# The Wild Heart (album)

The Wild Heart is the second solo studio album by American singer and songwriter 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, Nicks recorded the album in only a few months and was released on June 10, 1983, a year after Fleetwood Mac's Mirage album. It peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 (for seven consecutive weeks) and achieved platinum status on September 12, 1983. The album has shipped 2 million copies in the US alone.

## Overview

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 bandmates from The Heartbreakers performed. Nicks' Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Mick Fleetwood, made an appearance on the track "Sable on Blonde". 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 performing a score arranged and conducted by Paul Buckmaster. Nicks had recorded various other tracks prior to the album's release, including "Violet and Blue" which was featured on the movie soundtrack for Against All Odds, and later on Nicks' 3-disc retrospective box set Enchanted in 1998.
The Wild Heart was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1993, ten years after its release, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States. It spent a whole year on the Billboard 200 from June 1983 to June 1984. It has also been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments in excess of 60,000 in the United Kingdom. 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 music 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.
On November 4th, 2016, Rhino released a 2-CD deluxe edition of the album that featured a remastered version of the album, along with unreleased tracks, alternate versions, and other bonus material. The remastered original album was also issued on CD and LP formats.

## Tour

Nicks went on a national tour in support of The Wild Heart. After headlining the massive US Festival on May 30, 1983, in San Bernardino, California, the tour officially started in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 21, 1983, and ended in Ames, Iowa, on November 20, 1983.
Setlist
* "Gold Dust Woman"
* "Outside the Rain"
* "Dreams"
* "Gold and Braid" (see notes below)
* "I Need to Know"
* "Sara"
* "Angel" (see notes below)
* "Enchanted" (see notes below)
* "If Anyone Falls"
* "Leather and Lace"
* "Stand Back"
* "Beauty and the Beast"
* "Gypsy"
* "How Still My Love"
* "I Will Run to You" (see notes below)
* "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"
* "Edge of Seventeen"

### Encore

* "Rhiannon"

### Notes

* "Enchanted" was performed only at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on June 24, 1983.
* "Angel" and "Gold and Braid" were performed only on the opening night at the US Festival.
* "I Will Run to You" was performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City with Tom Petty.

### Dates
## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Rolling Stone | |
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic found that The Wild Heart "contained nothing that would disturb fans of her previous work and much that echoed it." He observed that, as on her previous album, producer Jimmy Iovine took a "simpler, more conventional pop/rock approach to the arrangements" than Lindsey Buckingham did on Nicks' songs, making the music "more straightforward than her typically elliptical lyrics." He concluded by saying that: "if you loved Bella Donna, you would like The Wild Heart very much."

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Stevie Nicks, except where noted.
Deluxe edition
Released on November 4, 2016, this edition features remastered audio and consists of two discs, divided into: the original album and unreleased tracks, alternate versions and other bonus content. The information on disc two has been adapted from the Rhino website and the deluxe edition CD's liner notes.
All tracks are written by Stevie Nicks, except where noted.

## Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.
Musicians
* Stevie Nicks – lead vocals, backing vocals
* Sharon Celani; Lori Perry – backing vocals
* Sandy Stewart – synthesizer (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), keyboards (3), piano solo (5), co-lead vocals (5), additional background vocals (5)
* Russ Kunkel – drums (2, 4, 8), drum overdubs (6)
* Roy Bittan – synthesizer (2), piano (4, 8–10)
* Waddy Wachtel – guitar (2–6, 9)
* Bob Glaub – bass guitar (2, 4, 8)
* Bobbye Hall – percussion (2, 4, 6, 8)
* Benmont Tench – organ (3–5), keyboards (7)

## Certifications

Certifications for The Wild Heart :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Platinum | 100,000$^^$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||