The Other Side Of The Mirror is a very dark album

[mikebise]

I remember being surprised and a bit annoyed in 1989 by Stevie's comments in interviews about the meaning of The Other Side Of The Mirror, i.e., going back and forth from solo to Fleetwood Mac. I found that very superficial, and I didn't believe her for a second. Added with the reviews and fan gushings, all centering on castles and unicorns and fairy tales and stuff, I wondered if I was hearing the same album as everyone else!

I love The Other Side Of The Mirror! But from the moment I got the "Rooms On Fire" single with "Alice" on it, I found the songs full of darkness, anger and fear. And rightfully so, I thought.

"Welcome To The Room... Sara" prepped us a little with Stevie's anger at her management company, letting them know, "I will be different when I get back, and you can take all of the credit, baby!" Stevie didn't want to go to Betty Ford for her cocaine problem. She was leveraged into it, forced by those around her looking out for their own paychecks. And when she got back, "sober", was her life any better? Yeah, she was alive, but was her life any better, really?

I think those were the questions Stevie was struggling with in those first years after rehab. The coke made song-writing easier, she's freely said, even to this day. But she lost a lot of confidence in herself after Betty Ford, as well as the weight comments during the Rock A Little tour. I believe this is why she so eagerly embraced the new, Buckingham-free Fleetwood Mac in 1987, even putting her planned 4th solo release (Stevie Nicks: Greatest Hits was due for Christmas 1987) on hold while she toured with Fleetwood Mac through mid-1988. So, even as she regained her confidence as a performer, Stevie still had issues stemming from her non-reliance on cocaine, her growing dependence on tranquilizers (which we didn't know about then) and especially still her 1984 breakup with the love of her life, Joe Walsh.

I listen to The Other Side Of The Mirror, and it reminds me of Stevie's comments about "Angel" in the Tusk documentary. She had planned "Angel" to be an upbeat song to counter her "dark" songs. "And it is up," she says, but there's this dark current running through it still. And that's how I perceive The Other Side Of The Mirror.

Stevie herself has said that "Doing The Best I Can" is her most depressing song, and it is! It's not hopeful in the least! "Well, I hear she's doing fine and she's doing the best that she can..." That sounds angry and pissed off to my ears, those "whispered secrets" going on and on. There's no, "Well, I'm happy now... la dee dah!" It's more, "Well, this is it for now...", resigned to the uncertainty and sadness in her life.

"Long Way To Go" is clear enough in its anger towards Joe. Whether the songs were written pre or post cocaine, they all seem to have disappointment, sadness, longing and anger at their centers. Even the "happiest" song on the album, "Ooh My Love", still is only remembering the good times:

"Yes, it was a strain on her
Watching her castles fall down...
Oh, but there was a time
When he called her 'angel'..."

That time was over, the castle walls had crumbled and fallen. The music is very pretty, but I don't hear joy when Stevie's voice cracks at the end when she proclaims:

"Ooh eh hey, baby
No one can take you away from me!
No... No one..."

Sounds like he was already gone.

"Alice" is so dark and deceptive. Again, I think it's about Stevie's anger and depression about how others treated her. The music floats on air, as do the Girls' backing vocals, but Stevie seems pretty centered, seeing things very clearly. The hidden stilettos waiting to stab you in the back are always present.

"Call out my name
But I get no answer...
And she prays..."

"For the world that we all come from...", she would add in concert. It seemed like that world of ease was gone for Stevie. With more success came more pressures.

Even the cast off "Real Tears" illuminates some of Stevie's feelings. In a 1994 radio interview, Stevie said that "Real Tears" was about how sometimes you cry crocodile tears and you don't really mean it. But sometimes, the tears are real. And they were real tears in that song.

But "Ghosts" said it probably the clearest, as Stevie was hitting 40 as she wrote it:

"To fill the empty spaces
She's feeling,
She depends on her music
Like a husband
And she knows it's no good
To fall in love again..."

Stevie giving up on love??? The ultimate romantic accepting defeat? I think the loss of Joe Walsh from her life is the underlying theme of The Other Side Of The Mirror. And, because Stevie and Joe were not that public in their romance (Stevie never acknowledged it until 1991 ~ in England!), those hidden things she could not say openly came out in the darker tensions on the album.

Let me say, I love all of Stevie's career, peaks and valleys. I think The Other Side Of The Mirror is a lot deeper than Stevie's given credit for.

[David]

Excellent post, Mike. It reminds me of reading your articles in the old Mirror, Mirror.

[tilthefirefades]

I've always found a good majority of Stevie's music to be very dark, but you hit the nail on the head with this post, very good!

[mikebise]

Thanks! David, I was actually remembering some issues of Rumours from 1989, and everyone was talking about "upbeat" and "Lifting spirits", and I was thinking, "Whuh???"

For me, The Other Side Of The Mirror was like sitting around with a box of wine, thinking about all of the opportunities you'd let slip by, and those you'd loved who left you. And you did what you had to to get through in life, to meet your obligations. I guess Stevie was right on the meaning then, meeting her many, many obligations.

But I still sense that resentment in her lyrics. "You watch after her, and your word is Law..." This echoes those lines from "Welcome To The Room... Sara" about Front Line Management. I think "Welcome To the Room... Sara" and "Ooh My Love" are two of Stevie's most deceptive songs, as the music for both seem to be bright and upbeat, but the lyrics have dark undertones.

"In the shadow of the castle walls
Wherever those walls were...
Well, you used to love
To be behind those walls with her..."

And then you left her.

Stevie also bugged me with her f-ing literal explanation of "Fire Burning" being "about my garage burning down!" In her interviews, she just left it at that, wondering, "What can I grab and take with me so it doesn't burn up?", letting a deeper meaning to the frothiest of her songs on the album go without exploration. Again, one of her most telling lyrics is buried in the song:

"So still, there is a fire
That no one sees...
She doesn't even see it either
Or so everyone thinks..."

There, Stevie is admitting she knows more, feels more than she is letting those close to her realize. Hiding her true feelings is a sign of anger again, that "fire burning" that is not a freaking garage.

People still talk of gossamer strands and crystalline walls, but The Other Side Of The Mirror is not about finally finding the rainbow's end, that fairy land of unicorns and Prince Charming. It's about the wreckage of Stevie's life, and her fear in how she was going to go forward.

I find it fascinating to this day.

[mikebise]

I was trying to think of some instances of Stevie smiling during The Other Side Of The Mirror period...

Well, there's the live version of "Rooms On Fire" in May 1989 on that Dutch (German?) TV show, with Stevie in that black dress and huge black hat, and that grin plastered on her face throughout the song. I swear, she's totally drunk!

Also, there's the May 1989 One To One interview with that English woman, where Stevie actually tries to be funny (another instance of her mimicking Christine!).

[starshine]

Yeah, it does sound like alot of your writings in the old Belle Fleur/MM fanzines days. I still have them all and still will go back and read them to this day. Its always good to read different peoples perspectives on Stevie's music solo or with Mac. I'll always love Mirror probably because its when I first started to really collect Stevie solo stuff (and Mac stuff too). So I know Mirror gets torn down alot like SA does. I do agree that Mirror does say alot even with all the beautiful music behind it. Sometimes you have to take away the 'music' aspect and just really read or listen to her words. Thats were the 'true' insight comes from I guess. I do love alot of Mirror sure yes in someways it could be better but really I guess we can all say that about every solo LP of Stevies (as well as Mac's or any artists). But there is something redeeming about all of them to a point. I mean they may not have been a big commerical success but that doesn't mean it doesn't have to be import to you as the listener. So Mirror will always hold that special place for me. I do see the anger and the hardbreak for Stevie. Like on Long Way To Go. I so love that song. You have no idea how many times when I've been hurt and angry I'd sing that song as loud as I could. Even if only for myself. I love 'Doing The Best That I Can' too that song was there when I myself went through alot . Like Stevie I was doing the best that I could at that point and time. Even if to others it didn't look like it. I also love Ghosts, Ooh My Love, ROF, others. I didn't get to see Stevie 'live' on this tour but it'll always be special to me even if others don't have the same love for it that I do but you know thats OK .Songs touch us for reasons maybe even reasons we don't see at the time. They just do so why question it?? Really.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by mikebise

I remember being surprised and a bit annoyed in 1989 by Stevie's comments in interviews about the meaning of The Other Side Of The Mirror, i.e., going back and forth from solo to Fleetwood Mac. I found that very superficial, and I didn't believe her for a second. Added with the reviews and fan gushings, all centering on castles and unicorns and fairy tales and stuff, I wondered if I was hearing the same album as everyone else!

I love The Other Side Of The Mirror! But from the moment I got the "Rooms On Fire" single with "Alice" on it, I found the songs full of darkness, anger and fear. And rightfully so, I thought.

"Welcome To The Room... Sara" prepped us a little with Stevie's anger at her management company, letting them know, "I will be different when I get back, and you can take all of the credit, baby!" Stevie didn't want to go to Betty Ford for her cocaine problem. She was leveraged into it, forced by those around her looking out for their own paychecks. And when she got back, "sober", was her life any better? Yeah, she was alive, but was her life any better, really

I think those were the questions Stevie was struggling with in those first years after rehab. The coke made song-writing easier, she's freely said, even to this day. But she lost a lot of confidence in herself after Betty Ford, as well as the weight comments during the Rock A Little tour. I believe this is why she so eagerly embraced the new, Buckingham-free Fleetwood Mac in 1987, even putting her planned 4th solo release (Stevie Nicks: Greatest Hits was due for Christmas 1987) on hold while she toured with Fleetwood Mac through mid-1988. So, even as she regained her confidence as a performer, Stevie still had issues stemming from her non-reliance on cocaine, her growing dependence on tranquilizers (which we didn't know about then) and especially still her 1984 breakup with the love of her life, Joe Walsh.

I listen to The Other Side Of The Mirror, and it reminds me of Stevie's comments about "Angel" in the Tusk documentary. She had planned "Angel" to be an upbeat song to counter her "dark" songs. "And it is up," she says, but there's this dark current running through it still. And that's how I perceive The Other Side Of The Mirror.

Stevie herself has said that "Doing The Best I Can" is her most depressing song, and it is! It's not hopeful in the least! "Well, I hear she's doing fine and she's doing the best that she can..." That sounds angry and pissed off to my ears, those "whispered secrets" going on and on. There's no, "Well, I'm happy now... la dee dah!" It's more, "Well, this is it for now...", resigned to the uncertainty and sadness in her life.

"Long Way To Go" is clear enough in its anger towards Joe. Whether the songs were written pre or post cocaine, they all seem to have disappointment, sadness, longing and anger at their centers. Even the "happiest" song on the album, "Ooh My Love", still is only remembering the good times:

"Yes, it was a strain on her
Watching her castles fall down...
Oh, but there was a time
When he called her 'angel'..."

That time was over, the castle walls had crumbled and fallen. The music is very pretty, but I don't hear joy when Stevie's voice cracks at the end when she proclaims:

"Ooh eh hey, baby
No one can take you away from me!
No... No one..."

Sounds like he was already gone.

"Alice" is so dark and deceptive. Again, I think it's about Stevie's anger and depression about how others treated her. The music floats on air, as do the Girls' backing vocals, but Stevie seems pretty centered, seeing things very clearly. The hidden stilettos waiting to stab you in the back are always present.

"Call out my name
But I get no answer...
And she prays..."

"For the world that we all come from...", she would add in concert. It seemed like that world of ease was gone for Stevie. With more success came more pressures.

Even the cast off "Real Tears" illuminates some of Stevie's feelings. In a 1994 radio interview, Stevie said that "Real Tears" was about how sometimes you cry crocodile tears and you don't really mean it. But sometimes, the tears are real. And they were real tears in that song.

But "Ghosts" said it probably the clearest, as Stevie was hitting 40 as she wrote it:

"To fill the empty spaces
She's feeling,
She depends on her music
Like a husband
And she knows it's no good
To fall in love again..."

Stevie giving up on love??? The ultimate romantic accepting defeat? I think the loss of Joe Walsh from her life is the underlying theme of The Other Side Of The Mirror. And, because Stevie and Joe were not that public in their romance (Stevie never acknowledged it until 1991 ~ in England!), those hidden things she could not say openly came out in the darker tensions on the album.

Let me say, I love all of Stevie's career, peaks and valleys. I think The Other Side Of The Mirror is a lot deeper than Stevie's given credit for.

Mike, these are all very good insights and I loved reading them.
I've long since had the conclusion that OSOTM is Stevie's saddest record in message , while wrapped up in a pretty red bow. It is a cautionary fairy-tale. Rock n' roll style. I remember reading a lot of UK critics reviews when it was released where they pretty much summed it up the same way. Up until this album, who knew Stevie was so self aware . It was quite something to see Stevie waking up and being blinded by the light of the day, after drifting so long in the seas of love and romantic possibility.

[Travis]

I always enjoy reading your posts Mike - I think I'm gonna break out Mirror today, now that I have this new insight

[HejiraNYC]

Excellent write-up, Mike! I happen to agree with pretty much everything in your post. However, I do want to elaborate on "Fire Burning," which has never been one of my favorite songs. I also remember the radio interviews at the time in which Stevie described the meaning behind the song- that it was about the things she would risk her life to save if her house was burning (I believe they were her tapes and a cashmere blanket ). For some reason I was really put off by that, thinking gosh, what a retarded premise for a song. But your write-up has kind of re-opened the case for me. Yes, her explanation at the time was quite literal... but I agree that there is something very dark and troubling about the song. I know I have a tendency to think most of her songs are about drugs... but this one is also about drugs! The burning fire was her out-of-control drug habit, which gave her that creative spark ("...her eyes grew strangely bright"), or so she thought. She realized that this lifestyle and her mental state was not sustainable, yet she felt like she had to find a way to carry on. So "what could she take and still survive the fire?" More drugs! The tricky part here is the so-called "window," which is an oft-used symbol for enlightenment or an opportunity for escape. It seems that her "window" here was the so-called moment of clarity- an opportunity to "get well" in rehab. But she was defiant: "...it's an illusion!" She was under the (perhaps delusional) notion that all was fine on Planet Stevie- that she was merely self-medicating to help deal with some temporary emotional problems- a soul crying.

So, against her will, she goes to rehab ("...take a little time and then stop"). But the whole time she thought it was bullsh*t ("...it's something that you cannot see..."). But she was determined to survive it despite the trauma of detox ("I'll get down, she says!).

In the final verse, she says "still, there is a fire which no one sees," in other words, despite getting off of cocaine, there is still a problem- and it's called Klonopin! So even though she is supposedly clean, she is still a raging drug addict. And, as we all know, she has always claimed that being addicted to Klonopin was much worse than being addicted to cocaine. So she is now bitter and angry that she was forced to trade down to a poison which was much less fun and much less inspiring creatively, yet just as deadly. The "there's no fire!" that she reiterates until the end of the song has taken on a new meaning. "There's no fire" originally meant there was no problem (with cocaine). Now it means that there is no more creativity due to the after-effects of rehab and Klonopin.

Even if all of the above is totally wrong, I doubt this song was written about cassettes and blankets.

[aprilsrain]

I remember not being impressed with the album musically so I didn't listen to it much. I'm gonna have to go back and rediscover this one. Great post Mike.

[Old Man Wise]

The cover art was also very intense. I would love to see outtakes from this photo session (with the red dress and black background) but I don't think they ever were released.

[mikebise]

Hej, EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!

That's what I meant about "Fire Burning" being so much deeper ~ thank you for such a wonderful write-up!!! I love that! I love everyone's observations.

Stevie was given a "legal" addiction, after she refused to the ridiculousness of her going to AA, since she was not an alcoholic. "Cross addiction" blah, blah, blah. They forced the rehab on her, she did it, so then they tried to force the AA on her, which she flat out refused. So, they did the next best thing and tranquilized her.

And her anger grew. It's SO apparent in these songs, IMO.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Stevie described the meaning behind the song- that it was about the things she would risk her life to save if her house was burning (I believe they were her tapes and a cashmere blanket ).

Didn't she say she would save her cat(s) too?

I never thought there was anything upbeat about this album, either on the surface or at a deeper level. On the surface you have the Alice in Wonderland reference, which is itself not only dark, but drug related. For me that is all about manipulation, distortion, delusion and denial. Sanity is at test for Alice and the people around her all seem to be trying to rob her of it, a mass gaslighting that would have made Charles Boyer mavel.

All of the album's songs are in keeping with that theme and I don't even see Rooms on Fire as uplifting, just because there is magic all around, because it seems fleeting. Magic ends. Maybe I'm influenced by the video, but the part of that song that stays with me is the long nets of white clouding memory, not the magic. For me, the magic only comes into play to compound the sense of loss, because I think of having felt it, only to have it taken away. It's more about hating to be separated than of feeling the exhilaration of fire.

The only song to me that could even be seen as remotely cheery is Two Kinds of Love.

Michele

[mikebise]

Here's what my friend John had to say in a message to me on this subject (Don't be mad at me sharing, John, it's an illuminating observation!) ~

[About my comments about "Welcome To The Room... Sara"]

"That's a fascinating take on that interesting and transitional song from Stevie. The end of one part of her career and the beginning of another, sadder one (stylistically, physically, emotionally).

She was different when she got back.

I've always felt the darkness of TOSOTM, even under the frothiness of it's production. Even the album art is very dark; it's almost nightmarish, really. The never-ending darkness all around her except for the one harshly illuminated spot on the checkered floor where Stevie is on her hands and knees. Rumours, Bella Donna, The Wild Heart and Rock a Little all featured proudly standing Stevies. Even the sitting Stevie on The Wild Heart isn't in the same helpless, passive position as the rouged Stevie on TOSOTM. She's the introspective one of a ghostly trio, but not defeated even at the hands of death itself (Robin)."

I got chills reading how John described the album cover. He's so spot on right!

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Didn't she say she would save her cat(s) too?

I recall her saying her "jew-ler-eey" (I always hated the way she said jewelry)