Retro Spins: Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night

Today I'm wrapping up the very short 80's period of Fleetwood Mac with their 1987 entry, Tango In The Night. As I've admitted before, I'm not the biggest fan of the band, and quite frankly don't have an opinion of Mick Fleetwood or John McVie. Not that any of them appear to be the nicest of people in the world, but at least the other three contribute to the actual writing of the material.

Candidly, I didn't have high hopes for this release, and it actually took me over a week to circle back to the Mac to pick up the slack. Rhymin'...neat. Ironically, in review of the track listing, it features three of my all time favorites from the band; Seven Wonders, Everywhere, and Little Lies. So at least in playing through it there was something beneficial to get out of it.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed Tango In The Night much more than I expected. Things start out with Big Love, which was a tune I got introduced to from the band's 1998 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction performance. Frankly, I prefer the live version over the studio, finding it to be far superior.

This is followed by two of the three aforementioned favorites, before going into back to back surprises in Caroline and Tango In The Night (the song). Both were far better than I would have expected.

Things take a bit of a dive from there before coming back in line with the last of the three of my favorites. While the follow-up, Family Man didn't have the best of lyrics, the guitar work of Buckingham kept me pretty invested. There was a bit of a downturn from there, but the album closes out with the haunting When I See You Again, and the peppy You And I, Part II. 

Overall, it was a pleasant surprise, and Tango In The Night may very well be my favorite from Fleetwood Mac. I'm definitely glad I finally took the time to cross it off the list.

While this left me with high hopes, as I said in my opening statement, this was their final album of the 80's. It would also be the last with Lindsey Buckingham until 2001's Say You Will. Unless of course you consider 1988's Greatest Hits. Fun fact, it's considered the last major release on the 8-track format.

The band would release 1990's Behind The Mask with new guitarists / singers, Rick Vito, and Billy Burnette. This was followed by Stevie Nick's departure, and the release of 1995's Time. Also gone was Rick Vito, replaced by Dave Mason. Bekka Bramlett was tasked with the thankless job of trying to replace Nicks. Both albums were met with negative critical response.

Fleetwood Mac would reunite at the request of President, Bill Clinton, which would lead to a highly successful tour. However, when it came time to return to the studio for 2003's Say You Will, Christine McVie wouldn't join them. She would officially leave the group stating a fear of flying was the reason for her decision, but rejoin in 2014.

Unfortunately, McVie would pass away in 2022. Since then, Stevie Nicks has stated there would be no further albums from Mac because there would be no way to put the band back together without her.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
November 9, 1985

Retro Spins: Fleetwood Mac - Mirage

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

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
November 8, 1986

Retro Spins: Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

 

Fleetwood Mac. Though the band always consisted of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, it would go through several iterations of singers, additional band members, and even a collaboration with Chicago, before landing on the classic lineup, which included Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie.

The formation of the group began in 1967 with original members, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer, and John McVie. Together, they crafted a blues rock sound which would be the foundation for the bands early days. Danny Kirwin would join in 1969 as an additional guitarist, making his debut on Then Play On.Peter Green exited the band after releasing their second album this same year, the collaboration with Chicago entitled, Fleetwood Mac In Chicago. The reason cited for his departure was a continued decline of his mental stability, and desire to give all of the band's money to charity.

Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwin would share lead vocal duties on their 1970 album, Kiln House. However, following its release, Spencer would abruptly quit the group, having joined a religious cult. By 1971, the lineup was restructured, now featuring Danny Kirwin and Bob Welch sharing guitar and vocals, along with Christine McVie who also contributed vocals, while also providing keyboards, as well as John McVie and Mick Fleetwood retaining their respective roles as bassist and drummer.

This lineup too wouldn't last long. By 1973, Danny Kirwin had been fired for refusing to perform during a recent tour. He was replaced for the subsequent album, Penguins, by Bob Weston. Additionally, Dave Walker joined the band to briefly provide additional vocals and harmonica, and I do mean, briefly. He was gone by their next album, Mystery To Me, released that same year. He was asked to leave by the remaining five members because his vocal style didn't fit in with the band's musical style.

1974 saw yet another band member exit. Bob Weston was fired from the group when Mick Fleetwood discovered that he was having an affair with Fleetwood's wife, Jenny Boyd. In retrospect, this is rather hypocritical, considering Fleetwood would be the man who came between Buckingham and Nicks. Regardless, the band proceeded forward, releasing Heroes Are Hard To Find in 1974 with Bob Welch, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

Not wanting to actually be a superstar, Bob Welch opted to leave the group shortly thereafter. His goal to travel the world and be in a, "good band" had been fulfilled, and as such, he saw no reason to remain part of Fleetwood Mac. Enter Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham for what would become the second self titled album, 1975's Fleetwood Mac.

Though Nicks and Buckingham would formally break up in 1976 as a couple, the band continued on through 1987's Tango In The Night. However, tensions were growing between the band, and after a meeting one evening at the home of McVie, Buckingham quit the band. This led to a new lineup featuring the remaining members, plus Billy Burnett and Rick Vito, both on guitars and vocals.

Due to a dispute with Mick Fleetwood over the song Silverspring, Nicks departed the band at some point after the 1990 album, Behind The Mask. A lineup change once again occurred after Rick Vito also quit to pursue a solo career. While Billy Burnette remained with the two McVie's and Fleetwood, new members, Bekka Bramlett, and Dave Mason were added. They recorded and released 1995's, Time. Christine McVie informed her band mates that this album would be her last.

Fleetwood Mac dissolved formally. However, just weeks after doing so, the classic lineup had quietly reformed. In an odd turn of events, President Bill Clinton, would have the band perform for his inauguration in 1997. From there, the classic lineup of Nicks, Buckingham, Fleetwood and both McVie's would set off on a world tour that would see major success.

The last album to date from the band was their 2003, Say You Will. Though it featured the above lineup, Christine McVie was only credited as an "additional musician". She later stated in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone that she had developed a fear of flying, which resulted in her formally leaving the band after 1998.

Since then, the lineup has continued to tour in some form or fashion, with Christine McVie coming back in 2014, Buckingham being fired in 2018, and Nicks holding out on contributing vocals to a studio album that has been in the works since 2015 / 16. In short, drama continues among the members, and at this point, nobody knows if a new Fleetwood Mac album will ever come to light. Considering all of the members are in their seventies at this point, maybe it's best to just bow out gracefully.

Wow, that's a lot of history and drama for one band. I haven't even touched on the whole point of today's Retro Spin, which was to go all the way back to their 1968 debut album.

As I fired it up, I was greeted by a very different sound than I expected. Having only been acquainted with their more commercial sound from 1975 through 1987, I wasn't expected to hear a rhythm and blues rock album.

What I immediately picked up on was how unrefined it sounded. It starts out with someone in the recording booth trying desperately to get the band to focus and pay attention, and these occur throughout several other tracks, with one specifically ending abruptly as Green says something to the tune about not knowing the rest of the song. At least, I think it was Green.

Overall, it was interesting to hear, but it definitely wasn't for me. I couldn't tell you what any of the songs on the album were, because none of them stood out to me. Truthfully, I got more out of researching the above history of the band then I did from actually hearing the music from their debut. I suppose that's a fair trade off.

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