The Wild Heart

Stevie Nicks

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002JK0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,856 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart (1983), June 26, 2006

By	The Pete (Illinois) - See all my reviews

Coming off the massive success of Bella Donna, which easily overshadowed Mirage, Fleetwood Mac's well-crafted but tepid 1982 release, Nicks side-stepped the sophomore slump by topping herself with The Wild Heart. Although "Stand Back" was a smash that has become her most popular song, The Wild Heart is not obviously as commercial as Bella Donna. The Wild Heart is more of an artist's album, and Nicks' spreads her wings to command and fill the entire effort with admirable authority.

For a Nicks' fan, The Wild Heart is nirvana: longer songs with more passionate, imagistic lyrics than ever. The title track and the album closer are epics - each over six minutes long - that work the opposite ends of Nicks' spectrum. "Wild Heart" is a thunderous, passionate anthem with her most thrilling vocal work ever, and "Beauty and the Beast" is symphonic gothica for which the term `ballad' is just inadequate. In between, Nicks indulges her mixture of rock and fairydust with alluring results. "Enchanted" and "Nightbird" are pure Nicks and would never have seen the light of day in the more structured programme of Fleetwood Mac.

The Wild Heart also finds Nicks updating her sound into the 80s with striking ease, especially when you consider how most 70s acts that tried to do this either completely sold out or made fools of themselves. She stretches herself well beyond the Fleetwood Mac sound (the torrid "Nothing Ever Changes") and kicks out a trendy hit (the synth-pop confection "If Anyone Falls"). Tellingly, the one weak spot is the out of place Tom Petty duet ("I Will Run to You"). Another Nicks cut, such as "Sleeping Angel" or "Blue Lamp" (both of which ended up buried on soundtrack albums) would worked much better.

If you are a hard core Stevie Nicks fan, The Wild Heart is superior to Bella Donna. For the casual listener, it would be a toss up between two classic albums. However, Nicks' vocal performances, expansive writing, and the way she sells these songs makes The Wild Heart the more personal, adventurous, and therefore better effort. Maintaining careers in Fleetwood Mac and on her own, however, was bound to keep her from burning white hot for long. Her next solo album, Rock a Little, would show the strain.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From The Heart, May 21, 2001

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

On her first solo album, Bella Donna, Stevie Nicks showed that she could carry the show by herself. On The Wild Heart, she continues her winning ways with an album full of her trademark romantic mysticism. Bella Donna had an underlying country feel, but on The Wild Heart she employs a heavy synthesizer sound. In fact the big hit from the album, "Stand Back", was inspired by Prince. The song has a rolling synth sound and one of the strongest vocals of her career. She does another duet with Tom Petty on "I Will Run To You". The song isn't as good as their first effort, "Stop Dragging My Heart Around", but that song is an all time classic. "If Anyone Falls" is a brilliant track and the best song from the album. There are the requisite mystical work including "Nightbird", "Sable On Blond", "Gate & Garden" and the heavily orchestrated "Beauty & The Beast". The Wild Heart shows that Bella Donna was no fluke.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Possibly better than Bella Donna, February 20, 2003

By	"throwndown" (WA USA) - See all my reviews

I would really give this album 4 1/2 stars...

The Wild Heart was Stevie Nicks' follow up to her platinum selling debut, Bella Donna, and proved that this woman did not need Fleetwood Mac to be successful. Many have said that Bella Donna was Stevie's greatest work, but after listening to this album, I'm not so sure. While Bella Donna was moody and dramatic, The Wild Heart has more rockin' songs and also some of Stevie's best vocals ever. Another point that many have brought up is that Wild Heart is a Bella Donna part 2. I have to disagree with these people. When you listen to the two albums back to back, they are evidently different. On Wild Heart, Stevie began to experiment with synthesizers, which were not in Bella Donna at all. She moved away from the country-ish sound she had on her debut album, to a more pop and rock orientated album.

1. Wild Heart: Stevie's title tracks are known for being epic rockers, and this song is no exception. Stevie even wails a bit at the end, one of my favorite parts of this song. 4/5

2. If Anyone Falls: One of the singles of the album, it made #16 on the pop-charts. It has a nice danceable beat to it, and the harmonies on the chorus are beautiful. 4/5

3. Gate and Garden: This is one of Stevie's songs that has taken a lot of flak over the years because of it's vague lyrics. However, the music and the vocals on this track make it work. 4/5

4. Enchanted: One of my favorite Stevie solo songs. A very nice country/rock feel and the piano is just great. You also get a taste of how powerful Stevie's voice was at this time. 5/5

5. Nightbird: A song written about Stevie's friend Robyn Anderson who had died soon after Stevie had released Bella Donna. This track has some great, dark music to it and I love the line, "I wear boots all summer long." 5/5

6. Standback: The big hit of the album, reaching the #6 spot on the charts. This is definitely one of the highlights of the disc. It surges along on a synthesizer hook and Stevie really rocks this one. 5/5

7. I Will Run To You: The duet with Tom Petty on the album. This is actually a very good song and I prefer it to Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (from Bella Donna). 4/5

8. Nothing Ever Changes: The real rocker on this album. It just has so much energy and Stevie's voice is killer. She sounds so angry and powerful. Also, it has some nice sax and piano work. 5/5

9. Sable on Blonde: This song is just amazing. "To be brave save the stranger...Sable on Blonde." Wow I just love this song, the production is great and the vocals are sublime. 5/5

10. Beauty and the Beast: One of the most moving and beautiful songs Stevie has ever written. Stevie recorded this live with an orchestra, and the result is a haunting, dark ballad. Stevie's voice really shines on this one. And it just might be my favorite on the album. 5/5

There you have it. All in all, I still can't decide which is better, Wild Heart or Bella Donna. Check them out and see for yourself.