment, never a wasted breath. I think it's a (somewhat) underrated masterpiece, one of my favorite albums of the '80s, already one of my favorite decades, musically. I remember when I first heard it, I was almost 19, back in 1998 just after becoming a new Stevie/Fleetwood Mac fan. I got BD on vinyl of all things (probably had a lot to do with the big and lovely cover, and the lovely lady on it, looking right at you. This might be where my crush on Stevie started). I loved every second of it. Still do. Today it's the FM/Stevie album I listen to the most by far.

Sure, I also love The Wild Heart and dig the wild vibe of Rock a Little, and Stevie's last three studio albums have been very enjoyable, but nothing can surpass Bella Donna for me. Not even Mirage, Tusk and Rumours. Yes, I'm totally serious. It's that great in my eyes.

(Now, where's that deluxe 35th Anniversary Edition with bonus tracks? A pipe dream, apparently.)