"Love In Store" Appreciation
 

I have been listening to "Love In Store" a lot lately, a song I have generally ignored (as I have with much of the Mirage album). However, it dawned on me that everything about this song is simply gorgeous. Christine's writing is superb and her vocals are so smooth. Lindsey's production matches the tone of the song perfectly. But what sticks out the most is the lush and stunning harmonies that are peppered throughout, with all three vocalists. Is there a more perfect example of Fleetwood Mac harmony that "never take your love away..." - perfection.

I have always thought Mirage to be a very mixed bag, but the three singles on that album, including Love In Store, are pure pop beauty.

I was at the gym yesterday listening to this tune and thought the very same thing. It's truly a Fleetwood Mac song.

Nice song and good harmonies but always thought it was kind of bland.:nod:

This song grew on me as I watched the Mirage tour footage. Seeing Chris happy and bouncing up and down at the piano with Stevie singing along, mouthing the words (except the harmonies) made me genuinely smile and just happy. Therefore, I care for the live rendition over the LP version.

The lovely Stevie vocals on the Wild Heart dressing room "demo" are what first caught my ear. "I can't fight it anymore...." I had to know what song that was.

One of her least inspired songs. I've always considered it a poor relation to Say You Love Me. It sufferes from Mirage's saccharine production. Much prefer Only Over You and Wish You Were Here from that album.

I love that WH demo.

Bland/poor my foot. I love this song! It deserves to be the opening cut and is a thoroughly joyous pop melody.

Great harmonies in it, too.

Second only to Gypsy on the album.

I love it too. My favorite of Christine's on Mirage (yes, more than Hold Me). My favorite part is the first time Lindsey sings "oh darling". It's such a female driven song until that part, mainly with Christine and Stevie's voices, and I love the male cut in at that point.

Although most of the songs and their arrangements can't match the quality of the previous albums, I love the sound of the Mirage album. I much prefer it to the artificial sound of Tango In The Night. It's no Say You Love Me or You Make a Loving Fun but Love In Store is a great example of the Fleetwood Mac chemistry at its finest.

"Love in Store" is such a beautiful song. It's simplistic, but that's what makes it stand out. But what really puts the song over the top are the heavenly harmonies, especially from Stevie. It sounds like a chorus of angels singing. The harmonies just shimmer through the speakers. Really the whole Mirage album has such a beautiful sound, mainly because of the harmonies that are sprinkled all over the background of so many of the songs. "Book of Love" and "Gypsy" are prime examples of this.

It's my favourite Christine song on Mirage. It would make a pretty cool concert opener.

I'm quite the opposite. I feel Love In Store is Christine's second-best contribution to Mirage, behind Hold Me. I like Only Over You and Wish You Were Here, but they aren't her strongest tunes.

I agree. It kind of slams in with a smile and a bounce.

Still begging you darlin'. Which reminds me of Lindsey's "darlin" on Sleeping Around the Corner.

Michele

Mirage is by the far the band's most underrated album. I, too, love all the vocal harmonies, as well as what I think of as the "music box" melodic feel to so many of the songs. Where Rumours is rock, Mirage is pure prettiness. And I agree that "Love in Store" is an amazing song.

Ok, lot of us agree with the idea that Mirage is one of the most underrated works of FM, from the whole history of the band. And its songs too, obviously.

Personally, I really like every song from this album, and Love In Store is one of my favourites. And if you listen to the demos, you'll see how many changes had the song before the final version. Chris' voice, Lindsey's backing vocals, and the vocals of Stevie (in the last moments?). It's really amazing to hear them singing together, and the work of Buckingham/Nicks really gives to the song a special touch.
What never changed, were drums and bass. Lindsey added acoustic guitars in the definitive version, so instrumentally, it's simply amazing.

And about the album, yes, I really don't like to see that it's definitely "not so popular". It's just the change between the last pieces of rock from the 70s to the synth-pop-rock-you know from the last years of the 80s. Mirage sounds really good, even when was not remastered properly yet. The songs are so underrated, I'm not telling nothing new!
Regards,
Mark.

Well, thank you for the compliment. I guess my 15-plus years as a music writer were good for something, at least! (Unfortunately, I'm not currently employed in that field, so if won't be writing any reviews of the upcoming Mac tour.)

I've always been fond of "Love In Store" for all the reasons mentioned here, but ultimately, I do find it a little on the bland side. It does seem somewhat contrived to me, in terms of attempting to recapture the three-part harmonies and band cohesion of Rumours after the (relatively) commercial failure of Tusk. I agree with another poster that the live version is superior.

"Love In Store" is one of those pure Fleetwood Mac songs. It's up there with "The Chain". It showcases how well the band gelled together and worked so well together, with every member being showcased.

I'm in agreement about "Mirage" being under-rated. It was quite a safe record, but that's not a bad thing. It's still a great record. And production wise, I think it's the least dated of the big 5. "Gypsy" or "Hold Me" could easilly be a modern hit.

I disagree a bit. "In The Back Of My Mind" could find its way on the country charts today. The same with "Stand On The Rock" and "When It Comes To Love." "Save Me," "Skies The Limit," and the other tunes would have the difficulty. "Freedom" could find its way out too as it sounds like another modern-day country song.

Hahaha, I think if BTM had been steered more toward the country charts (a la Taylor Swift going toward the pop ones,) it probably would've been more successful. (Note: I do not like Taylor Swift.)