Originally Posted by Netter75 (Post 1238863)

Stand Back: This song is never performed *terribly* but when literally every recording is better vocally and musically, this one doesn't have much of a reason to exist. Fleetwood Mac adds nothing interesting here.

Originally Posted by bwboy (Post 1238890)

This was pretty much the only thing I disagreed with you on- I think this version sounds fantastic, and is certainly my favorite live recording of the song. Rick sounds great, too.

I also wish the full concert could be released, but it won't happen :(

Originally Posted by KenshiMaster16 (Post 1238989)

I love this version of Stand Back, too, but I think the Live in Boston version beats it just barely. The bongo intro and how upbeat it is always makes me groove. Plus, the energy bursting from it is unmatched in my eyes. It just goes off once it fully starts.

Originally Posted by Netter75 (Post 1238863)

Despite what others say, it's definitely worth checking out, as a relic if nothing else of when editors had a very misguided view of what was appropriate for a concert video. There's one great performance, a *few* decent songs (with caveats) and a bunch of crappers.

Worth it for:

Isn't It Midnight: I detailed why I love this version of this song in an earlier post in this thread. Always makes my "best of" Mac playlists.

Seven Wonders: The only song Stevie didn't butcher. It almost benefits from the chiller Klonopin vocals.

The Chain: A decent rendition of this song. Billy doesn't do bad with Lindsey's parts and Stevie's additions are fine. Chris is inaudible though.

Songbird: Ditto

Little Lies: A bit lacking in energy but probably the best pro-shot recording we have of this song since it wasn't performed that often until recently.

I Loved Another Woman: Vito does this old song justice, even if it seems out of place next to literally everything else in the set. The editing does it's best to suck the energy out of the song too.


and NOT worth if for.:

Dreams: Such a lazy performance of this song, and the editing is especially heinous. There are far better performances of this song, even in the Klonopin era.

World Turning: Instead of a drum solo it has Mick playing with that MIDI sound vest. Pass.

Gold Dust Woman: See previous posts.

Oh Well: Not a fan of Billy as a singer so this is purely personal preference. It is musically performed well though.

Stand Back: This song is never performed *terribly* but when literally every recording is better vocally and musically, this one doesn't have much of a reason to exist. Fleetwood Mac adds nothing interesting here.

Everywhere: The editing on this is horrible but the song itself is done well and Christine sounds fine. The ISSUE is that the chorus is ruined (imo) by Stevie rudely interjecting "I WANNA BE WITH YOU" out of time with Chris, like a gopher poking it's head out of a hole to ruin your day and immediately disappear. It disrupts the flow/groove of the song so badly it's almost funny.

Don't Stop: It's only a partial recording and it's played over the credits. Lame.

It's a shame the unedited performance isn't available, as the removal of that editing may help the viewing experience. Also the cut performance of Brown Eyes is a damn shame as it was performed so well on this tour. Other cut performances include SYLM, Blue Letter, Rattlesnake Shake, Over My Head, Don't Let Me Down Again, HAEWAFY, You Make Loving Fun, and GYOW. Rhiannon and Gypsy were dropped by this point in the tour.

Originally Posted by KenshiMaster16 (Post 1238989)

I love this version of Stand Back, too, but I think the Live in Boston version beats it just barely. The bongo intro and how upbeat it is always makes me groove. Plus, the energy bursting from it is unmatched in my eyes. It just goes off once it fully starts.

Originally Posted by StevieandChris (Post 1238857)

I have never seen this video, it sounds like it is a horrid performance!

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1239010)

Two worst performances of Gold Dust Woman. In 1981 and 1983 Stevie's band did a much darker rocking version that is the best to this date IMHO.

1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCI_6U2TNak

1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyJF...=RDXyJF-mB6q94

Originally Posted by Netter75 (Post 1239235)

What's interesting is that the '89 version of the song is actually kinda cool musically. Very cheesy keyboards but they definitely put an eerie, twisted mood on the song. It's a shame her vocals are so lifeless and her performance is so blah.

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1239246)

Your statement about an eerie twisted mood more describes the Wild Heart tour version. The 1989 version is a cheezy keyboard mess IMHO

Originally Posted by bwboy (Post 1221057)

It seems unlikely a Deluxe Edition of Behind the Mask will be released

Originally Posted by Conga (Post 1244475)

"Pain in the balls.... of your feet"

I unironically love Lizard People.

Originally Posted by David (Post 1253936)

My wish list for Behind the Mask involves it never having happened.

Originally Posted by secret love (Post 1253944)

Right.

Let's wipe away Behind the Mask and Skies the Limit and all the rest - even the one Stevie soft spot The Second Time.

Heresy!

Originally Posted by David (Post 1253950)

To push my iconoclasm in everybody's face, I actually rather like Second Time. Stevie drops her pretensions and poses, and lets us hear her at a vulnerable moment. It truly feels much more authentic to me than Freedom or Affairs of the Heart - I'm not bluffing. By 1990, I was really bored with the Stevie Nicks mystique and wanted something different. I wanted to scrape off all that "moon spirit" crap (which was a lot less charismatic in a zonked-out singer in her mid 40s than it was fifteen years earlier) by then and see a rebirth of Stevie's artistry, whatever it actually looked like. And I suppose there are other moments on the album that are good enough - good hooks, good drumming, good vocal harmonies (because Rick and Billy were superb harmony singers, which they never got any credit for in Fleetwood Mac). But the album was mostly a throwaway. People have accused me of coming to that conclusion only in hindsight, but that's not true. I haven't changed my mind about it since 1990. The sound of it isn't even desperately commercial (the way Say You Will or Mirage always sound like they're trying to "tap in" to something in the radio audience), but it's the sound of a band that has kind of given up and just wants to take the road most traveled. It has that air of grabbing anyone who walks by that we were talking about in another thread. I don't think there was much inspiration in the people who made Behind the Mask, including songs, instrumentation (it's very impersonal - none of those quirks you came to associate with the instrumentalists in Fleetwood Mac from 1967 to 1987), cover art, and so on. Even the B sides are hopeless. The decisions the band made about almost everything give me the sense of having been drawn out of a hat quite at random. It's a good lesson for Fleetwood Mac and other bands: If you're not feeling particularly inspired, keep the work low key. Don't try making a "statement." That's the beauty of the band's next album, Time. It isn't any more brilliant or any less generic, but it's low key and modest, and that gives it a little charm.

Originally Posted by David (Post 1253950)

To push my iconoclasm in everybody's face, I actually rather like Second Time. Stevie drops her pretensions and poses, and lets us hear her at a vulnerable moment. It truly feels much more authentic to me than Freedom or Affairs of the Heart - I'm not bluffing. By 1990, I was really bored with the Stevie Nicks mystique and wanted something different. I wanted to scrape off all that "moon spirit" crap (which was a lot less charismatic in a zonked-out singer in her mid 40s than it was fifteen years earlier) by then and see a rebirth of Stevie's artistry, whatever it actually looked like. And I suppose there are other moments on the album that are good enough - good hooks, good drumming, good vocal harmonies (because Rick and Billy were superb harmony singers, which they never got any credit for in Fleetwood Mac). But the album was mostly a throwaway. People have accused me of coming to that conclusion only in hindsight, but that's not true. I haven't changed my mind about it since 1990. The sound of it isn't even desperately commercial (the way Say You Will or Mirage always sound like they're trying to "tap in" to something in the radio audience), but it's the sound of a band that has kind of given up and just wants to take the road most traveled. It has that air of grabbing anyone who walks by that we were talking about in another thread. I don't think there was much inspiration in the people who made Behind the Mask, including songs, instrumentation (it's very impersonal - none of those quirks you came to associate with the instrumentalists in Fleetwood Mac from 1967 to 1987), cover art, and so on. Even the B sides are hopeless. The decisions the band made about almost everything give me the sense of having been drawn out of a hat quite at random. It's a good lesson for Fleetwood Mac and other bands: If you're not feeling particularly inspired, keep the work low key. Don't try making a "statement." That's the beauty of the band's next album, Time. It isn't any more brilliant or any less generic, but it's low key and modest, and that gives it a little charm.

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1254208)

BTM has lots of fantastic qualities.

You can hear Christine playing keyboards (again) on so many songs and her style is revealed again and is so refreshing compared to the programmed tracks on Tango

You hear the classic Mac rhythm section again on all the songs. Even songs that are not great like Stand on the Rock, the Mac's rhythm section is fired up

Love all the vocalists singing together. Stevie and Billy. Christine and Billy. Stevie and Rick. No need to fake Stevie's voice like on Tango

I posted this before but I think half the album is excellent. Its not pop driven and holds up. The other half is not great and pulls the album down a bit.

I am in the minority but live the album cover. I understand none of them wanted to be on the cover so with that in mind what could you do. I love the mystery and so much tiny detail does tell a story.

Like Tango, Stevie brought some poor songs. In her haze, she was not writing great songs anymore and it would have been worth it to pull out an oldie.

Its comparing apples and oranges but I like BTM better than Tango. Its a group effort and Christine shines with her songs and keyboard playing. Gosh just listening to her layers or bridgey solos are amazing. You could strip all vocals and music and just listen to the keyboards on the songs and know its Fleetwood Mac. That is how dominant her style of playing is.

Originally Posted by On Ice (Post 1254216)

Christine had an amazing run from Tango through ITMT where her voice was crystal clear and had even better pitch than the heyday years where both she and Stevie were hit and miss, mostly due to the insane tour schedules.

Although a dark period for Stevie, her voice was much better on the BTM tour than Tango where she was basically a flat croak at least early on. Not so on BTM where she was clear and had a strong tone.

Overall, BTM I think was a big disappointment for the Mac as they had high hopes for it. In hindsight it was half really good and half boring and unmemorable, mostly due to the production. It would have been much better with Dashut and Calliat at the helm.

Originally Posted by moon (Post 1274260)

I take back this thread, because I still think it's unfair we don't have a deluxe edition of this album. At least a release of two discs is a good deal!! And of course I'm saying the minor release we could see...

- Original album

- Disc with demos, outtakes and B-sides, so finally Lizard People could be released on CD and vinyl formats...

- DVD with tour AND musical videos, OR a third disc with live versions and the songs from this era (ALAYF, Paper Doll, Another Woman, No Questions Asked)

PLEASE!!!!!

Originally Posted by moon (Post 1274317)

Indeed! Listening to BTM recently I re-discovered it and I feel it sounds better and better. Music gets wise, so as us...
I forgot Heart Of Stone, released only on the 25 Years: The Chain box set.
Would it be good to have Make Me A Mask on a possible deluxe edition? :shrug:

Originally Posted by moon (Post 1274317)

Indeed! Listening to BTM recently I re-discovered it and I feel it sounds better and better. Music gets wise, so as us...
I forgot Heart Of Stone, released only on the 25 Years: The Chain box set.
Would it be good to have Make Me A Mask on a possible deluxe edition? :shrug:

Originally Posted by SteveMacD (Post 1274342)

Christine's songs were mostly up to her standards. "Skies the Limit" (which should have been "Sky's the Limit," but I suspect was intentionally misspelled since United Airlines -Fly the Friendly Skies- was the big tour sponsor) was a little clunky.

Billy had maybe the second best batch of songs, although I really could have lived without "Hard Feelings." "When It Comes To Love" would have been better without the cheesy intro and with better production (a theme for this album).

Stevie and Rick had mostly forgettable songs, although better production might have helped.

Billy and Rick had better songs that weirdly got passed over.

Overall, I think the band was in top form as musicians, but the songs weren't especially strong. Stevie's songs weren't here weakest, definitely not her strongest, and were mostly bland and forgettable (although I'd love to have Mike produce a redo of "Freedom" because it could be a pretty good song).

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr (Post 1274324)

Don't forget Love Shines.

Imagine if they opened the album with Love Shines?? :eek::)

Originally Posted by moon (Post 1274355)

So true! I truly forgot the song, but it's one that can't be absent!!
About Make Me A Mask, is good to consider that, if it's a Lindsey's solo song, it wouldn't be able to be on the list...
So! I see we have good material to a second disc on a deluxe edition :blob1: