Great Rock Albums of 1986: Stevie Nicks- Rock a Little

More reasons why I’m glad I wasn’t guided by commercial radio in 1986 comes in the form of Stevie Nicks’s third solo album, “Rock a Little.” When the first single, “I Can’t Wait,” came through the radio speakers, I thought the song sounded too 1980s commercial. Then again, I thought most music that wasn’t metal sounded like that at the time. Actually, upon a deeper listen to the single, there are some interesting progressive hooks on it. While that doesn’t make me want to forget favourite songs from her first two albums, it’s certainly a decent song, a lot better than the crap my local radio station was bombarding the airwaves with. Shit, the station called itself “Rock 104.” It should have been “Top 40- 104.” Then again, I prefer the second single, “Talk to Me.” It’s definitely much rockier.

Stevie Nicks’s “Rock a Little” does exactly what it says on the cover, it rocks a little. This is not an album I would listen to before or after the Stormtroopers of Death but this is an easy listening album in a good way. I love the lead guitar on “Rock a Little,(Go Ahead Lily.)” It does accompany Stevie’s voice really well and probably my favourite track on the album. “Sister Honey” might sound like another 1980s synth pop song to some but Stevie again makes it sound that much better. Plus another cool guitar solo in the middle makes it sound that much better. She did get some really good musicians behind her on this album, as can be viewed from the list below.

When I hear, “I Sing for Things,” I wonder why this song wasn’t used in a movie soundtrack. It’s that kind of song. More of a ballad but done very well. On the other hand, “Imperial Hotel” is much more upbeat. Not one to be metalized by a good mid paced rock song. I don’t even mind that the guitars aren’t turned up to full potential here, it’s just enjoyable. “The Nightmare,” well that’s definitely a good progressive rock sounding tune. Listen closely and you can hear a cool guitar in the background. Then again, “No Spoken Word” is the hardest rock song on the album. The only reason why it’s not number one is down to the fact that it lacks a guitar solo. The album ends on a true ballad, “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” This is definitely the best choice for a closer. Saying that, one thing “Rock a Little” proves for sure is how great a singer Stevie Nicks is. Yes, I know the jokes about her sounding like a sheep but she can sing anything and sing it well.

Track Listing:

1. I Can’t Wait
2. Rock a Little (Go Ahead Lily)
3. Sister Honey
4. I Sing for Things
5. Imperial Hotel
6. Some Become Strangers
7. Talk to Me
8. The Nightmare
9. If I Were You
10. No Spoken Word
11. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?

Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks- lead vocals, synthesizer on track 8

Jamie Sheriff- synthesizer (tracks 1-3 and 11)

Bill Payne- synthesizer (track 2)

Charles Judge- synthesizer (track 3,4,8,9 and 11)

Greg Phillanges- synthesizer, keyboards, tympani (tracks 5&7)

Chas Sandford- synthesizers, guitar, bass (track 6)

Rick Nowels- keyboards (tracks 1,3,8,10 &11)

Benmont Tench- piano, organ (tracks 5 & 6)

George Black- guitar, bass (tracks 1.3 &8)

Michael Landau- guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1,3 &8)

Waddy Watchel- guitar (tracks 2& 10)

Danny Kortchmar- guitar (track 3)

Mike Campbell- guitar (track 5)

Les Dudek- guitar (track 3)

Kenny Edwards- bass (track 2)

Bob Glaub- bass (tracks 2&5)

Mike Procraro- bass (track 10)

Bobbye Hall- percussion (track 3)

David Kemper- percussion, tambourine (tracks 9 & 11)

Steve Jordan- drums (tracks 2,5 & 6)

Ross Kunkel- drums (track 3)

Andy Newmark- drums (tracks 8 & 9)

Danny Carmassi- drums (track 10)

Barney Wilen- saxophone (track 7)

Lori Perry Nicks- background vocals

Sharon Celani- background vocals (tracks 1-10)

Maria Vidal- background vocals (tracks 1,2,7 & 8)

Marilyn Martin- background vocals (tracks 1-3,5,6 & 10)

Carolyn Brooks- background vocals (track 11)

Actually, I’m surprised Steve Lukather doesn’t play on the album!

“Rock a Little” shows what a good singer Stevie Nicks really is, though I knew that already. There are progressive and commercial rock songs here and I think that had there been a hard rock song on the album, she would have made that sound brilliant too. This is a great album to chill out to.

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