Behind the Mask Deluxe Edition question
 

So, if the label releases a Behind the Mask Deluxe Edition, I know there are a number of alternate versions and songs that could be included. My question is, would the label release the Tango tour dvd or CD on a Behind the Mask edition, or on a Tango in the Night Deluxe Edition? The concert supported Tango, but featured the lineup on Behind the Mask. An argument could be made for either case, I think.

On a Behind the Mask Deluxe Edition, I would want the original album remastered. On the second CD, I would love to see As Long As You Follow, No Questions Asked, Paper Doll, Love Shines, Heart of Stone, and the Game of Love included, along with alternate takes. Then the concert dvd with ALL the songs from that concert.

I agree with everything you said. I would love to see and hear it but I don't see them re-releasing the album in any way. The album was not that successful to merit a re-release. That is not me talking...its the record company. In addition, Lindsey is back with the band. It would be an odd thing to do.
But I can imagine the treasures of amazing music hidden somewhere.

There are several Rick Vito songs that were never used.
Behind The Mask Deluxe would never see the light of day in a million years.

If Tango is released as a Deluxe Edition and does well, I think the label would release one for Behind the Mask. It's just more money to make off a minimal investment!

If BTM is released, we should get optional album covers for it in the special edition.

Michele

Oh, man, no kidding! I just read the Penquin interviews with Rick Vito and Billy Burnette from 1999 and 2000, and I was shocked to learn the record label chose that cover. All this time I thought the band made that poor decision. Even a picture of a mask would have been better than the final product. Only thing I can think of is the label didn't want buyers to know Lindsey wasn't still in the band- like people didn't already know that!

Btw, the original title of the album was Twist of Fate. I don't think any of the songs had that phrase in the lyrics, though.

Strange. I guess Rick and Billy are telling the truth about the cover? Was it in Mick's latest book (or somewhere else) where the artist was given the task of creating a cover that best described the band at that time.
I guess I am in the minority because I like the cover. A mask would have been too cheezy. They had masks on stage during their concerts and on the cover of their concert program.
I have always LOVED the mystery of the cover and tried to read things into it. A woman is standing away from a group and sulking. Is it Stevie? A hidden swipe at Lindsey?

Well, Rick Vito was adamant that there was no hidden meaning in the cover. Out of curiosity, what about the cover makes you think the Stevie on the cover was a swipe against Lindsey?

I think the people on the show represented FM, and the young girl is Stevie and the other woman is Christine. Visually, it's an unattractive cover, but the packaging inside is awesome.

I like the cover used for Behind the mask. I *don't* like that the band didn't choose it.

I like to see a deluxe edition similar to what we've got for Tusk, Mirage, etc... but I do think it is unlikely. Hell, even a vinyl reissue would be nice. But, it is a niche album that appeals to a very small group of fans, with no broader public appeal.

I will have to check Mick's book this weekend because I swear he wrote about this photo. However, I bet Rick and Billy have clearer minds and probably remember the truth. Its quite possible the artist was asked to create several pictures and the band left it to the record company to select the final one. I find it VERY odd a band would leave this decision to the record company though.

I was offering suggestions about the cover. You have a literal visual interpretation of the artwork. Many times there are hidden meanings in art and paintings. I was offering "off the cuff" possiblities of WHAT the artist was trying to convey with the picture.
How would you convey the woman's expression on the cover? There is a band playing in the background. I dont interpret it the way you do in a literal sense. I dont see the artist depicting each band member in the picture. I see the picture as a whole expressing an idea or expression.
Is the woman sulking? She looks upset and almost jealous of something.
I want to know what Mick meant by it was the artist's interpretation of the band's chemistry at that time.
I LOVE THIS COVER. Its full of mystery and interpretation. THAT is what an album cover should convey. I got mostly flamed here by saying the Tango album cover was the worst in their history. There was NO thought in that cover. It just was Lindsey's favorite painting by that Australian artist. In some ways it was fitting because Tango was a Lindsey solo album so it would make sense he picked his favorite painting for the cover. There is no mystery. Its just a painting that looks like you could buy a velvet version at your local flea market. It means NOTHING for the band. Nowhere in that cover is a story about anything about Fleetwood Mac.
The BTM album cover is telling a story. What I see in the story is probably what you dont see in the story and vice versa. And that my friend is WHY its such an amazing cover.

Macfan4life, I'm glad you like the cover, I guess I would have preferred seeing some of the band members instead. But your analysis reminded me of something I read on a different thread- that the BTM cover showed Stevie turning her back on the band, and that was happening again now, with Stevie refusing to commit to recording another album with them.
That made me laugh, because another interpretation of the cover could be that Stevie is ready to get to work, but she's waiting on the rest of the band to get off their butt!

Rick Vito said in the interview that the band had no input into the cover and he really, really didn't like it. I think he said they were all pretty disappointed with it. He also said the people on the cover weren't professional models or anything, but people the photographer found in Mississippi. I have no idea if he was kidding about that last part, but it didn't sound like it.

When the album came out, I was very frustrated with the cover. I would study it and wonder what it meant. Who are these people? Who is this woman? Why does she have her back to the band and seems upset? IMHO, I don't see the creator shaming Stevie in anyway although that is a far too easy conclusion to make. There definitely is an emotion to the cover and its portrayed in mystery and open to interpretation which makes it SO GOOD. Is her emotion or face the mask that the band is behind?
I would say its so different that its cool. I also love the gypsy almost carnival feel to the band players behind her.

my favorite version of Fleetwood Mac

The pouty chick is Lindsey leaving the band as the others play on

http://www.dgorton.com/bhndmask.html

Well Mick seemed involved somewhere if the photographer is correct.

Thanks for posting that quote. That is what I recall too. Billy and Rick cant have it both ways.....refusing to appear on the cover then unhappy with a picture an artist comes up with representing the band.

A few things I noticed just now that I never noticed before. The woman sort of has a wedding dress on under the man's sports coat. She is also sporting a engagement ring.
The dark clouds in the background and food on the table. So much going on which makes it so interesting.

As Long As You Follow and No Questions Asked wouldn't be included as these tracks weren't recorded during the Behind The Mask sessions.

They were recorded a year or more before, especially for the 1988 Greatest Hits album. Both tracks have also since been remastered for The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac in 2002 (2009 in the UK).

True, but I just included those two songs because they were recorded by that particular incarnation of the band. I would also include Paper Doll. Maybe even Love Shines, and Heart of Stone, even though Stevie wasn't on them.

You know, when you look at the full image like that it does look like an interesting composition (and a lot of the D. Gortan pictures in the rest of the portfolio look really quite stunning). Having the border and the crappy font detracted from the image a little. In fact, all these years I just thought it was some throw away stock photo that had been used. If they'd put the image across the full album cover it would have looked a lot better.

Paper Doll ended up on "25 Years – The Chain" 4-CD box set. Wikipedia states that it's a new song, which would mean that it was recorded in 1992. It was however co-written by Nicks, Vito and someone called John Herron. Both Billy Burnette and Rick Vito play on this track.

Love Shines and Heart Of Stone are also listed as new songs on "25 Years – The Chain". Only Billy Burnette plays on Love Shines. I can't find any info on who played on Heart Of Stone.

It is possible that these tracks were actually recorded during the Behind The Mask sessions and were passed off as new tracks when "25 Years – The Chain" was released, seeing as they were previously unreleased and only recorded two years previously.

"Behind The Mask" stands strong as the most lackluster Fleetwood Mac album in their entire catalog. I bought it on the day of the release and was done with it in about 3 weeks. I actually tried to give it another listen in 2008, but no dice. It was as forgettable as ever. I can't think of a more bland era of this band.

This was discussed recently in another thread...cant remember which one.
The music to Paper Doll was initially written by Rick Vito and John Herron and Stevie then added the words. It was written when he fist joined the band and was suggested for inclusion on Greatest Hits. Mick didnt like it much and it was shelved (No Questions Asked was put on Greatest Hits as a Stevie song instead). When they were doing the box set they dug out Paper Doll. It could have easily appeared on Behind The Mask.

From the moment I saw the cover photo, my first thoughts were:
- the girl in front is standing away from the band. Her distance, demeanor, expression suggest Stevie. She's "there because she has to be there".

This was an odd time for the band. There are definitely some great songs (both on the album and not), a shame that more Rick and Billy material didn't show up on the album or on tour.

Except Stevie didn't have to be there. She very willingly and happily stayed with the band and was much more present during recording of BTM than she was on Tango.

After reading some of the posts here, I agree that any live recording from the Tango tour should be included on a Behind the Mask Deluxe Edition, if there ever is one. The Iive disc should include all the songs from the live Tango DVD, plus added songs from the Behind the Mask tour, such as Save Me, Love is Dangerous, Stand on the Rock, and maybe even the live version of Go Your Own Way from the last night of the tour, with Lindsey on stage with them.

I'd love to see more pictures of the band from that era and learn more behind the scenes info in the liner notes. I know the album was originally titled Twist of Fate, for example.

I remember watching the first time this cover. I didn't dislike it, and yes I found, and still find it misterious. I didn't think about the relationship of the picture with the band, the members, but I did think about where is the mask? How does this picture relate to a mask and somethig behind a mask?