Rumours II

[cbBen]

I think Mirage and even more so Tango are not straight commercial albums (though Lindsey tries to portray the former that way). Lots of quirky and adventurous stuff on both (e.g. the backing vocals on "Book Of Love" and "Eyes Of The World") – especially on Tango (all the non-radio songs besides Stevie's).

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by cbBen

I think Mirage and even more so Tango are not straight commercial albums (though Lindsey tries to portray the former that way). Lots of quirky and adventurous stuff on both (e.g. the backing vocals on "Book Of Love" and "Eyes Of The World") – especially on Tango (all the non-radio songs besides Stevie's).

Mirage is light pop. Not sure how backing vocals on Book of Love makes it any less pop. Maybe Empire State is a bit quirky but probably even Wham's Make it Big probably had a song like that on that pop album.
My point was how the band went against the conventional wisdom of chasing pop radio and commercial success for craft for Tusk yet went way overboard chasing pop radio and commercial success because of Tusk. The band was under tremendous pressure to make Mirage radio friendly pop greatness. Because of Mick's bankruptcy and the length of time between albums, Tango also was under tremendous pressure to be commercially successful. When you chase the pop charts those songs are not memorable. That is what made the White Album, Rumours, and Tusk so great. They worked on songs regardless of pop influence or pressure to get the album in the top 10.

I love Mirage in its pop greatness. I only wish they would have included Smile at You. It needed that angry Stevie rocker but they played it so safe. I love Mirage for what it is. I really only care for Christine's songs on Tango. Its not a group effort and most of it sounds like a Lindsey solo album because it is a Lindsey solo album I believe Behind the Mask is a better album than Tango.

[stevierocks87]

This is a joke, right?

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by stevierocks87

This is a joke, right?

Not a joke. Actually Stevie will re record Bella Donna this year in reggaeton rhythm.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Not a joke. Actually Stevie will re record Bella Donna this year in reggaeton rhythm.

Hahahahahahahaha
There's no other "musical" style that I dislike more than that...and now mixed with that "trap" stuff, ugg... ( )


I always thought that the White Album was more like a Rumours II than Tusk. I can't see similar things in both albums, but the White Album and Rumours share some things maybe. I mean, the style of the songs, you can put all the songs from both albums and you won't find the difference! Except on some of the lyrics, of course...
It's clear that the sound of Tusk is more similar to Law & Order or Mirage.
The Rumours II came from the past, not from the future!
What if Rumours was first and the White Album was next??

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by moon

Hahahahahahahaha
I always thought that the White Album was more like a Rumours II than Tusk. I can't see similar things in both albums, but the White Album and Rumours share some things maybe. I mean, the style of the songs, you can put all the songs from both albums and you won't find the difference! Except on some of the lyrics, of course...
It's clear that the sound of Tusk is more similar to Law & Order or Mirage.
The Rumours II came from the past, not from the future!
What if Rumours was first and the White Album was next??

Yeah, and I think this is why people were so excited to get the next Mac album in 1979, because they'd done FLEETWOOD MAC and RUMOURS are both were amazing albums with incredible songs in a similar vein. Granted that the drama behind RUMOURS turned it into a cultural zeitgeist album, and there was just no way to replicate that, even if they had kept in the same vein.

By doing what they did with TUSK they at least won an artistic victory if not a commercial one. I think another album in the MAC/RUMOURS style would have been met with "meh" both artistically and commercially at the time and in hindsight. TUSK on the other hand has increased substantially in artistic evaluation.

[SteveMacD]

I thought this was about the Pony Time album...

[brad975]

Originally Posted by stevierocks87

This is a joke, right?

Yes, this was a sick joke. But it would be perversely fascinating to hear, wouldn't it?

It was partly inspired by Blondie. I'm a pretty big Blondie fan, and in 2014, they rerecorded most of their best known songs on the collection Blondie 4(0) Ever, including a second disc of new material. They admitted in interviews that the remakes were because they could own the masters of these versions and make more money licensing them for films/commercials, etc. (their original record deal was crappy).

In fact, there are a lot of "rerecorded" versions of '70s/'80s hits on Spotify by other artists so that they can make more they would otherwise. Usually they end up sounding like karaoke versions.

The Blondie remakes aren't totally wretched, just not nearly close to as satisfying as the originals. Debbie's voice had changed by then, though not nearly as much as Stevie's. (BTW: Blondie's 2017 album Pollinator album is actually their best in years; I love it!)

I'm not sure if Fleetwood Mac ever regained control of their masters, but they're so loaded (besides maybe Mick) that they probably don't even have to worry about that issue. I think the intention for the remake would be another excuse for a world tour and to legitimize the new lineup without actually having to come up with anything new. As a bonus, I technically couldn't take any flack for posting something like this in the "Rumours" forum instead of the little loved "Present Band" category.

For the hypothetical Rumours II, I would want Stevie and Christine to be heavily autotuned (even more than Madonna on her latest album), and I normally hate when I can detect autotune. But hey! Let's make it sound current and tuneful. Also needs layers of backing vocals from Sharon, Lori, Marilyn, etc. I want Stevie so autotuned on "Dreams" that she hits those high notes like a robotic Welsh Witch. Without them, the song is almost a dirge live now.

I'd also want overlong interludes where Stevie gives the backstory of her songs, without ever actually mentioning Lindsey. She's great at revisionist history. "Silvers Springs" is now the album opener btw. "Go Your Own Way" is listed as a bonus track (with the "shacking up" lyrics changed to "backing up").

Concerning the earlier "Rumours II," the Mirage album, I actually think it's a good balance between the commerciality of Rumours and Lindsey's weirdness on Tusk. I listen to this album a lot, and I enjoy all of Lindsey's songs. They're mostly pretty quirky without being too grating. Christine's side closers aren't the strongest, but overall an interesting collection IMO.

I love legendary music critic Robert Christgau's nutshell reviews, and this is what he said about Mirage when reviewing 1988's Greatest Hits:

Greatest Hits [Reprise, 1988]
To my surprise, I had more fun replaying side two of Mirage, which turns out to have some weird and pleasant sh*t on it. Reminding me that what distinguished them from your average great pop band was that their hits were improved by their putative filler. So with some obvious--in fact, all too familiar--exceptions, the radio-ready format makes them seem blander than they actually are. B
--------------
Tango came closest to being Rumours II in terms of sales and number of hit singles, but it's a little too '80s slick for me now (as it was then). And I'm primarily a Stevie fan ('73-'83 vocals), and her songs are usually my faves on the albums, but not that go round. I just listened to "When I See You Again" as I typed this. And, Stevie, girl, cocaine really is a Helluva drug.

[BombaySapphire3]

[QUOTE=Macfan4life;
My point was how the band went against the conventional wisdom of chasing pop radio and commercial success for craft for Tusk yet went way overboard chasing pop radio and commercial success because of Tusk. The band was under tremendous pressure to make Mirage radio friendly pop greatness. Because of Mick's bankruptcy and the length of time between albums, Tango also was under tremendous pressure to be commercially successful. When you chase the pop charts those songs are not memorable. That is what made the White Album, Rumours, and Tusk so great. They worked on songs regardless of pop influence or pressure to get the album in the top 10.
.[/QUOTE]

Actually Rumours was created to be a hit. Lindsey has talked about how he listened to hit records by other artists to see what made them successful when Fleetwood Mac was recording the album.It doesn't make it any less brilliant or organic but it was meant to be a blockbuster. Tusk was indeed made without commercial considerations and it is of course also brilliant. After this the band's chemistry fractured so Mirage and Tango regardless of why they were made were not going to be as captivating.

[tabruns]

Hmmm No, if Fleetwood Mac is going to do an album it should be new material. There's really no point in re-doing one of their classic albums. A different band doing it (like Camper Van Beethoven's redo of TUSK) could be interesting because they interpret it their own way.