Christine's songs are usually very strong, but the production on Love In Store and Only Over you are bland. Both needed to be beefed up.

Hold Me is a great song.

I was actually thinking about Wish You Were Here the other day. Again, the production let's it down. Can you imagine how great it would have sounded with an orchestra accompanying the band?

I have a theory about this song, which doesn't sound like anything else on Mirage. It's a sound that seemed to be very popular, which consisted of a very dry, spare sound and very simple, unadorned, crisp instrumentation with prominent drums- not unlike albums released by Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne, and, most notably, John Lennon around the same time. John Lennon's Double Fantasy kind of perfected that sonic template, especially on his greatest song ever- "Watching the Wheels." Other artists, namely Elton John ("Empty Garden") and Queen ("Life Is Real") issued Lennon tributes that kind of paid homage to this particular sound. I think "Wish You Were Here" was Fleetwood Mac's own tribute to John Lennon. No, there is nothing particularly Lennon-specific about the lyrics, but that mournful sentiment of someone who has passed on is there along with the decidedly Double Fantasy-like vocal and instrumental arrangements.

Christine wrote at least two gems for the "Mirage" album. The first is "Love In Store". This song is so infectiously catchy and has wonderful harmonies shared by Lindsay and Stevie. The lyrics are rather lighthearted but who can blame her? Christine has never been a poetic lyricist or something. With funny video and strong promotion this could have served as another single from the album. The second gem is "Only Over You". This song is so dreamy, much in the vein of "Warm Ways" from "Fleetwood Mac" album. Her voice is at its creamy-candy best here. As was the case with aforementioned song "Only Over You" in lyrical department can't be mistaken for poem but luckily it doesn't take away anything from this beautiful song.

"Hold Me" was the biggest hit from the album but I don't think it was that strong. It's just decent Pop song but truly nothing memorable if you ask me. And then there's "Wish You Were Here" which is dull and drags towards the end.

:distress::mad::shocked::mad::shocked:

Lindsay was the girl on the back of the White album, right?:D

"Love In Store" was released as the third single from Mirage in the U.S. and reached #22 in Billboard.

I think it's beautiful and the swelling instrumentation at the end only heightens it.

Michele

:D:D:D:D:D:D Sorry Lindsey of course!

Love In Store - 1960's folk rock in the 1980's...harmonies remind me of The Mamas And The Papas.
Only Over You - Dark, melancholic, well-expressed, vulnerable.
Hold Me - Catchy. Lovely video, too. Stevie looked great.
Wish You Were Here - Beautiful piano intro, interesting.

That's so true. :laugh: :nod:

I totally understand what you mean. I get this really beautiful sensation as the tune ends.

I also get it on "As Long As You Follow" at the outro

Totally agree with the comments. Lindsey and Stevie's harmonies in Love in Store, Only over you melancholic and well-expressed, Stevie's look in the video of Hold Me (well... :angel:), and the intro of Wish you were here, used in Silver Springs of The Dance! The last song of the album is just amazing, incredible, so cute!

I love Love in Store as an opener, I know it opens with a bang, but to these ears, the bang should've been a little more dramatic and less mellow. I would've liked a little rougher electric guitar sound, but that being said, the harmonies don't get much better than that. Hold Me is also one of my all time favourites and still hear it on the radio occasionally today. A very melodic song and the shared vocal with Lindsey again works so well on McVie's tunes. I like the comments about Stevie singing Only Over You, (a thought just occurred to me that they could've had Christine do If You were My Love as a closer rather than I wish You Were Here, which I found bland and kind of contrived sounding. It just misses that sincerity that was present on Christine's other ballads. Her vocals throughout too, are simply amazing.