Mirage Box-Set... Finally!!

[Jondalar]

Why wasn't Smile at You, If You Were Love or Silver Springs on Tango in the Night? I mean Welcome to the Room Sara and When I See You Again were not up to par. She had better songs to offer that could compete with Lindsey and Christine. She got trampled on that album. She was the weak link.

[Jondalar]

Here is the 1982 Rolling Stone Review of Mirage. (Surprised they liked it soo much.)

Mirage

4 out of 5 stars

Mirage Fleetwood Mac Reprise
BY JOHN MILWARD August 16, 1982

Fleetwood Mac boasts the rarest of chart-topping, adult-oriented rock virtues — a group personality. In the three-part harmonies and the assured snap of the rhythm section, we hear five distinct personalities merge into a sound that is unmistakably Mac. On Mirage, Lindsey Buckingham once again reaches into his bag of magicianly production tricks and pulls out an elusive gem of a Fleetwood Mac record that, to borrow some lines from his own "Can't Go Home," has "a face as soft as a tear in a clown's eye."

"Can't Go Home" would sound comfortable in a music box. As with most of Buckingham's tunes, we're hooked before the first word. The melody is sprung from beat one as vibes and guitar play tag atop John McVie's ticktocking bass, and just when you expect it, Mick Fleetwood's snare drum locks the machinery into gear. Fleetwood and McVie, rock's classiest rhythm section, know how to make the simple sublime.

Fleetwood Mac, a vocal group with a beat, doesn't scrimp on harmonies. Voices make a feather bed for Christine McVie's pulsing "Love in Store," adorn the edges of Stevie Nicks' fairy tales and jump all over Buckingham's quirky contributions. Whether answering the lead voice or chanting "bom, bom, bom," the singing keeps Mac's fuzzy face in focus.

Nicks, whose easy allure has made her the most popular of Mac's front three, is also the most problematic. While Buckingham steals from everybody, Nicks picks her own pocket. Is there a witch in the house who could banish "dream," "gypsy" and (gasp) "velvet underground" from her vocabulary? "That's Alright," with a countryish melody and a demonstrative opening image ("Meet me down by the railway station"), is far and away her best new song. Still, when Fleetwood drops extra drum beats into the belly of the belfry on "Gypsy," it's clear that nobody can weave Stevie's velvet and lace like Fleetwood Mac.

Christine McVie might turn out to be the Alberta Hunter of the future. "Only over You" is Mirage's inevitable breakup blues: "I'm out of my mind," she sings in an ascending arch, and while that's not too far from "I'm over my head," Christine's wisdom is in her honey-toned voice. And though "Wish You Were Here" is a Jackson Browne soundalike with really bad words, "Hold Me" bristles with randy fun. Singing in tandem, Christine and Lindsey snuggle up to the rhythm ("Slip your hand inside my glove"), she smoothing his edges and he pushing her over the top.

Hellbent on becoming the silliest of rock stars, Lindsey Buckingham takes Fleetwood Mac's limp language to its logical extreme. He composes mint-fresh pop tunes, but the words are strictly recycled: i.e., "Love is like a grain of sand" or "Who wrote the book of love?" While Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Brian Wilson ignite his imagination, they also tangle his tongue. How lucky they were to have said it first! "Empire State," which crosses the space-cadet Byrds with the car-hopping Beach Boys, is as aggressively asinine as anything to come from Brian's sandbox. Minimally deeper are "Oh Diane" and "Eyes of the World," the former coaxing the dreaded "grain of sand" over a Buddy Holly-ish chord structure, and the latter launching a riveting guitar solo from a "Tusk"-like beat. The finely turned details that illuminate these tunes are deployed throughout Mirage, from the enthusiastic "hey" on "Empire State" to the tiny organ telegraphing "Only over You." Pop touches like these make a few grains of sand seem like a beach.

Fleetwood Mac have never pretended to be heavy thinkers. But like E.T. or baseball's pennant race, Mirage is another of 1982's sunny entertainments: it sounds great in the morning and fine over a sunset with wine.

[Street_Dreamer]

This is welcome news.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Why wasn't Smile at You, If You Were Love or Silver Springs on Tango in the Night? I mean Welcome to the Room Sara and When I See You Again were not up to par. She had better songs to offer that could compete with Lindsey and Christine. She got trampled on that album. She was the weak link.

Wasn't Joan of Arc in this period? (or was it Tango?)

I want it either way.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

OMG YES!

Can we please get the same deluxe treatment we got with Tusk. I would love to have a live version of Sara from the Mirage tour on my iTunes. I just hope they don't include that awful Hold Me demo "hold me hold me like a good man should." That demo of Hold Me is awful. I'm glad Lindsey was there to get his hands on that song.

I love the demo of Hold Me. She sings it well. It's a tight, well-structured tune, even before LB got to it. I love the final version, but demo shows her belting. Love it.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

I love the demo of Hold Me. She sings it well. It's a tight, well-structured tune, even before LB got to it. I love the final version, but demo shows her belting. Love it.

It's so different for her. I agree. What a masterpiece of a single. And Stevie nailed it with Gypsy. The ladies made that album sell.

[secondhandchain]

Originally Posted by Wdm6789

Could the release of the deluxe Mirage coincide with their 2017 tour? If so, I really hope they play Hold Me or Eyes of The World.

God knows they ain't making a new album. Nostalgia tour number 50.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by secondhandchain

God knows they ain't making a new album. Nostalgia tour number 50.

Even if they toured on the Mirage album that would be something new and different, at least.

Michele

[Wdm6789]

I hope this is the thing that finally gives us the uncut Mirage tour video. I'm not holding my breath, but how awesome would that be? I hope they at least include live tracks of all the songs on their set from 1982, like they did with the deluxe Tusk.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Here is the 1982 Rolling Stone Review of Mirage. (Surprised they liked it soo much.)

Mirage

4 out of 5 stars

Mirage Fleetwood Mac Reprise
BY JOHN MILWARD August 16, 1982

Fleetwood Mac boasts the rarest of chart-topping, adult-oriented rock virtues — a group personality. In the three-part harmonies and the assured snap of the rhythm section, we hear five distinct personalities merge into a sound that is unmistakably Mac. On Mirage, Lindsey Buckingham once again reaches into his bag of magicianly production tricks and pulls out an elusive gem of a Fleetwood Mac record that, to borrow some lines from his own "Can't Go Home," has "a face as soft as a tear in a clown's eye."

"Can't Go Home" would sound comfortable in a music box. As with most of Buckingham's tunes, we're hooked before the first word. The melody is sprung from beat one as vibes and guitar play tag atop John McVie's ticktocking bass, and just when you expect it, Mick Fleetwood's snare drum locks the machinery into gear. Fleetwood and McVie, rock's classiest rhythm section, know how to make the simple sublime.

Fleetwood Mac, a vocal group with a beat, doesn't scrimp on harmonies. Voices make a feather bed for Christine McVie's pulsing "Love in Store," adorn the edges of Stevie Nicks' fairy tales and jump all over Buckingham's quirky contributions. Whether answering the lead voice or chanting "bom, bom, bom," the singing keeps Mac's fuzzy face in focus.

Nicks, whose easy allure has made her the most popular of Mac's front three, is also the most problematic. While Buckingham steals from everybody, Nicks picks her own pocket. Is there a witch in the house who could banish "dream," "gypsy" and (gasp) "velvet underground" from her vocabulary? "That's Alright," with a countryish melody and a demonstrative opening image ("Meet me down by the railway station"), is far and away her best new song. Still, when Fleetwood drops extra drum beats into the belly of the belfry on "Gypsy," it's clear that nobody can weave Stevie's velvet and lace like Fleetwood Mac.

Christine McVie might turn out to be the Alberta Hunter of the future. "Only over You" is Mirage's inevitable breakup blues: "I'm out of my mind," she sings in an ascending arch, and while that's not too far from "I'm over my head," Christine's wisdom is in her honey-toned voice. And though "Wish You Were Here" is a Jackson Browne soundalike with really bad words, "Hold Me" bristles with randy fun. Singing in tandem, Christine and Lindsey snuggle up to the rhythm ("Slip your hand inside my glove"), she smoothing his edges and he pushing her over the top.

Hellbent on becoming the silliest of rock stars, Lindsey Buckingham takes Fleetwood Mac's limp language to its logical extreme. He composes mint-fresh pop tunes, but the words are strictly recycled: i.e., "Love is like a grain of sand" or "Who wrote the book of love?" While Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Brian Wilson ignite his imagination, they also tangle his tongue. How lucky they were to have said it first! "Empire State," which crosses the space-cadet Byrds with the car-hopping Beach Boys, is as aggressively asinine as anything to come from Brian's sandbox. Minimally deeper are "Oh Diane" and "Eyes of the World," the former coaxing the dreaded "grain of sand" over a Buddy Holly-ish chord structure, and the latter launching a riveting guitar solo from a "Tusk"-like beat. The finely turned details that illuminate these tunes are deployed throughout Mirage, from the enthusiastic "hey" on "Empire State" to the tiny organ telegraphing "Only over You." Pop touches like these make a few grains of sand seem like a beach.

Fleetwood Mac have never pretended to be heavy thinkers. But like E.T. or baseball's pennant race, Mirage is another of 1982's sunny entertainments: it sounds great in the morning and fine over a sunset with wine.

I remember this review and the bottle of wine reference Rolling Stone has always had odd reviews for Fleetwood Mac and solo projects (excluding Lindsey). Rolling Stone trashed the Wild Heart album and they were not crazy about Bella Donna either. Bella Donna is one of the best albums of the entire 80's decade. In 1990 they said Billy Burnette and Rick Vito were the best thing to happen to Fleetwood Mac. They also did not like Stevie's voice on the White Album.

[sanders8323]

Hmmm, "Can't Go Home," never heard of that Mac song before