Bella Donna (CD - 1981)

Personnel includes: Stevie Nicks (vocals); Tom Petty (guitar, background vocals); Waddy Watchel, Michael Campbell, Don Felder (guitar), Davey Johnson (acoustic guitar); Dan Dugmore (pedal steel guitar); Bill Elliott, Roy Bittan, Bill Payne (piano); Benmont Tench (organ, piano); David Adelstein (synthesizer); Tom Moncrieff, Duck Dunn, Bob Glaub (bass); Stan Lynch, Russ Kunkel (drums); Bobbye Hall, Phil Jones (percussion); Sharon Celani, Lori Perry (background vocals).

Engineers include: Shelly Yakus, Don Smith, Thom Panunzio.

Personnel: Stevie Nicks (vocals); Tom Petty (vocals, guitar); Don Henley (vocals, drums); Sharon Celani, Lori Perry (vocals); Davey Johnstone, Don Felder, Richard Wachtel, Mike Campbell , Waddy Wachtel (guitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar); Benmont Tench (piano, organ, keyboards); Roy Bittan, Bill Elliott, Bill Payne (piano); David Adelstein (synthesizer); Russ Kunkel, Stan Lynch (drums); Phil Jones, Bobbye Hall (percussion).

Recording information: Goodnight L.A; Record One; Studio 55.

Stevie Nicks' solo career was off to an impressive, if overdue, start with Bella Donna, which left no doubt that she could function quite well without the input of her colleagues in Fleetwood Mac (a band she would remain a member of until 1993). The album yielded a number of hits that seemed omnipresent in the '80s, including the moving "Leather and Lace" (which unites Nicks with Don Henley), the poetic "Edge of Seventeen," and her rootsy duet with Tom Petty, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." But equally engaging are less exposed tracks like the haunting "After the Glitter Fades." Hit producer Jimmy Iovine wisely avoids over-producing, and keeps things sounding organic on this striking debut. ~ Alex Henderson

Following up strong on the weak sales and confused reviews of Fleetwood Mac's misunderstood experimental extravaganza, TUSK, was Stevie Nicks's first solo album, BELLA DONNA. The 1981 record featured two smash singles, "Edge of Seventeen" and the Tom Petty duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," that reaffirmed that the Arizona native was one of the biggest female stars of the era. The surprising thing, given Nicks's fairly limited songwriting role in Fleetwood Mac, is that the entire album is start-to-finish solid, particularly the spectral ballad "After the Glitter Fades" and the striking title track. Recorded with the help of Petty's Heartbreakers and members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, and produced by Jimmy Iovine, BELLA DONNA has a more rock-oriented sound than Fleetwood Mac's wispy California soft pop, and Nicks sings in a tougher, less self-conscious voice, adding unexpected heft to her diaphanous image. minimize