The Wild Heart (album)

Last updated
The Wild Heart
Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 10, 1983
RecordedAutumn 1982 – Spring 1983
Studio
  • Goodnight Dallas, Dallas
  • Record Plant, Los Angeles
  • Record Plant, New York City
  • Studio 55, Los Angeles
  • A&M, Hollywood
  • Hit Factory, New York City
Genre
Length45:11
Label Modern
Producer
Stevie Nicks chronology
Bella Donna
(1981)
The Wild Heart
(1983)
Rock a Little
(1985)
Singles from The Wild Heart
  1. "Stand Back"
    Released: May 19, 1983 [2]
  2. "If Anyone Falls"
    Released: September 3, 1983 [3]
  3. "Nightbird"
    Released: November 30, 1983 [4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

The Wild Heart is the second solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Recording began in late 1982, shortly after the end of Fleetwood Mac's Mirage Tour. After the death of her best friend, Robin Anderson, and with new appreciation for her life and career, Nicks recorded the album in only a few months and was released on June 10, 1983, a year after Fleetwood Mac's Mirage album. It peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 (for seven consecutive weeks) and achieved platinum status on September 12, 1983. The album has shipped 2 million copies in the US alone.

Contents

The album is notable for its array of prominent guest musicians. Tom Petty made a return to write "I Will Run to You", on which his bandmates from The Heartbreakers performed. Nicks' Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Mick Fleetwood, made an appearance on the track "Sable on Blonde". Toto's Steve Lukather contributed some of the guitar work on what would become the album's biggest hit single, "Stand Back", which also features an uncredited contribution from Prince, who played the synthesizer track. Nicks also worked with friend Sandy Stewart, who wrote the music for three tracks on the album and performed on several (Stewart would go on to write the 1987 Fleetwood Mac hit "Seven Wonders"). The album's final track, "Beauty and the Beast", features a full string section performing a score arranged and conducted by Paul Buckmaster. Nicks had recorded various other tracks prior to the album's release, including "Violet and Blue" which was featured on the movie soundtrack for Against All Odds, and later on Nicks' 3-disc retrospective box set Enchanted in 1998.

The Wild Heart was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1993, ten years after its release, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States. [6] It spent a whole year on the Billboard 200 from June 1983 to June 1984. It has also been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments in excess of 60,000 in the United Kingdom. [7] Three singles were released from the album: "Stand Back", which charted at number five; "If Anyone Falls", which charted at number 14; and "Nightbird", which charted at number 33. "Stand Back" and "If Anyone Falls" featured accompanying music videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV. "Nightbird", a track that Nicks has said was her favorite on the album, was performed live on Solid Gold and Saturday Night Live .

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wild Heart"Stevie Nicks6:08
2."If Anyone Falls"Nicks, Sandy Stewart 4:07
3."Gate and Garden"Nicks4:05
4."Enchanted"Nicks3:06
5."Nightbird" (with Sandy Stewart)Nicks, Stewart4:59
6."Stand Back"Nicks4:48
7."I Will Run to You" (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) Tom Petty 3:21
8."Nothing Ever Changes"Nicks, Stewart4:09
9."Sable on Blond"Nicks4:13
10."Beauty and the Beast"Nicks6:02

The Wild Heart: Deluxe Edition (Rhino, 2016)

CD Two - Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Violet and Blue (From Against All Odds Soundtrack )"5:03
2."I Sing for the Things (Unreleased Version)"4:40
3."Sable on Blond (Alternate Version)"7:36
4."All the Beautiful Worlds (Unreleased Version)"5:40
5."Sorcerer (Unreleased Version)"5:35
6."Dial the Number (Unreleased Version)"4:29
7."Garbo (B-Side)"3:31
8."Are You Mine (Demo)"3:10
9."Wild Heart (Session)"6:36

Personnel

String section on "Beauty and the Beast"

Production

Studios

Tour

Nicks went on a national tour in support of The Wild Heart. After headlining the massive US Festival on May 30, 1983, in San Bernardino, California, the tour officially started in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 21, 1983, and ended in Ames, Iowa, on November 20, 1983.

Setlist

Encore
Notes

Dates

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Wild Heart
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [23] Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [7] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [6] 2× Platinum2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  5. AllMusic review
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Bibliography