If only! “Skies” just gives me hives.

I mean, Stevie’s contribution to “Oh, Daddy” (and I can’t walk away from you, baby if I tried”) is ungrammatical, too, whereas the original line Christine had there wasn’t, but bad grammar doesn’t really bother me.

And I couldn't walk away from you sugar, daddy if I tried.

How's that?

I was going to add my list of songs I like from that album, but I realized fast that I couldn’t even remember the songs or the running order without looking it up online. I don’t remember all the song titles or what’s on side 1 or side 2.

If I happen to hear some of it, I tap my foot and drum on my leg a little. But I basically have no nostalgia for that album at all. It’s out of sight, out of mind for me. Unless it’s playing somewhere, I don’t even remember it.

Looking over the track list, I think I actually like “Hard Feelings” the best. The songwriter wrote “Wind Beneath My Wings,” weirdly enough. I think there’s a dearth of really catchy hooks in these songs, and nothing terribly interesting is going on with the orchestration — most of these sound as if the basic tracks were recorded live, like the early Mac albums. But unlike the early Mac albums, these songs aren’t very tough or funny — there’s no attitude. No one in the band sounds very happy or very sad or very angry. Just a bunch of multimillionaires lounging around a recording studio, earning more money. And Ladanyi doesn’t sound any more engaged than the band. This is Fleetwood Mac’s “let’s make an album because what else is there to do at the moment?” album. You can tell that absolutely no one involved in it felt any sort of artistic or emotional compulsion to “get something out” of themselves. It all just feels like an extended advertisement. The album is really soporific, which is probably why almost no one bothers to listen to it.

I’m off to listen to “Hard Feelings” again to see whether it stands up to a second listen. It’s not the Beatles, but it has a little Beatles in it.

My impression is pretty much the opposite of what yours is. While I think Stevie’s songs are the weakest, her vocals seem inspired, especially on Love is Dangerous and Freedom. She really belts out lines like “echoes of emotion and the visions of a fool” and “look at me with daggers, it won’t do you any good.” I actually feel like Stevie and Christine worked hard on BTM, perhaps to show they could be a band without Lindsey. And from Billy’s book and other sources, such as tidbits from the top 40 countdowns back in the day, this incarnation of the band genuinely had a great time touring and recording, and that does come across. I don’t think they were “eh, whatever” about recording BTM, I think they were very invested.

That is splendid, Brown Eyes ;)

Seriously, Sugar Daddy is the best.

Sugar Daddy blows any song on BTM, away. Can you imagine?

I was watching the Christine McVie laserdisc concert on YouTube and marveled at how effing cool “One in a Million” sounded. That fat Hammond, Sharp’s searing guitar. Christine’s ultra cool vocals.

Man, she knows her R&B. Wish she’d do one more album of songs like “Anything is Possible” and “Forgiveness.”

I know. And I really love So Sincere and Bad Journey, too. That album has some wonderful gems on it. And Dan's playing is fantastic. I think Hawkins in on that album as well. But she has a Steely Dan funk to her that really hits my good feels.

Her and Donald Fagin. Imagine!

I am always amazed at the love for Hard Feelings on this board. IMHO its the worst song on the album. I dont think Billy can sing very good and its such a D list song. Its something I would expect to hear on amateur night at some bar and grill with a local band.
But to each their own.
I like most of this album more than Tango. Its more rock n roll and wow we hear that bluesy rhythm section humming in a few songs that we have not heard in a long time. Its completely unconventional which I love. No computer bass lines, no pre-programmed stuff like on Tango. Mick, John, Chris and the new guys play everything. I like the title song but I think it could have been so much better with a few refinements.
My favs are:
In The back of my mind
Save Me
Love is dangerous
Skies the limit
Freedom
When It comes to love
Do you know
I can dig when the sun goes down

Everything else is meh.

Co written by McVie/Fagen

Christine McVie on piano, Donald on keys, Eric Clapton on guitar, Ferrone on drums, and Hawkins on bass. :blob1::blob2:

uhhhh I died.

During the quarantine, one year ago, Behind The Mask and Time became my most listened albums. But I enjoyed them in a very different way, just to say that Time is better than BTM. Trust me! Haha :laugh:
There's really good songs, Love Is Dangerous, ITBOMM, Do You Know, Behind The Mask and, especially, When It Comes To Love. I really like this last one! I think it's a good one for the album, more if you think that Side 2 has not great songs...
The ending song is simply bad. Bad bad bad. I simply skip it, and trust me that it's rare for me to skip a FM song -except for some like Oh Daddy, Honey Hi, Beautiful Child, Storms...-.
Save Me and Skies The Limit are good, but I think they lost a lot putting them as the promotional songs of the album. The better job was inside!
Happy 31, Behind The Mask! :blob2: :blob2:

Every song on BTM sounds like “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” which makes sense, since it’s the same producer.

I don’t see that at all. Or hear it. Save Me and Skies the Limit are quintessential Fleetwood Mac, while Do You Know, As Long As You Follow, No Questions Asked, In the Back of My Mind, and Love is Dangerous showed fans where the new lineup was headed if they had continued. One album isn’t really enough to judge a new lineup completely, but the entire Behind the Mask album, plus Love Shines, Heart of Stone, and the 2 songs from the greatest hits album showed a lot of potential for this lineup- it just ended abruptly, so we’ll never know.

Agreed. I liked the BTM album and tour. It does sound dated in places, but it has a band sound. And like Macfan said, it has the rhythm section. Which I also loved the rhythm section on BuckVie, quintessential Fleetwood Mac. Sounded great.

Wha wha wha what?
How do you hear any of that? If only.

BTM is a bluesy slow folksy rocker. The album could have used Don Henley in a few places.

Stevie has used him in at least one place. :lol:

God you ruin everything!!! :wavey:

I dare someone to do a mash up of Don's song and any song from BTM. It wont fit.

I mean...

All she wants to do is .........the second around for us. She never looked back. She wants to party. She wants to get down. All she wants to do is....second time around...for us :)

Put it in place of Love Is Dangerous or Stand On The Rocks.

I wonder who paid for the abortion? :woohoo:

Stand On The Rocks somehow sounds less secure and inviting than Stand On The Rock. :thumbsup:

Especially if all she wants to do is dance dance dance :lol:

How come no one told me about this before. It sounds just like Stand on the Rocks :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng4SMEQn3LY

I seriously don’t get how you can’t hear how the production aesthetic is nearly identical? Nearly identical effects on the drums, unnecessary and dated ancillary sounds, and even the same god awful overly thick lead slide guitar tone. You really don’t hear that?

You may be on to something. When I bought the BTM cassette tape in 1990, I found myself driving with my eyes closed to the Sunset Grill to dance. I don't know how they knew I was a Yankee but threatened me not to come back.

Its all coming back to me now.

Hated most of the album then and still hate most of it today. Only “Save Me” and the title track grab my interest. The rest depresses me.

And when you do, I think about you.

I liked Christine's two singles, Love Is Dangerous, and Do You Know. The rest of the album didn't do much for me.

Is it one or the other?

I simply cannot stand “Skies”—it offends me. “Do You Know” is pretty, if a bit too glossy.

I was young, and secretly in love with a classmate. I have very emotional memories of DYK.

It is powerful. I would sing so loudly in the car when I was by myself. When It Comes To Love is another goodie. Chris and Billy really sounded good together.

The running order I would have picked:

Skies The Limit
Victim of Love
Freedom
Intuition
Save Me
In the Back of My Mind

Behind the Mask
When the Sun Goes Down
Affairs of the Heart
Do You Know
Love is Dangerous
Game of Love


Also, there were still other better songs by Rick Vito:
Got No Home

Surrender to Me as done here by the Byrds offshoot McGuinn Clark & Hillman.

Was Intuition originally recorded for BTM? I had Rick Vito’s first album after he left FM and loved Intuition. It would have fit beautifully on the BTM.

I also love Game of Love by Billy and can’t believe it didn’t make it on the album. Glad to see someone else likes it, too.

But you left off Do You Know and When It Comes to Love, two of my favorites. I suppose When It Comes to Love is a bit similar to Game of Love, though.

As far as your song order, I would switch Freedom and Love is Dangerous.

There’s a Stevie-less demo of Intuition that’s pretty similar.

Do You Know is there. It’s on side 2. When It Comes to Love never did much for me, but could be due to production. I put Love Is Dangerous on side two because the vibe is a little too close to Victim of Love to be on the same side. Actually, side 2 had a specific flow:

Christine
Billy/Rick
Stevie
Christine/Billy
Stevie/Rick
Billy