"Mirage" album cover backstory

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by The Chain
I agree with the adam's apple.... yikes...... But if Stevie couldn't throw her head back, what's with that wild dancing on Stand Back, Red Rocks....

I don't think it's a problem of not being able to throw it back, it's just that she can't hold the position.

[ricohv]

I agree-it does seem like she holds her head back in the "like a willow I can bend..." part of SB video and she might do a little flailing in the Red Rocks video (what would you give to see her bust a move like that now? even if they had to haul out the dancer guy to came shake his booty around her-how Flashdance was that?).
So maybe she made this whole thing up because she's a big drama queen. Either way, she is most definately kind of a kook (and I mean that in the most loving way) and a bundle of contradictions-why else would we be so fascinated?
Ricoh

[SuzeQuze]

Originally posted by ricohv
... she is most definately kind of a kook (and I mean that in the most loving way) and a bundle of contradictions-why else would we be so fascinated?
Ricoh

Well stated! We do love this about Stevie! She IS the beauty and she's also the beast and we love both sides! The Gemini that she is, such a dichotomy.

~Susan

[littlelies7]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew
Of course, I've always felt the true "mirage" depicted on the cover, was that of Lindsey and Stevie in a lovers' embrace, years after they had broken up and their relationship had dissolved into acrimony!

Wow! I thought I was the only one who thought that!

BTW, a while back, I wrote a theory of the cover just for grins. Here it is:

"This album cover, done by legendary Hollywood photographer George Hurrell, showcases the three vocalists of rock band Fleetwood Mac. Literally taking the album title to heart, it showcases something that we would consider a “mirage�. The cover shows ex-lovers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in a “tango� dance pose. Highly unlikely since they are no longer a couple and Christine McVie looking on suspiciously, as if she and Lindsey had something going on between them. Since this is something that wasn’t going on at the time of the album’s release, it was considered an optical illusion, a trick for the audience."

P.S. My sister and I thought for a while that Mirage and TITN should switch album titles, since the original names show the opposite.

[littlelies7]

I had seen the picture, yet I am perplexed. For some reason, I don't think they actually look like the bandmembers.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew

Of course, I've always felt the true "mirage" depicted on the cover, was that of Lindsey and Stevie in a lovers' embrace, years after they had broken up and their relationship had dissolved into acrimony!

I never thought that deeply about the history but based my impression of the mirage just on what I saw. I had always thought that the mirage was that Lindsey's character in the photo was with Stevie's but imagining Christine's, or that he was escaping into a fantasy dance with Stevie while Christine was trying to pull him back to reality. Either woman was the mirage.

- Jake

[ShamHy89]

P.S. My sister and I thought for a while that Mirage and TITN should switch album titles, since the original names show the opposite.

When I first started researching the Mac online, I saw all of the albums lined up. I knew their names, but didn't know which one was which. At first glance and for a couple weeks afterwards, I was convinced that the cover of Mirage was indeed Tango In The Night, and that the tropical oasis scene of Tango was Mirage...it made more sense to me at the time.

Shamus

[littlelies7]

Originally posted by darklinensuit
I never thought that deeply about the history but based my impression of the mirage just on what I saw. I had always thought that the mirage was that Lindsey's character in the photo was with Stevie's but imagining Christine's, or that he was escaping into a fantasy dance with Stevie while Christine was trying to pull him back to reality. Either woman was the mirage.

- Jake

Good one, Jake!

Sounds better than my theory!

he was escaping into a fantasy dance with Stevie while Christine was trying to pull him back to reality. Either woman was the mirage.

That's my fav.

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by littlelies7
Good one, Jake!

Sounds better than my theory!



That's my fav.

It's like reading Shakespeare. You wonder, are we reading more into this or was it all intentional?

- Jake

[cliffdweller]

Stunt neck... hilarious. You have to admit though, she's still pretty stiff necked in her dancing. Maybe all that wild flailing about during her 80's heyday was due more in part to the cocaine and boozing, she was well medicated to dance around like a wild banshee then!

[Myristica]

Re the band members not looking like themselves, yes my first impression was that they're all waxworks. After I read that there's a hidden image but before I found the "face", I strained my eyes and imagination for a long time and tentatively saw a keyhole, or a question mark, a lightbulb, or a snake (all tilted at 90 degrees), or a black cystal ball in the middle. I thought a penguin would make more sense but couldn't see it in there.

[littlelies7]

Okay, this has been bugging me to no end...

Why is Lindsey wearing all black?