The Other Side Of The Mirror is an album I bought to check a box. The previous three Stevie Nicks albums all made their way to my collection for a specific song, or multiple hits. Whereas with her final release of the decade, I'd heard nothing from it. Instead, I picked it up because there was only one left to have her entire 80's run.
After the release of Fleetwood Mac's Tango In The Night in 1987, Lindsey Buckingham official said goodbye at the beginning of their tour, and was replaced by Rick Vito and Billy Burnette. Though Mac seemed to be unhindered by the loss, the tour would need to be put on a short hiatus when Nicks developed myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, resuming, and finishing up in 1988.
Fleetwood Mac would then once again go on hiatus, and Nicks would continue efforts on her solo career, carving out what would become The Other Side Of The Mirror. Aided by the international success of Mac's Tango In The Night, Nicks would see a boost in sales, making Mirror her most successful release in the UK. The single Rooms On Fire would chart in both the UK and USA.
I was admittedly curious to see what could be found in the unknown of the album, and really surprised with how good the first three tracks, Rooms On Fire, Long Way To Go, and Two Kinds Of Love were.
From there, things stayed relatively enjoyable, but shifted out of the territory of shuffle worthy to just okay, and then skippable. Overall, it just felt like a generic rock album, with nothing to really offer long term. It's a common flaw with albums from 1988 to 1989, especially from legacy artists.
Stevie would return to Fleetwood Mac for 1990's Behind The Mask, but upon its completion leave because of a dispute with Mick Fleetwood over her decade (plus) old hit, Landslide. Nicks wanted to use it on her forthcoming solo greatest hits album, but Fleetwood wouldn't allow it, instead wanting to have it on Mac's upcoming compilation.
While I wish I could say that she simply continued her solo career, and all was well, that would be a lie. Because of her chronic exhaustion, which led to the brief pause in the Tango In The Night tour, Nicks had gotten addicted to klonopin. After a serious fall in 1993 from the side effects of the drug, she went on a strenuous detox program.
That same year, Fleetwood Mac would also reunite. However, while praising the music, the public also shifted their attention to her severe weight gain, brought on by the drug. She vowed to never set foot on another stage until she lost the weight, which she did.
Nicks would stick with Fleetwood Mac until the untimely death of Christine McVie, and in between that continued her solo career, releasing four additional albums through 2014.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS December 10, 1983 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS December 10, 1988 |
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