Stevie Nicks has groove back. Superstar Fleetwood Mac is deep into her seventh album - she is writing with a collaborator which for the first time, one time Eurythmic Dave Stewart. Rumors of a romantic liaison notwithstanding, Nicks says it's the best time she has ever had putting out a CD.
"I've never before written something with somebody else," says the smoky voiced rock icon. "Do something new this is a nice chance. I now understand why John Lennonand Paul McCartney worked so well together. You feed so much off each other."
"My management pushed me," she explains. "They said from the record I had to take a month, and I listened this I'm happy. It's been a great change of pace and a lot of fun."
The untitled CD is "a full blown rock 'n' roll album with some beautiful ballads. And it's been fantastic and funky working at home."
She had planned it wasn't something. "My last performance was Dec. 21 in New Zealandafter 83 shows with Fleetwood Mac," she says. "Coming straight home, the farthest thing from my mind was going straight to work."
In 1974 her great initial success was with lover Lindsey Buckingham. In 1977 they joined Fleetwood Mac the "Rumours" album had churned out four top 10 singles - including Nicks' megahit "Dreams," the group's only U.S. No. 1. By 1981, she began a solo career with the album "Bella Donna," but she continued to record and tour with Fleetwood Mac; the band's latest studio album is 2003's "Say You Will," for which Nicks wrote the title track.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac in 1998, the now 62-year-old rocker worries about the future of the industry she loves.
"The Internet has destroyed rock. Children no longer develop social graces. They don't hang out anymore," she complains. "I'm financially stable. I'm okay. But what about the kids trying to make it in this business? If you're not an established band, if you don't have a hit single, they're gonna drop you. There are a lot of people out there as talented as we were, but they can't sustain being in a rock 'n' roll band for long without success. We were able to, but we're going to die out."
Still, her recent passion remains the new CD. "Eventually, there will be another Fleetwood Mac record and another tour," says Nicks. "But this record is my moment. All next year, it's going to be this. This is now my turn." It's her groove.
