Street Angel

Street Angel might be Stevie Nicks’ most personal album. It was recorded in the lead-up to her departure from Fleetwood Mac, during which time she was admitted to rehab for an addiction to prescription medication. She was not present for the final mixing and mastering of the album, leading her to later disown parts of the record. (Later, Nicks remixed three songs for inclusion on her 1998 retrospective Enchanted.) Despite its painful birthing process, Street Angel has a lot to say about Stevie’s life. “Well you're not like anyone else, you’re not like anyone,” she sings in “Listen to the Rain.” “You're just an instant flash of light that shines.” Many of the songs are similarly autobiographical, offering portraits of lost love, regret and perseverance. The David Crosby duet “Street Angel” contains the requisite collaboration with a strong male figure, a hallmark of Nicks’ solo albums. There are moments where she appears aimless or depleted, but the songs are truthful to this period in Nicks’ life. The skewed production sometimes gets in the way, but the album also offers the beautifully pared-down acoustic performances of “Destiny” and “Rose Garden.”