Background
Shortly after the muted reception to her previous album, Street Angel , and a crushing bout of writer's block caused by Klonopin dependency between 1987 and 1994, Nicks asked close friend Tom Petty to help her write and record a new album. Petty advised her that she did not need any help and to have more faith in her own abilities, which Nicks recounts in the track "That Made Me Stronger". [6] Nicks then proceeded to write the title track to the album and the closing song "Love Is", but while crafting a track for the 1996 movie Twister, titled "Twisted", she was reunited with former lover and Fleetwood Mac frontman, Lindsey Buckingham, which formed part of a chain of events that led to the full reunion of the Rumours line-up of the band in 1997. [7]
One of the tracks on the album, "Fall from Grace", [8] recounts the ever-troubled relationship between Fleetwood Mac members as experienced during that 1997 reunion, which nonetheless culminated in the multi-platinum selling live album The Dance . This somewhat turbulent experience was a 9-month interruption to the recording of Shangri-La but it inspired Nicks to pen this track, and another, "Thrown Down", which, although recorded for her solo album, ultimately surfaced in a newer version on the 2003 Fleetwood Mac release Say You Will . [9]
Following promotion for her 1998 3-disc retrospective Enchanted and an accompanying tour (both at the insistence of her former label Atlantic, who wanted to capitalise on the 1997 reunion of Fleetwood Mac, and complete Nicks' six-album deal), Nicks finally continued to record her material for Shangri-La, enlisting the help of Sheryl Crow, who had been a fan of Nicks for some years. The pair worked on a couple of tracks that would end up on the soundtrack to the movie Practical Magic (see below), but Crow also contributed the song "It's Only Love", and performed on and co-produced several other tracks. The two became good friends and Nicks, in return, performed on Crow's 2002 album C'mon C'mon , including writing and providing lyrics for the b-side song "You're Not the One". The pair have also performed on stage together numerous times since the 1990s. [10]
When Crow's own career commitments in 1999 prevented her from completing work on the album, Nicks initially produced one track, "Bombay Sapphires", alone. At the suggestion of their mutual management company, Macy Gray performed backing vocals. Nicks then enlisted the help of John Shanks for co-production duties on the remaining tracks to be recorded. [11] He had previously sent her a demo of a track he had co-written with Damon Johnson, "Every Day", which she liked, and it was the first track the pair then recorded at Shanks' home. The track would also be released to radio as a single. Johnson recorded his own version of the song for his album Release in 2010. Shanks is also notable for helping Nicks to finally record a completed studio version of her 1976 composition "Planets of the Universe" after several failed attempts over the years with other producers. It was the last track to be completed for the album in late 2000, and it went all the way to #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. [8]
The dragon that is used for the "S" in Nicks' name on the album cover (and also appears elsewhere on the disc art) was drawn by Sarah McLachlan, who also provides keyboards and background vocals on the album's closing track, "Love Is". [8]
Songs
Though most of the songs on this album were relatively recent compositions, written between the years 1995 and 2000, there are three songs that date back to the 1970s:
- "Candlebright" dates backs to the "Buckingham-Nicks" sessions (previously titled "Nomad"). The song was recorded by Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in demo form, and was almost used on Fleetwood Mac's 1975 eponymous album, however "Rhiannon" ultimately made the album instead. [8]
- "Sorcerer" also dates back to the "Buckingham-Nicks" era and was recorded as a demo, as well as being performed on the subsequent tour. It was also considered for some Fleetwood Mac projects, in particular 1979's Tusk , before ending up on Trouble in Shangri-La. The track had also previously been recorded by Marilyn Martin (with backing vocals by Nicks) in 1984 for the film soundtrack Streets of Fire . In 2016 a previously unreleased full production recording of the song was released on the expanded reissue of Nicks' album The Wild Heart, recorded during the sessions for that album but ultimately shelved.
- " Planets of the Universe " was written during the Rumours period while Nicks and Buckingham were separating, which was Nicks' inspiration for the song. A rough demo (performed by Fleetwood Mac) ended up on the remastered and expanded release of Rumours in 2004. Nicks chose to include only an edited version of the song on Trouble in Shangri-La, omitting a verse which she ultimately felt was 'too spiteful' towards Buckingham. The full-length 2001 version of this song, with the extra verse (as originally demo-ed on the expanded release of Rumours), did appear on a 6 track single release in late 2001. [8]
Two tracks from the Shangri-La sessions were given to film soundtracks. "If You Ever Did Believe", which Nicks recorded with Sheryl Crow, became the theme song to the 1998 Warner Bros. film Practical Magic. The track's origins actually lie in the coda of a 1976 demo of "Gold Dust Woman", one of Nicks' signature tracks from the Fleetwood Mac album Rumours . [12] The song was released as a promotional 7-inch vinyl single to radio stations in the US, and a video featuring Crow and Nicks was made for VH-1 promotion. To date, CD availability of the track is restricted to very-hard-to-find promotional CD singles issued to US radio stations, or the Practical Magic soundtrack album, which also features a newly recorded version of Nicks' 1973 composition "Crystal", originally recorded for the Buckingham Nicks and 1975 Fleetwood Mac album releases with Lindsey Buckingham on lead vocals. The version for Practical Magic features Nicks on lead vocals, with Crow on backing vocals.
Before Nicks herself released "If You Ever Did Believe", the song was given to singer-songwriter Louise Goffin. It appears on Goffin's self-titled second album from 1981. [8] Nicks sings background vocals on the track and is credited as such on the inner sleeve. [13]
Another track, "Touched by an Angel", was given to the 2001 remake of Sweet November , starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. Again, availability of the track is restricted to the movie soundtrack CD. [8]
Stephanie Lynn Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
Rumours is the eleventh studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977, by Warner Bros. Records. Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The recording sessions took place as the band members dealt with breakups and struggled with heavy drug usage, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.
Say You Will is the seventeenth and final studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 April 2003. It followed 1995's Time and was their first album since 1970 without vocalist/keyboardist Christine McVie as a full member following her departure in 1998, although she participated in some songs as a guest musician; it would be her last time being involved with the band in a studio capacity before her death in 2022. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks shared keyboard duties throughout the album.
The Dance is a live album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 August 1997. It hailed the return of the band's most successful lineup of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks, who had not released an album together since 1987's Tango in the Night, a decade earlier. It was the first Fleetwood Mac release to top the U.S. album charts since 1982's Mirage.
"Gold Dust Woman" is a song from British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac's 11th studio album, Rumours (1977). The song was written and sung by Stevie Nicks and released as a B-side to the "Don't Stop" single and the "You Make Loving Fun" single. The song's title, "Gold Dust Woman", comes from Gold Dust Lane, a street in Wickenburg, Arizona where Nicks spent time as a child.
"Go Your Own Way" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 in the United States. Written and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, it became the band's first top-ten hit in the United States. "Go Your Own Way" has been well received by music critics and was ranked number 120 by Rolling Stone magazine on their list of 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010, and re-ranked number 401 in 2021. They also ranked the song second on their list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.
"Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album Rumours.
"You Make Loving Fun" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by Christine McVie. It was released as the fourth and final single from the band's 1977 album Rumours. "You Make Loving Fun" peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the album's fourth top-ten hit.
Enchanted is a three-disc box set of material by American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks, which encompasses her solo career from Bella Donna (1981) to Street Angel (1994) and beyond.
Live is a double live album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on 5 December 1980. It was the first live album from the then-current line-up of the band, and the next would be The Dance from 1997. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1981. A deluxe edition of the album was released on 9 April 2021.
25 Years – The Chain is a box set by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac originally released on 24 November 1992. The set contains four CDs, covering the history of the band from its formation in 1967 to 1992. The set features four new tracks as well as several previously unreleased studio and live tracks from the archives, while some of the classic tracks were included in different and new mixes. The four new songs were "Paper Doll", which was recorded earlier than the others as it was written by and recorded with Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito, both of whom had left the band in 1991, "Love Shines" and "Heart of Stone", both Christine McVie songs, and "Make Me A Mask", contributed by then-former member Lindsey Buckingham. "Love Shines" was released as a single to promote the box set in the UK, whereas "Paper Doll" was the single in the US.
"Planets of the Universe" is a song by American singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. The song was first recorded as a demo during the recording sessions for the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album, Rumours, and this demo was included on the 2-disc Rumours expanded re-release in 2004. The song earned Nicks a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
"Sisters of the Moon" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was written and sung by band-member Stevie Nicks and was released in the US as the fourth single from the 1979 album Tusk. The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it was not released in the UK. The single version of "Sisters of the Moon" is included on the compilation The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac and both the 2004 and 2015 remasters of 'Tusk'.
"Silver Springs" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by British-American band Fleetwood Mac. It was originally intended for the band's 1977 album Rumours, but became a B-side to the single "Go Your Own Way". A live version was released as a single from the 1997 album The Dance; this version of the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1998.
In Your Dreams is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks, released on May 3, 2011 by Reprise Records. It is her first solo studio album since Trouble in Shangri-La (2001) and also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the release of her debut solo album Bella Donna.
"Think About Me" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in the US in March 1980. The song was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. "Think About Me" was slightly remixed for single release.
The Unleashed Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Fleetwood Mac. The tour ran from March 1, to December 20, 2009 in the United States, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and was the band's first tour in five years, the group featured tracks within the setlist that spanned "all the Mac's many greatest hits" and pulled two rarely played live tracks "Storms" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong" that were taken from the Tusk album. They also resurrected the Peter Green track 'Oh Well' for the first time live since 1995. The tour ranked number 13 in the Worldwide Concert Tours data that is maintained by Pollstar and grossed a total of $84.9 million with a total attendance of 832,597.
"Skies the Limit" is a song by British-American band Fleetwood Mac from their album Behind the Mask. In the US, the song was released as the album's second single in July 1990. Four months later, the song was issued as the album's third single in the UK. While the single did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, it did reach number 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The moderate success of "Skies the Limit" and "Save Me" helped to push their parent album into the US and Canadian top 20, albeit only briefly.
"Say You Will" is a song from British-American band Fleetwood Mac's 17th studio album, Say You Will (2003). The song reached number seven on the US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and was performed live on Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will Tour. The song features vocals from American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, bass guitarist John McVie's daughter Molly McVie, singer Stevie Nicks' niece Jessica Nicks and Jessica's best friend Maddy Felsch.
"Sorcerer" is a 1984 song written by American singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. It was written in 1972 during her time with Buckingham Nicks. The song was produced by Jimmy Iovine and given to Marilyn Martin for her contribution to the 1984 soundtrack album Streets of Fire.
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