I'm neither the biggest fan of, nor the most knowledgeable on the history of Fleetwood Mac. If you would have asked me as a child about Lindsey Buckingham, I would have referenced Holiday Road from National Lampoon's Vacation. Equally, if you would have asked me about Stevie Nicks, I would have only been able to tell you about her solo career. While I knew of Mac songs, I didn't equate them to the band, but rather, the solo artist behind them. The point being, I'm not going to profess to know a lot about them, and therefore do a deep dive. Instead, I'll cull over the Wiki notes for the background of the album I'm currently poking around, and try to summarize.
Mirage was the band's first entry into the 80's, being released in 1982. What I found particularly of interest was that while it featured the powerhouse trio of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie, none of them actually worked together to write any songs. Further, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie contributed nothing to this process. This appears to have been a common trend for those tow, and it's kind of messed up when you think about it. They basically just rode the coat tails of the other member's contributions.
That's not to say that the other members were faultless. Apparently Buckingham and Nicks were none to pleasant to deal with during recording sessions, with the two complaining about the food being served, as well as there being no television.
Critically, it was met with high acclaim, with some calling it one of their best. However, there were also comparisons to it being a redux of their 1977 Rumours album, something which Buckingham rejected. This was contrary to Christine McVie, who would later say she did thing it was a wimpy Rumours clone, but then elaborated more by saying that Fleetwood Mac provided the public with the album they expected from the band. She would elaborate further by saying that she felt there were good songs on the album, but that the overall impact was superficial.
Personally, I don't think there's a lot to get excited about. Playing through it I got a lot of forgettable tunes in my ears, with two hits mixed in. Those being Gypsy, and Hold Me. While I won't go as far to say Mirage was bad, it also wasn't mind blowing. I certainly wouldn't agree with the critics that it's among their best.
This was kind of disappointing because the band has talent...well, three of the five members anyway. I don't know, I guess I just expected something with a little more bite to it, but frankly in hindsight, I couldn't even tell you any of the songs beyond the two noted hits above.
I really can't say much more than that about my listening session.
The members would kind of go their own way after touring for the album, and wouldn't reunite in the studio until 1987's Tango In The Night. That would be a period of change for the band, which would lead to the departure of Buckingham. But, that's a story for next time.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS November 8, 1980 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS November 8, 1986 |
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