The song that Stevie Nicks called “the most exciting thing ever”

Although Bella Donna was more in line with the roots rock she originally wanted to do, Rock a little marked a turning point in her career. There was a lot of new stuff, she had a lot more experience, but most of all there was a lot of cocaine lying around the studio.

Then again, this was nothing new for Nicks. Since the days of Fleetwood Mac, each band member had been known to indulge a little, but Nicks became known for completely freaking out, to the point that she didn’t even recognize herself in some of her older videos. She could still tell what kind of songs worked, though, and “I Can’t Wait” hit her right on the first drum beat.

When she collaborated with musician Rick Nowels, it was the groove he played that immediately captivated her. “I think that was the most exciting song I’ve ever heard. My friend Rick (Nowels), who I’d known since I was 18 and he was 13, brought me this track with this incredible percussion thing and asked me if I could imagine writing a song for it. I pretended not to be that excited, but when Rick left, I ran to my little recording studio and wrote ‘I Can’t Wait.'”

Although Fleetwood Mac went through a number of upheavals while working on their 1980s albums, such as Mirage, this feels like Nicks is trying to blend both parts of her musical personality. If anything, “I Can’t Wait” is the natural progression of what she did on tracks like “Gypsy,” just with a lot more percussion behind it that even Mick Fleetwood probably couldn’t pull off.

Still, this marks a bit of a dip for Nick’s solo career, which saw her trying to fight her way out of her cocaine rut and find a way to write classics again. Although she’s had more hits with and without The Mac, sometimes songs like “I Can’t Wait” are just the light that shines through all the darkness.

Related topics