Five fantastically overrated albums from the 1980s

Stevie Nicks - Other Side Of The Mirror

Stevie Nicks’ work with Fleetwood Mac is almost enough in itself to provide a hugely significant track record. Her solo work was amazingly well received too. Rolling Stone christened Nicks as The Reigning Queen Of Rock And Roll after her first solo album. They also placed her in the top 100 of both their lists of the greatest singers and greatest songwriters of all time. High expectations come from that though.

Other Side Of The Mirror, her fourth studio album, was released in May 1989. It’s perhaps where those expectations and standards slipped a little. Maybe she took on too much with her aim of basing the album loosely around a theme of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the Lewis Carroll book. The album isn’t quite an ‘off with her head’ moment, but it’s not as good as her previous work and the platinum sales and number ten on the US charts and the gold/number three in the UK seem somewhat over the top.

The album has the opener, “Rooms On Fire,” as a top song and first single. It’s straight into a Fleetwood Mac-like rhythm.  Nicks’ very recognisable voice stands out, with a great chorus line too. Off to a good start. 

A duet with Bruce Hornsby on “Two Kinds Of Love” falls a bit flat though. The two voices don’t seem to pair up well for the song and jar rather than compliment each other. On “Oh My Love” her voice seems to be at times under rather than over the electronic beat and keyboards. And talking of an odd backing, the keyboards on the closing track “I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes) do seem to plod throughout, while the occasional whistling inserts feel very dated. 

Maybe the album is another example of time has moved on, it does have a very eighties feel and sound which hasn’t carried well. It was Nicks’ last top-ten album album hit for over 10 years. “Rooms On Fire” reached number 16 in the charts, she had no further single success in the top 50. Looks like the writing was on the wall with this one, despite its hefty sales and awards.