I had bought "Behind The Mask" long before I invested my money in "Rumours-Deluxe Edition". Strange...but on the other hand my discovery of the band was also untypical. As a die hard fan of Stevie Nicks' talent I decided to collect every single album including her songs and idiosyncratic vocals. When I went to my favourite music shop I saw this album on the shelf and its price seduced me. I said to myself: "Rumours can wait!". Besides there was something intriguing about the cover of the album, that made me interested even more. I must add, that I hadn't read anything about this album before, so I had a chance to listen to the album without any prejudice. After first listen I was in the awe of the quality of the whole recorded material. In an instant I became a fan of "Sky Is The Limit", "Love Is Dangerous", "Save Me", "Behind The Mask" and "Freedom". Of course there were few songs that took some time to grow on me (like "When It Comes To Love", "The Second Time" and "When The Sun Goes Down") but in the end I liked most of the album. Then I started my research! I found out, that the album got bad press (mostly because of the absence of Lindsay). I was shocked! How can anyone say that the album is bad just because Lindsay is not on it? Luckily enough, I found 4 star review of the album in Rolling Stone, that reflected my own thoughts. With time I've grown to like the album even more. "In The Back of My Mind" and "Hard Feelings" rank as one of the best classic rock songs (at least for me). And "Affairs of the Heart" has become for me one of the better songs that Stevie performed with Fleetwood Mac. Few months ago I bought "Rumours" and recognized the legacy behind that album, but "Behind The Mask" hasn't lost its appeal to me...It's still one of the best releases of 1990! I feel ashamed, that back in that year I didn't discover this gem, immersing myself in Paula Abdul and Wilson Phillips' music. Fortunately for me, wisdome comes with time...
