Wow, such a polarized, love-it-or-hate-it response to SYW.
I actually like the record a lot. Although it does not hold a candle to Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, or Tusk, and it lacks two crucial ingredients of the Rumours-era Mac albums--joy and humor--it still provides a substantial body of songs. And it is miles above Behind the Mask and a good deal of Time.
My impressions of it are mixed, but fundamentally positive. There are enough strong songs and performances by both leads to merit its existence. In my opinion, the middle of it sags. "Come," "Silver Girl" and "Smile at You" are all pretty insufferable, as is Buckingham's "What's the World..." and Nicks's "Goodbye." The two "hits"--"Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will" are dull.
But we're left with some amazing songs. "Red Rover," "Murrow," "Say Goodbye," "Bleed to Love Her," and "Steal Your Heart Away" are all really strong Buckingham songs.
Nicks weighs in with "Illume," "Everybody Finds Out," "Destiny Rules," and "Throw Down."
The good stuff stacks up.
In spirit the album kind of reminds me of Then Play On--two very different songwriters with very different approaches to music shore up the record. The result is an intriguing if occasionally frustrating fragmentation.
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