"Stand Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio albumThe Wild Heart (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Top Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in August of that year. "Stand Back" has been a staple in Nicks' live shows since its pre-album debut at the 1983 US Festival, and it has also been included in the Fleetwood Mac tour set lists since 1987.
In the United Kingdom, the single was Nicks' first 12-inch release, featuring a different glossy picture sleeve and the inclusion of a third track, "Wild Heart". A 12-inch promotional single was also released to United States radio stations in 1983, featuring a full-colour sleeve, but playing the standard album version (in mono and stereo) on both sides.
Background and composition
Nicks has often told the story of how she wrote "Stand Back". She wrote it on the day of her marriage to Kim Anderson on January 29, 1983. The newlyweds were driving up to San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara when Prince's song "Little Red Corvette" came on the radio. Nicks started humming along to the melody, especially inspired by the lush synthesizers on the song. The couple retrieved a tape recorder and Nicks recorded the demo in the honeymoon suite that night. Later, when Nicks went into the studio to record the song, she called Prince and told him the story of how she wrote the song to his melody. On the night of February 8, 1983, Prince came to the studio[1] and played synthesizers on it, although his contribution is uncredited on the album. He and Nicks did agree however to split the publishing royalties on the song 50-50. Then, she says, "he just got up and left as if the whole thing happened in a dream."[6][7][8]
Synth player Dave Bluefield, who also programmed the song's rhythm on a DMX drum machine, said that he played the main chords on the song using an Oberheim OB-Xa synthesizer and Prince did the "8th note up beats" in the upper octaves during the choruses (first heard at the 0:54 mark - supposedly played with just two fingers).[9] It's possible that Prince played other synth parts that didn't make the final mix.[1]
Prince, however, remarked a different story in regards to the song's drum programming and creation: "When I got there, her and Jimmy Iovine couldn't figure out how to work the drum machine...because people were using live drums at that point...so I went down there and programmed it for them and pretty much played most of the song there in about twenty or thirty minutes".[10]
There were two mixes made of the song: the generally more well-known album version (4:48) and the edited single version (4:18). Differences between the two are somewhat subtle, but the single version tends to have more of a "collapsed" or "mono" sound to it and the electronic drum programs are mixed rather dry and flattened, especially in the song's intro bars; whereas the drum tracks on the album version are accentuated by a generous amount of reverb effect and harder compression. Acoustic drums were given a more backseat role on "Stand Back". There is a further "polished" version of the track, with crisper percussion and louder foreground synth, featured on Nicks' 1991 compilation album Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks, remixed by Chris Lord-Alge with a run time of 4:59.
“Stand Back” is performed in the key of B minor with a tempo of 116 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of A/G – G – D/A – A – D/A – G/B – Bm – A/B – D/A – G/A – A, and Nicks’ vocals span from A3 to B4.[11][12]
B-side
"Garbo", the B-side to "Stand Back", is a song referencing Greta Garbo.[13] Another song, partially inspired by Garbo, called "Greta", appears on the 1994 album Street Angel.[14]
The lyrics from the third verse of "Vogue", by Madonna, coincidentally mention the same first three people — Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe (with the second and third names flipped) as that which is depicted in the lyrics of "Garbo".
Reception
Cash Box said it represents "both familiar and challenging listening," combining Nicks' traditional "vamp posture" with dance music.[15]
Music videos
Two music videos were filmed for the single. The first, which was never aired and is referred to as the "Scarlett Version", was a lavish production directed by Brian Grant and features Nicks in a Gone with the Wind type scenario. Upon seeing the completed video, Nicks rejected it as, according to Grant, she felt she looked fat.[16] This version can now be found (with Nicks' commentary) on the DVD supplement of her 2007 collection Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks.
As an alternative, a second video was made on a much lower budget than the original. Directed by choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday, it features Nicks performing the song behind a microphone in a spotlight-filled room surrounded by glass walls and mirrors, interspersed with shots of choreographed dance sequences. This was the version aired on television and was also included on Nicks' 1986 video compilation I Can't Wait - The Video Collection as well as the aforementioned Crystal Visions compilation DVD.[17]
One live performance of the song in Nicks' solo shows is captured in the 2009 CD release The Soundstage Sessions, where Nicks chose the track as the opening number to her show, rather than placing it toward the climactic end of the setlist as per previous tours.
Performances with Fleetwood Mac
Nicks began performing "Stand Back" with Fleetwood Mac on the band's 1987 tour. It is included on the Fleetwood Mac live concert video Tango in the Night (recorded in December 1987) and a (slightly extended) audio version from the same show is included in the 4-disc boxed set 25 Years – The Chain. Since then, the song has been performed on every Fleetwood Mac tour (with the exception of the On with the Show Tour) Nicks has been a part of, including the Behind the Mask tour in 1990, The Dance reunion tour in 1997, the Say You Will tour in 2003 (it is featured in the 2004 CD/DVD set Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston), the 2009 Unleashed Tour, as well as the band's 2013 world tour.
Legacy
Notable artists who performed cover versions of the song include Sky Ferreira and Rod Stewart.[19][20] Additionally, the song was sampled in the song "No Way to Hide" by German techno band Scooter, which was featured on their 2012 album "Music for a Big Night Out".[21]
In 2003, Scottish electronic music duo Linus Loves released a cover of "Stand Back" with vocals by Sam Obernik. This version reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 73 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.[34][35]
^ abcTudahl, Duane (2017). Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 27–28. ISBN978-1538105498.
^Sheffield, Rob (February 24, 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 1983, the Year Pop Went Crazy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 4, 2023. Stevie Nicks was one 1970s L.A. rock star who got her Eighties New Wave pass. She wrote one of her greatest songs by singing along with the radio...
^Considine, J.D.; Coleman, Mark; Evans, Paul; McGee, David (1992). "Stevie Nicks". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Random House. p. 203.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 217. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.
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