25 Albums Every Gay Guy Should Hear

From: Next Magazine

Stevie Nicks

The Wild Heart

Up to this point in her career, both with Fleetwood Mac and on her first solo album, Stevie Nicks had styled herself as the ultimate late-’70s witchy-hippie rock ’n’ roll lady. But with 1983’s The Wild Heart, she reinvented herself as a dance-floor deity. I can’t imagine the gay boy who has never twirled to a remix of “Stand Back,” and those synths on “If Anyone Falls” are pure magic. But the thing about this album is that, unlike some of her chillier subsequent efforts, the old Stevie is still there on bluesy tracks like “Enchanted” and “Nothing Ever Changes,” and unapologetic romantic songs like “Beauty and the Beast” and the title track. The ’80s were ultimately unkind to Nicks—were they kind to anyone?—but at least they got off to a truly excellent start. —John Russell

The Wild Heart is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist 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, the recording took only a few months and the album was released in June 1983, preceded by the single "Stand Back", to much critical acclaim. The album was released on June 10, 1983, a year after Fleetwood Mac's Mirage. It peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts (for seven consecutive weeks) and achieved platinum status on September 12, 1983.

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 band mates from the Heartbreakers performed. Nicks' Fleetwood Mac band mate, drummer Mick Fleetwood, made an appearance on the track "Sable on Blond". 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.

The Wild Heart achieved double-platinum status in 1993, ten years after its release, for shipping 2 million copies in the U.S. It spent a whole year on the Billboard 200 from June 1983 to June 1984. It was also certified Silver in the UK for sales in excess of 60,000. 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 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.