(Heavy Metal Soundtrack, 1981)
Recorded during the Bella Donna sessions, this song would have to wait just a little longer to be released. A standout from the animated film Heavy Metal, Stevie sings of a gift from her mother, complete with ethereal lyrics, “Don’t listen to her; listen through her.”
This gift has always been a source of inspiration as it shines during the night for her. Stevie enjoys sharing personal feelings and experiences with her listeners, and the Lamp’s source of stability fits right in with her songs as a solo artist. Although it did not make it to her debut album, it marks a strong beginning for her and her career outside Fleetwood Mac.
“Garbo”
(B-side to “Stand Back." 1983)
The flip side to Stevie’s rock anthem “Stand Back” is her tender ballad, which actually has less to do with the star in the song’s title and more to do with Stevie herself. Her beautiful, lush lyrics are what attract her fans in the first place – “I love to waltz with a man in a dark linen suit/All alone at a party with someone I knew/From a time gone by turned into stone.”
Written about the infamous photo shoot for the 1973 LP Buckingham Nicks, she recalls her conflicting emotions at the beginning of her musical career and how she will be asked to do things she won’t want to do while on the road to stardom. In this case, she was asked to pose topless for the album’s cover.
Considering her choices, Stevie “…could be Garbo or even Marlene,” or she could walk away.
We all know her decision and how she would in time tell the boys in the club how it will be.
“Violet and Blue”
(Against All Odds Soundtrack, 1984)
Overlooked by the movie’s title track sung by Phil Collins, this track was to appear on Stevie’s sophomore album The Wild Heart.
Complete with its kick-butt percussion, her vocal passion is evident as she sings of overwhelming warnings and Violet and Blue mornings to be taken “with you.”
Does she sing of a certain guitarist or someone else?
“Well, it’s hard to hide from eyes that are all over you,” she sings.
“Inspiration”
(B-side to “Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind,” 1994)
Stevie says, “Sometimes to talk to you is all I need/To make me feel at home again.” While she does not reveal the source of her inspiration, it could be argued she sings of Tom Petty.
She has made is clear that the two of them would inspire each other throughout the years both professionally and personally, making this song all the more poignant. “But it’s all worthwhile when I see that smile/I feel like I’m up a mile high.”
“Mirror, Mirror”
(B-side to “Blue Denim,” 1994)
One of the best songs to promote Stevie’s Street Angel album was actually recorded in 1984. Reminiscent of the tense musical energy that makes “Edge of Seventeen” so engaging, “Mirror, Mirror” literally reflects on her love life and how it comes to an end, and “brilliant is your danger.”
Again, the love interest in question tells her she “walks a thin line” as she sings of misunderstandings and memories fading “like the wind” Her vocals are as strong and direct as her message.
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