From folk dreamer to rock ‘n’ roll virtuoso: The vocal evolution of Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks loved music for as long as she can remember, infusing the love of fairytales her mother had exposed her to with the beauty of musical tapestries. Focusing on the power of harmony in her first band, The Changing Times, Nicks learned the poignancy of the voice and its ability to tell mystical stories. As time went on, however, she became at one with her passion, her voice evolving into one of her most defining features.
Although Nicks’ musical career took off after she joined Fleetwood Mac with her “darling” Lindsey Buckingham, the pair tried their hand at tasting the big time as a duo, making music that they felt best reflected the times. After catching Buckingham performing a cover of ‘California Dreamin’, she joined in with a harmony that created a magical pairing neither of them wanted to shy away from.
During this time, Nicks’ voice obtained an ethereal quality, with a unique vibrato that almost instantly set her apart from her peers. Throughout Buckingham Nicks, Nicks’ vocals shine like a diamond in the rough, her voice strong enough to strike a chord with anyone lucky enough to listen, but with an element of youthful innocence that reflected exactly who she was at the time.
While many of the songs adopted the pair’s signature folk-rock edge, Nicks’ voice appeared diligent in her delivery, bending around each note like it was exactly what she was made for. However, there are a handful of restrictive subtleties to her voice that seem both characteristic of the times and indicative of Nicks’ amateurish approach. In short, she had the voice but had yet to learn how to apply it more professionally.
Most singers experience a significant vocal evolution, and that’s precisely what you witness when listening closely to the ways Nicks’ voice adapted and changed over the years. Buckingham Nicks is a perfect example of Nicks’ foray into the industry as a necessary anchor to Buckingham’s sultry vocals, but, at this moment in time, the weight and raspiness of her voice in the latter years was a long, long way off.
After the release of Buckingham Nicks, the pair were dropped from their label after it failed to perform commercially. As a result, Nicks worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, while Buckingham landed a job as a guitarist on The Everly Brothers’ tour. Staying behind to support them both, Nicks wrote ‘Rhiannon’ after discovering Mary Leader’s novel Triad. She also wrote ‘Landslide’ to channel her emotions about her failing music career.
Although the two songs would later appear on Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album, they represented two quintessential Nicks traits: her love for fairytales and her ability to transform personal experiences into poetic musings. There are two major versions of this song: the one that appeared on the live cuts album Alabama 1975 and the one that appeared on Fleetwood Mac afterwards. Both depict Nicks at two distinct parts of her career, and the difference in her voice is startling.
The earlier version is only slightly different as far as the arrangements go, but Nicks’ voice appears almost rushed, despite her faster pace likely only being pinned down to keeping up with the accompanying arrangements. She seems to be a secondary element in this version, with the music coming first. Her voice is a necessary dressing, and the riff is the primary source of engagement.
In the later version, this flips completely. The song is guided entirely by Nicks’ voice, which is brimming with charm and allure in a way that is calculated, calm, and filled with purpose. It’s likely that experience was a major factor in the two different versions of the song, but it’s hard to ignore Nicks’ sudden ability to give herself the spotlight on voice alone.
One of the significant transformations Nicks’ voice encountered was its transcience. In the Buckingham Nicks days, it was almost as if she was reaching for something she couldn’t quite touch; the tangible nature of success could have been within her reach, but it shies away whenever she gets close. You can hear it in her voice – there’s a nervousness underneath her brazen tone that renders the whole thing transparent.
In Fleetwood Mac, however, it feels as though she has put her fate into the hands of the elements and decided to sing from the heart, no matter what future that may give to her. ‘Landslide’ may have been written during a time when her musical destiny was uncertain, but her vocals on the track hold the comfort of hindsight as she glides over the emotional words.
Most people would likely say that the moment Nicks truly came into her own as a vocalist was on Rumours, and it’s easy to see why. The delicate vibrato of the early days had suddenly been replaced with a much more palpable certainty as the singer made more of a conscious effort to step out of her comfort zone. Nicks was always an exceptional singer, but her vocals throughout Rumours were more refined and loose despite her remaining in complete control the entire time.
This was the moment Nicks became a true icon of rock ‘n’ roll—from Rumours onwards, her voice became inextricable from rock ‘n’ roll lyrical excellence as she poured her heart and soul into the stories she felt passionate about, like ‘Sara’. Even ‘Gypsy’, a song that appeared much later on Mirage, demonstrates the ways Nicks’ vocalisations were ever-so-subtly evolving.
As we age, our voices tend to change naturally, and it’s clear that Nicks’ is no exception. However, she has maintained much of her distinctive tone and style, and whenever she sings, it can raise hairs on the back of the neck as much as it did in the 1970s. As a singer, her richness and maturity have become a major companion, filling her voice with a depth that compliments her vocal range while adding additional layers to her artistry.
Nicks might have begun her career in the realm of folk music, crooning softly as she navigated narratives with her much-needed musical partner, but she soon became a rock-centric vocalist whose ability to deliver featherlight notes became just as powerful as her more belter moments. Initially, her voice could be seen as a luscious topping, but what followed was the entire filling, complete with an insatiable richness that leaves you wanting more.