Rate Behind The Mask

[The Chain]

OKay, I'm sorry, I know I stole this from you, wondergirl, but I have to know people's oppinions or BTM, what order do you rate it? PS I know this IS the RUMOURS forum, but there's not alot of activity in the Post Rumours, so....

1. Save Me

2. Love Is Dangerous (It sounds a bit country, but I love Stevie's energy)

3. Freedom - Another Great Stevie Song

4. In the Back Of My Mind - I LOVE THIS SONG.... It probably ties with Freedom...

5. Behind The Mask (I REALLY LOVE THIS SONG.. IT'S GOT GREAT LYRICS, GREAT VOCALS)

6.Sky Is The Limit (I like this, but the intro, it's too tinker-toy, like happy elf music)

7. Affairs Of The Heart

8.Do You know (Christine's vocals are the best:nod: )

9. When It Comes To Love

10. The Second Time

11. Hard Feelings

12. Stand On The Rock

13. When The Sun Goes Down (What the F**k is this?:confused: )

So What do You Say?

[stefan]

1. Save me and Skies the limit both border on being nearly O.K. pop songs
2. Affairs of the heart is not good imo but better than the other songs on the album
The rest of the album is super crap imo. Stand on the rock... When the sun goes down... so tacky, I just cannot stand it.

[goldustboi]

love is dangerous
save me
skies the limit
affairs of the heart
behind the mask
stand on the rock
do u know
freedom

and the rest are crap, especially when the sun goes down, hard feelings and in the back...
rick vito is ok but to be honest i think billy burnette is the worst thing that happened to FM, his lyrics are embarassingly bad

[Neal]

BTM is actually one of my favorite albums. Billy and Rick may not be the greatest, but I think Chris and Stevie really shine on this album. I would rank the songs as follws...

Save Me
Freedom
Behind the Mask
Affairs of the Heart
In the Back of my Mind
Love is Dangerous
Do You Know
Skies the Limit
The Second Time
When it Comes to Love
Hard Feelings
Stand on the Rock
When the Sun goes Down

[darklinensuit]

Freedom
Behind the Mask
When It Comes to Love
Love is Dangerous
The Second Time
Affairs of the Heart
When the Sun Goes Down
Save Me
In the Back of my Mind
Skies the Limit
Stand on the Rock
Do You Know
Hard Feelings

Other than Freedom, Stevie's weakest FM songs IMO, and Chris's weakest other than the ones on Time.

- Jake

[PenguinHead]

I feel that The Second Time ranks down there with When I See You Again as Stevie's worse songs.

I'm not a big Billy Burnette fan ("Mr. Vegas Show Biz Man"), but I think Hard Feelings is one of his best songs with the band.

Rick Vito is a great guitar player, and his voice is acceptable, but his lyrics are of the basic, run-of-the-mill, heard-it-before type. That said, I do like Love Is Dangerous, probably because Stevie sings prominently on it.

[Nicks Fan]

Behind The Mask: With the absence of key writer Lindsey Buckingham it was assumed that prolific writers Christine Mcvie and Stevie Nicks would pick up the slack, but they did not. The album went gold but was the first Mac album not to be certified Double Platinum which was a shame since for the most part the album is pretty good. What works is the fact that even though it was 1990 the band still manages to come up with some good material ranging from the top 10 single "Skies The Limit" to the Stevie Nicks song "Affairs of The Heart". The weak songs include Hard Feelings, Stand on The Rock and When It Comes To Love all of which are poorly written pop fluff that do not mesure up to the bands potential. "Love Is Dangerous" a duet between Nicks and fellow band member Rick Vito is a good little rock song with a good use of guitars and drums. A solid effort but it could have been better. Best Song On The Album: Skies The Limit

[The Tower]

Alright.......


#1) The Second Time
#2) Freedom
#3) Hard Feelings
#4) Affairs of the Heart
#5) In the Back of My Mind
#6) Skies the Limit
#7) Love is Dangerous
#8) Save M

The rest suck so bad they don't warrant a place in line...


Was it in my mind, or was it true?
That woman used to a Hollywood living....
Do you remember how the Angels sang???

And your sorrows left you there...
Right before the- lights came up....
Do you remember you took my hand....
Do you remember.... my friend....


Yes, very good...............

[violetmemoriez]

Well I love....

1. Freedom
2.In the back of my mind
3. behind the mask

the rest are nice to listen to but these are the ones that stand out for me :)

B

[macfan 57]

1. Behind The Mask(right up there with Christine's best)
2. When The Sun Goes Down(love this rock-a-billy song, should have been played live)
3. Save Me(another very good Christine song)
4. Do You Know
5. When It Comes To Love
6. Hard Feelings
7. In The Back Of My Mind
8. Skies The Limit
9. Affairs Of The Heart(the only Stevie song on here that is somewhat listenable)
10. Love Is Dangerous
11. Stand On The Rock
12. Freedom
13. The Second Time(a horrible song)

I like Behind the Mask, but I think Stevie's songs here are extremely weak. Chris & Billy really make the album for me. I like everything they did on this record. In all fairness to Rick, his best songs(except for When The Sun Goes Down)were left off the album. Intuition & Got No Home are both terrific & should have been on the album. Billy's Victim Of Love is another terrific song, too.

[darklinensuit]

While I hated Billy's version of Oh Well, I will say that Tear it Up was a standout on the tour.

- Jake

[darklinensuit]

Somebody might have mentioned this already, but shouldn't this thread be in the Post-Rumours Forum? That place is wanting for new threads.

- Jake

[SmthngOfADreamr]

It's hard for me to put this album in order of which songs I like best, so I'll just say that I absolutely adore Love Is Dangerous, Behind the Mask, and Affairs of the Heart. I can't stand Freedom or The Second Time, which I know is contrary to popular opinion on here. The Second Time could be worlds better with a better production and vocal.

[wetcamelfood]

Originally posted by trackaghost
God, I can't even remember the last time I listened to this record. I have Affairs Of The Heart and Freedom on other compilations, but as to the rest of it, it wouldn't bother me if I never heard it again. Wow, I'm being controversial tonite!

No, it's clear to me that it's actually considered order of the day to rag on non BN Mac albums (like BTM, OK, SN was there but it's obvious that a large portion of the fan base has decided it's OK to blast it and for SN fans to dismiss it as being "the klonopin years"). Now, ragging on BN era albums, THAT'S being cotroversial I guess. :)

Though there is "not much activity" at the "post Rumours" board, this thread really should've gone there as those that do post there would've given it more fair reviews (I mean, if the thread starter really wanted to find out about the album, then surely the best place to post about it would be where the fans OF THOSE LINEUPS post?) but that is JMHO after all. :)

John

P.S. I like all 16 members of FM so I'm not ragging on BN, I like them too, I'm just calling it as I see it is all. :)

[jwd]

Actually I like BTM very much. The addition of Billy and Rick in this edition of FM was very much a nuance at the time and didn't quite have the same effect as the FM with Lindsey involved. That being said, I think that if this lineup were given the chance to develop, it could have been just as strong.

I didn't particularly care for Stevie's songs on this record. Whether it was the Klonopin haze or not I really don't know, but a lot of her stuff from '87 on to TISL, I would consider sub-par for her. Christine's songs as usual were excellent with "BTM" being a favorite of mine.

I really wanted to hear more from this lineup thinking that Rick and Billy could have steered FM in a new direction and to a certain degree back to a more bluesy sound.

Here's how I'd rank the songs:

1. In The Back Of My Mind
2. Behind The Mask
3. Hard Feelings
4. When It Comes To Love
5. Save Me
6. Skies The Limit
7. Do You know
8. Love Is Dangerous
9. Freedom
10. Affairs Of The Heart
11. When The Sun Goes Down
12. Stand On The Rock
13. The Second Time


As for where this thread belongs, I would say Post-Rumours, but so would everything relating to SYW, and we all know that's not the case. Moderator's choice.


Joe

[wetcamelfood]

Ah, refreshing post Joe, thanks for that. :)

John

[jwd]

Posted by wetcamelfood:

Ah, refreshing post Joe, thanks for that.

My pleasure John. Glad you enjoyed it! :)


Joe :wavey:

[Ali]

Skies The Limit
Stand on the Rock
Save Me
When The Sun Goes Down
Behind The Mask
Love is Dangerous
In the Back Of My Mind
Freedom
Do You Know
Affairs of the Heart
When It Comes To Love
The Second Time
Hard Feelings

[DeeGeMe]

I actually like Behind the Mask. I didn't really think of it as a Mac album, per se, but there are a few songs on it that make it onto my best of Mac compilation discs:

1. Freedom-What can I say? It rocks.

2. Hard Feelings-I love, love, love this song.

3. In the Back of My Mind-I like this one too.

4-Save Me-It's a catchy little tune.

5.Sky Is The Limit-another happy little song.

I can take or leave anything else on there, although I like Affairs of the Heart if I'm in the right mood.

[strandinthewind]

1. Behind The Mask - CM at her best and the "angel in black" devil reference is just vivid. I love CM when she is a little darker than usual.

2. Affairs Of The Heart - I love this song, esp. the non-released versions. I just think the whole "color of honey" thing is just so Stevie.

3. Save Me - Should have been a bigger hit. Good song.

4. The Second Time - Love it although it has some bad/lazy editing that is a great comment on the lousy production on this record.

5. Skies The Limit - Should have been a bigger hit - Good song.

6. Freedom - Classic Stevie lyrics. I wish her voice had been better, but it is what it is.

The rest are all ranked together. I would have liked "Love Is Dangerous" more had it not been for the weak chorus. And - "Stand on the Rock" was just weak IMO.

[snwriter]

1. Freedom
2. Love is Dangerous
3. Behind the Mask
4. Affairs of the Heart
5. Save Me
6. When the Sun Goes Down
7 In the Back of My Mind
8. The Second Time
9. Skies the Limit
10. Hard Feelings
11. Do You Know
12. When it Comes to Love
13. Stand on the Rock

[Cristian]

Considering that, to me, Tango was a rather weak effort (except for the Christine tunes and Lindsey's title track and opener), I have to rate Behind The Mask as a favorite of mine. I always end up rediscovering it again, and I like what Billy and Rick added to the band... a more cohesive feeling that you can see in the four-part vocal harmonies, the songwriting collaboration and the participation in the other people's tracks. It doesn't look like a four songwriters album, it looks like a band's album, which I appreciate very much.

Being that said,

1. Do You Know
2. Freedom
3. Behind The Mask
4. In The Back Of My Mind
5. Love Is Dangerous
6. Skies The Limit
7. The Second Time
8. Save Me
9. Affairs Of The Heart
10. Stand On The Rock
11. Hard Feelings
12. When The Sun Goes Down
13. When It Comes To Love


Song of the moment - The Chain

[face of glass]

Originally posted by wetcamelfood
Though there is "not much activity" at the "post Rumours" board, this thread really should've gone there as those that do post there would've given it more fair reviews

Well, it's JYHO, as you said, but I think it would be clearer if it was actually stated under the forum titles on the main page which albums can be discussed in each respective forum. If BTM has two writers from the Rumours line-up and two writers who were not a part of that line-up, then it's really debatable as to where the album should be discussed. Then again, the same goes for Heroes Are Hard To Find.

But nah, I'm reading too much into this. Besides, I have a simple rule of thumb to be used here: don't discuss line-ups that don't include Buckingham in the Rumours forum. So this is a Lindsey board after all. ;)

Oh, and my BTM list, although I've given the album about three listens so far:

1. "Behind The Mask"/"In The Back Of My Mind"
3. "Save Me"/"Freedom"/"When The Sun Goes Down"
6. "Affairs Of The Heart"/"Stand On The Rock"

The rest I still have to give a proper chance.

Oh, and everyone! Now's your chance to rate Time at the post-Rumours board. ;)

[macmar71]

1)Skies the Limit~~Very bright, cheery Christine song...one of my favorites.
2)Do You Know~~A duet with great lyrics
3)Freedom~~Love that angry Stevie vibe
4)Behind The Mask~~Great title track with a nice guitar track in the background.
5)The Second Time~~Stevie's lyrics are what really draw me to this song.
6)Affairs Of the Heart~~This reminds me of something that should be on RAL or OSOTM, fantasy themed.
7)In the Back Of My Mind~~very trippy intro and very Tusk like, not a typical Billy tune.
8)Hard Feelings~~I love this song, it is very catchy and full of harmonies.
9)When The Sun Goes Down~~Has a very bouncy, country feel to it which is rather fun.
10)Stand On the Rock~~The lyrics are repetitive again but I like Rick's guitar playing on this.
11)Save Me~~the popular hit which was played to overkill here so again not one I would select first off this CD.
12)When It Comes to Love~~I prefer the other Billy/Chris duet as I find this one kind of flat.
13)Love is Dangerous~~Not a favorite of mine, too repetitive in the lyrics.


The BTM review IMO.:nod:

[HollywoodSteve]

Ah, this is one of my favorite albums, not just by Fleetwood Mac but in general. VERY underrated!

Here goes:

1. Skies The Limit. Wish the Mac had done more songs like this, with Stevie's unmistakeable backing vocals, kind of like "Little Lies". I consider this song to be the sequel to "Don't Stop".
2. Affairs of the Heart. Great Stevie song, whimsical and catchy. I agree about the "color of honey" line. It's great.
3. Save Me. Brings back memories to the summer of '90. I love it when Chris turns away from pop and starts rockin'. That's what she does here, very much like "Isn't It Midnight". Would have been a colossal hit with better promotion.
4. Do You Know. A great duet with Christine and Billy. It's gorgeous.
5. Freedom. Another fine Stevie rocker. Love the line about the "wind blown night".
6. Behind the Mask. Chrstine sounds great here and I love the words and their meaning. Lindsey's guitar also helps bring it to life.
7. Hard Feelings. A single in the states, never took off. I still like it though.
8. In the Back of My Mind. Kind of Pink Floydish...not at all a bad thing. A single in the U.K. Love Christine singing on the bridge portion of the song.
9. When the Sun Goes Down. Used to hate it. Now that I've matured I quite enjoy it.
10. When It Comes To Love. Good song, but Chris and Billy are better on "Do You Know".
11. Stand On the Rock. I like Rick's voice on this one. It rocks but I need to be in the right mood to appreciate it.
12. Love Is Dangerous. Good rocker with Stevie and Rick...nothing terribly special though.
13. The Second Time. nap time!

[wetcamelfood]

That's an interesting idea Gaius, I had never really thought about it that way but I assume "Post Rumours" was set up with the notations underneath of only Billy, Rick, Dave M & Bekka to differenciate it that way to keep those that are interested with the most popular lineup (BN) here (since Christine is considered part of the most acknowledged lineup, though I guess her "Time", BTM and pre 75 songs are probably best discussed there (pre & post) since those that only frequent the "Rumours" boards are not familiar with those recordings, possibly due to them either not having gotten around to getting them yet or having no interest in tracking them down to hear them.

I guess it could be argued that SN's BTM songs should be discussed there but since, as I've said before, her material from that album has generally just be brushed off as "the klonopin years" then I guess there's not really a place for anyone to go to discuss her BTM songs as they'd most likely get brushed off at either the "Rumours" or SN solo boards and though they may get better treatment at the "Post Rumours" board, SN's material does seem less fitting there than it does in the "popular forums" (in regards to her work (SN solo & "Rumours"). Besides, since it seems many are so dismissive of her BTM material, I guess this quandry will not come up very often anyways since the fans of her BTM material are apparently few and far between. :)

I personally start threads (mainly) about Mac albums in general anyways (and not usually about just one of the writer's material, and that's probably why I hadn't thought of it this way until you mentioned it) and as BTM and "Time" are not generally recognized as FM albums (whether it be by the press or whoever), I usually discuss those ALBUMS in "Post Rumours" since the idea here I assume is to keep the most successful/popular members/lineups discussions in certain areas so those that do wish to discuss non BN related Mac material don't have to wade through the BN posts. I know of some Mac boards that lump everything in one forum, BN or not, in a sense, MAKING BN era/members only fans weed though the non BN stuff to get to the threads that they want to read and I like of like that idea in the sense that some BN era only fans get transformed into being fans of other FM members/lineups too by reading some of the interesting things said in those non BN threads but whatever, to each his/her own I guess. :)

John

[chiliD]

Disclaimer: There's only ONE song on this album I just think is fish-guts...I really like the rest of the album...HOWEVER, I think the production of the album overall is very poor.

In The Back Of My Mind
When The Sun Goes Down
Behind The Mask
Save Me
Love Is Dangerous (take a listen to Rick's solo version on his Crazy Cool album!)
Hard Feelings
Do You Know?
Freedom
Skies The Limit
When It Comes To Love
Affairs Of The Heart
Stand On The Rock (sorry, Rick...read below*)
...
...
...
...
...
...
(and, then...)
...
...
...
The Second Time


Originally posted by macfan 57
*=In all fairness to Rick, his best songs(except for When The Sun Goes Down)were left off the album. Intuition & Got No Home are both terrific & should have been on the album. Billy's Victim Of Love is another terrific song, too.

{In my best Marv Albert voice} YESSSSSSS!!

Even alternate versions of songs that DID make the album are much better than ones that did. The mixes on them seem "brighter" & "fresher" than the dark, musty & stanky versions that made it onto the album.

Originally posted by darklinensuit
While I hated Billy's version of Oh Well...

How can anyone hate ANY version of "Oh Well" is beyond me. After "Stardust", it's the best song ever written. Only Kenny Wayne Shepard can ruin this song. It's like pizza, there's not really a bad one, just some better than others.

Oh...and, yeah, that version from 1988 with Billy & Rick is my all-time favorite LIVE version...the original on Then Play On is still and always will be #1

[face of glass]

Originally posted by wetcamelfood
the idea here I assume is to keep the most successful/popular members/lineups discussions in certain areas so those that do wish to discuss non BN related Mac material don't have to wade through the BN posts.

I agree with what you said John. And the division of the band's career into eras works well here. I don't mind other line-ups discussed in boards that aren't dedicated to them though; I don't think the whole thing should be THAT strict. I do understand your will to get some more activity into the post-Rumours board, but then again I've always thought of that board as a sanctuary for those who occasionally get sick of the fuss around the Rumours line-up. Didn't ChiliD once try to get some activity into that board by stating that the current line-up is a post-Rumours line-up? :)

And sometimes even you two (or at least ChiliD) start to discuss other line-ups in this forum. I think I see the motive behind that: to remind people that there's life outside Buckingham and Nicks. ;)

[chiliD]

Originally posted by face of glass
Didn't ChiliD once try to get some activity into that board by stating that the current line-up is a post-Rumours line-up? :)

Yup. 4/5 of the Then Play On lineup was on Kiln House, but IT is considered a new incarnation.

Same goes for the Say You Will lineup...4/5 of Rumours lineup does NOT = Rumours lineup.

Originally posted by face of glass
...to remind people that there's life outside Buckingham and Nicks. ;)

There IS! And, it's all good.

Repeat after me:
Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil...

:laugh:

[ShamHy89]

There IS! And, it's all good.

AMEN!!! :nod:



Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil, Rumours is evil

Well, I won't go THAT far, but i do strongly agree that Rumours often overshadows most great Fleetwood Mac music which is often better IMO.

Shamus:)

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by chiliD
How can anyone hate ANY version of "Oh Well" is beyond me. After "Stardust", it's the best song ever written. Only Kenny Wayne Shepard can ruin this song. It's like pizza, there's not really a bad one, just some better than others.

Sorry, I don't like soggy or under-cooked pizza, and there are some toppings I won't eat. IMO Billy's vocal was annoying. Not that I agree with most reviewers, but I see the point of the one who wrote that he tried too hard to imitate Lindsey's idiosyncrosies. I don't know that he was trying to do that, but I found most of the Billyisms on the song not to my liking.

- Jake

[wetcamelfood]

Originally posted by face of glass
I don't mind other line-ups discussed in boards that aren't dedicated to them though; I don't think the whole thing should be THAT strict. I do understand your will to get some more activity into the post-Rumours board, but then again I've always thought of that board as a sanctuary for those who occasionally get sick of the fuss around the Rumours line-up.

Just to be clear, I don't think it should be THAT strict either and it obviously isn't, as if it was, then this thread would've been moved to the "post Rumours" board long ago I'm sure. I'm glad we agree on this anyways though. :)

Originally posted by face of glass
Didn't ChiliD once try to get some activity into that board by stating that the current line-up is a post-Rumours line-up? :) And sometimes even you two (or at least ChiliD) start to discuss other line-ups in this forum. I think I see the motive behind that: to remind people that there's life outside Buckingham and Nicks. ;)

Again for clarity: I know you didn't say "force", I'd just like to say so others know what I mean... Though I certainly wouldn't complain if there was more activity on the non BN boards, I'm not trying to force anyone at gun point to go there. As I've said and will always say, I do respect the opinions of others here, even if they differ from mine. :)

Yeah, "remind" people there's other members/lineups of FM, now that's a word I'm happy to live with, if there must be a motive behind it stated. :)

For the political reasons I spoke of before, that is why I personally think SYW talk is better here than on "post Rumours". I guess that's one of the few things ChiliD and I disagree on. :)

John

[chiliD]

Originally posted by wetcamelfood
For the political reasons I spoke of before, that is why I personally think SYW talk is better here than on "post Rumours". I guess that's one of the few things ChiliD and I disagree on. :)

We don't really disagree...as long as it is acknowledged that the current lineup is NOT "the Rumours lineup without Christine", and that it is a completely unique lineup in the history of Fleetwood Mac, I don't care WHERE it is discussed. ;) I actually agree that the Rumours board is probably the least "flammable" site for Say You Will discussions.

[gldstwmn]

Okay, what the hell...

1. Hard Feelings
2. Freedom
3. Affairs Of The Heart
4. Love Is Dangerous
5. Save Me
6. When The Sun Goes Down
7. Stand On The Rock
8. Do You Know
9. Skies The Limit
10.Behind The Mask
11. In The Back Of My Mind (overkill!)
12. The Second Time
13. When It Comes To Love

[The Catdancer]

I don't like BTM at all for one simple reason: Stevie sounds like she's asleep. Where's her power???? She sounds very laid back and that may be good for some people, but not for me. I like her when she's on fire.
The vocals of Billy & Rick are..... well, not that good. There's no fire in the album. Billy is trying way too hard to sound like Lindsey except on In The Back Of My Mind, that's about the only song I like.

Debbie

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by The Catdancer
I don't like BTM at all for one simple reason: Stevie sounds like she's asleep.

I like most of the album, but I hate the videos. One main reason is that droopy-eyed puffy-lipped expression on Stevie's klonopin glazed face. Thank goodness she made it through the fog!

- Jake

[wetcamelfood]

Originally posted by chiliD
We don't really disagree...as long as it is acknowledged that the current lineup is NOT "the Rumours lineup without Christine", and that it is a completely unique lineup in the history of Fleetwood Mac, I don't care WHERE it is discussed. ;) I actually agree that the Rumours board is probably the least "flammable" site for Say You Will discussions.

Yeah, when you word it that way, I agree (that it would be "another lineup", like it being part of that "FM family tree" we had been working on with Brian, Johnny Stew, etc. (sorry for not noting the others involved that may be reading this too, it's just been a while since I've seen that thread now). :)

You got to the crux of the matter in one sentence which I was unable to do in a paragraph (sort of the equivelant of the "1 meaningful Peter Green note over Clapton's 5", does that make me God then? :) ), yep, SYW talk is best here I feel for it being the least flammable board for SYW talk. :)

John