50 Essential Women in Music (#21 SN)

[michelej1]

http://flavorwire.com/38199/the-50-e...-albums-part-5

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Bella Donna (1981)
Stevie Nicks

In between the sessions for Fleetwood Mac’s third album, Stevie Nicks began writing and recording demos for what would become her breakthrough debut solo project, Bella Donna. The album reached number one, with singles like “Edge Of Seventeen” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” helping to propel the disc to the top spot — and, in the process, proving that Stevie was a marketable solo star in her own right. Like much of what she wrote for Fleetwood Mac, Bella Donna’s collection of folk-influence rock song succeed largely thanks to Stevie’s poignant and reflective lyrics. For sure, the singles are strong. But the undiscovered gems like the title track and “The Highwayman” are what make the album worth listening to again and again. On the latter, she mournfully sings, “Alas he was the highwayman, the one that comes and goes. And only the highway-woman keeps up with the likes of those.” Stevie may be a rock artist, but her narrative songwriting (a style mostly associated with country music) is what sets her apart and makes Bella Donna her masterpiece.