MIRAGE DELUXE Release date 7/29/16 and more...

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

It's so many shades of awesome. I love the grittier vocal and the guitars chugging along like a freight train. Lindsey should have saved it for a solo record, but it's nice to hear Empire State in this deliciously raw form.

Much prefer it to the flimsy final version on the record (one of the weakest points on the album). This rawer sound is more in tune with Tusk and Law and Order.
In fact, as with the Tusk Deluxe I find I prefer the majority of the alternate versions.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by MusicInferno

Is the only way to get the Live CD by buying the 3CD+LP+DVD set?

The digital packages is far cheaper. I miss the pictures, but the CDs&DVD package was too expensive for me this year.

Happy to finally listening Mirage with a decent sound. The original CD sucked. I really like the additional material.

[pattyfan]

Originally Posted by BLY

Kevin,
Has your set been dispatched yet?

Yes it has. It's supposed to arrive Tuesday. I"m on the West Coast. I can't wait.


Kevin

[Justin Reach]

The alternate version of Only Over You is wonderful. It sounds like it's coming from inside a massive cave. I prefer the alternate Book Of Love, It's Alright & Empire State to the originals.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Justin Reach

The alternate version of Only Over You is wonderful. It sounds like it's coming from inside a massive cave. I prefer the alternate Book Of Love, It's Alright & Empire State to the originals.

I love the Alt. Only Over You.

[michelej1]

The Morton Report

http://www.themortonreport.com/enter...eluxe-edition/

Album Review: Fleetwood Mac - Mirage (Deluxe Edition)
September 26, 2016 By Jeff Burger, Contributor

If ever there was a case of the media building up and then knocking down a band, it was the one involving Fleetwood Mac in the late-'70s and early-'80s. The critics cheered when the group—newly energized by the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks—delivered its chart-topping eponymous album in 1975 and the even better Rumours a year later. But many of those same critics spoke less kindly of the follow-up to Rumours, 1979’s Tusk. According to them, it eschewed commercialism in favor of self-indulgent experimentation, though major experimentation was in fact largely limited to the excellent title cut. Then, when the group reverted to fully accessible form on its next studio album, 1982’s Mirage, reviewers griped that the band was going backwards; never mind that this radio-friendly LP delivered exactly what the critics claimed was missing in its predecessor.

Well, as I noted last year, Tusk ranks among the most underrated albums of the rock era. But Mirage—which Fleetwood Mac’s members recorded in France after pursuing solo projects—is arguably even more underrated. Rolling Stone, for example, allowed that it found the group returning to “simple pleasures” but awarded it only three stars and said “the band seems to have lost its spirit.”

As the fans who took the album to the top of the charts apparently knew, nothing could be further from the truth. This is the sound of a band at the peak of its powers, delivering one great piece of ear candy after another. The melodies are irresistible, the hooks will hook you, and the harmony vocals are impeccable. “Love in Store,” “Hold Me,” and Stevie Nicks’s “Gypsy,” the album’s three hit singles, are all on a par with the tracks on Rumours, and “Only Over You”—which Christine McVie dedicated to the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, her love at the time—ranks with her most sublime efforts. And I defy anyone to turn down the volume during the infectious “Oh Diane,” which draws inspiration from early pop/rock.

This deluxe edition of Mirage, the latest in a series of Fleetwood Mac reissues, contains three CDs, an audio-only DVD, a vinyl LP of the original album, and a 12-page, oversized booklet that includes lyrics, credits, photos, and liner notes. Disc one preserves a remastered version of the original album while the second CD collects 20 oddities, including outtakes, demos, and alternate takes, all but three of them previously unreleased. Some of the early renditions of tunes that wound up on Mirage pale by comparison with the final recordings, but fans should enjoy such curiosities as “Suma’s Walk,” the instrumental that evolved into “Can’t Go Back” and a somewhat stripped-down version of “Oh Diane.” And there are some gems here as well, most notably “Goodbye Angel,” which features a compelling lead vocal by Buckingham.

If you already own the original Mirage, though, the biggest reasons to upgrade to this package are CD number three and the audio DVD. The former preserves 13 songs culled from an October 1982 concert at the Forum in Los Angeles, including Mirage’s “Gypsy,” “Eyes of the World,” and “Love in Store” plus such earlier high points as “You Make Loving Fun,” “Go Your Own Way,” and “Rhiannon.” As for the DVD, it features a spectacular 5.1 mix of the original album, plus a reading of “Cool Water,” the Western classic popularized by the Sons of the Pioneers, that shows off the Mac’s vocal prowess. On a good sound system, even longtime fans of Mirage will hear things in this immersive mix that they never heard before.

[Andy Man]

I've just listened to the remastered version of the album.


Stunning....


I've always maintained that Mirage is a beautiful album that was cruelly punished with a disastrous transfer to digital on the initial (and most widespread) CD release. It saddens me that most will only ever hear that horrible edition of the album. The remaster is one of the best I have experienced...in fact, I would say that the current redux editions of FM material (2013's Rumours, 2015's Tusk, and now Mirage) are among the best remastered collections in terms of sonic quality.

The remaster really allows for the lush production of this album to be truly experienced. This is certainly true of "Gypsy"...in my opinion the best track FM ever made in terms of production quality. In the new remastered form it is stunning...especially on a good sound system. "Love In Store" is equally impressive...those harmonies are (in my opinion) the best the Mac ever put to tape in the studio. "Empire State" is truly a new experience to listen to with the new edition...so much of that track's quirkiness was muddled in the first CD edition. I have never been a fan of "Wish You Were Here", but this has changed. The music to me as always been great, but the lyrics of that song leave a lot to be desired. However, the jam session that takes place in the last minute of the track really shines on the new release...Christine and Lindsey play off of each other so well, and it's apparent more than ever listening to the remastered version.

I am beyond happy that this album...the forgotten jewel in Mac's catalogue...finally got the treatment that it deserved. There are so many wonderful hooks, melodies, and studio magic on this album; the songwriting and craft shine more than ever on this edition.

I have rarely listened to Mirage in the past due to its poor digital release and sound quality (admittedly I have never heard the original vinyl version...). Having a good sonic experience is important to me, and it is why I rarely listen to CDs from the 1980s or early 1990s. So glad that now I can enjoy Mirage the way it was meant to be experienced.

[secondhandchain]

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

Much prefer it to the flimsy final version on the record (one of the weakest points on the album). This rawer sound is more in tune with Tusk and Law and Order.
In fact, as with the Tusk Deluxe I find I prefer the majority of the alternate versions.

I love the alt Empire state the only thing missing is the blistering solo from the final version which I always loved too.

Also love the alt Only Over you it reminds me off That's All for everyone with the wave sounding effect.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by secondhandchain

I love the alt Empire state the only thing missing is the blistering solo from the final version which I always loved too.

Also love the alt Only Over you it reminds me off That's All for everyone with the wave sounding effect.

It's really gorgeous.

[Andyleo]

So many surprises on the 5.1 surround mix, if you haven't listened to it yet and you have it you should listen to it. Almost like a new album with so many added extras ... I was blown away by all the extra vocals and harmonies I heard for the first time. "That's alright" has a totally different feel, landing somewhere between the original and the new alternate mix. I can see me coming back to this DVD many many times.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Andyleo

So many surprises on the 5.1 surround mix, if you haven't listened to it yet and you have it you should listen to it. Almost like a new album with so many added extras ... I was blown away by all the extra vocals and harmonies I heard for the first time. "That's alright" has a totally different feel, landing somewhere between the original and the new alternate mix. I can see me coming back to this DVD many many times.

I'm so intrigued. Now I'm thinking about buying the DVD.

[Andyleo]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I'm so intrigued. Now I'm thinking about buying the DVD.

You won't regret it.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Andyleo

You won't regret it.

Do you play it in your DVD?

[Andyleo]

Yeah, with the 5.1 surround sound system. Honestly sounds superb.

[jjfabbsy]

I have been listening to the 3 "disc" digital edition from HD Tracks - and have been loving the revisit of Mirage over the last couple of days. The Mirage live concert really cemented my love of Fleetwood Mac all those years ago, after I got over the initial cringe of the moments of drug-fuelled excess, I learnt to see the amazing musicianship and creativity and it become one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac live recordings ever, particularly "The Chain" and "Sisters of the Moon". The version of "Songbird" on that is also unique to that tour, at least to my knowledge, with Christine doing some really beautiful, tinkly piano playing from the 1:55 mark....I always miss that little instrumental part in other live recordings as the song evolved.

One thing I did miss from the set is the 5:21 version of Gypsy....as it extends my favourite part of the song significantly....lots more calls out for the "Bright Eyes" and more guitar solo....but no biggie, as it is readily available on the Chain box set.