Behind The Mask Turns 35 Today (April 9)
 

Hard to believe that only two other Fleetwood Mac studio albums came following its release.

Funny, it only feels like 70.

Three, but what’s in a name?

This is an album I liked since it was released, and I had always thought so. But on second thoughts, I have always listened all most all songs when I play a Mac album. However of the BTM album, I only play 6 or 7 songs at the most.

Actually, I think that what I liked the most was the idea that the band was surviving Lindsey’s departure. It wasn’t the same anyway.

Behind the Mask- RIP

Anybody have any thoughts as to why no Behind The Mask songs were played on the 2018-2019 Tour but a song from Time was (not for the whole tour but for most of the North American dates)?

But meanwhile nonhits from the classic lineup albums such as Isn't It Midnight and Storms were played (again not for the whole tour)?

Love Is Dangerous, In The Back of My Mind, Stand On The Rock, Save Me, and Freedom seemed like no-brainers to me.

If the fact that most songs were co-written with Billy or Rick or any other, and the band just wanted to sing more "pure" Christine and Stevie songs (in quotes because the band has always included McVie-Quintela hits) plus Finn/Campbell songs in 2018, that would only leave us with Save Me, Skies, Behind the Mask (where Lindsey played acoustic guitar) and Affairs of the Heart. That's sad cause I'd have love to see Do You Know live.

Most likely the decision to include All Over Again was exclusively Christine's so she has her reasons for not include a BTM song, but if I had to choose one of the BTM mentioned songs, I'd go for the title track. Maybe many fans would choose Save Me, but I've never liked that song so much. I put it in the same bag as Temporary One.

Were there reasons for excluding Billy and Rick songs? Finnancial, legal, etc.? I don't know.

It would have been great to hear BTM song on the BuckVie tour, with Lindsey on acoustic guitar.

I believe it was Stevie who chose All Over Again for the tour. A better choice would have been As Long As You Follow. Mick and Stevie said before that tour that Stevie listened to many of their albums again, and she deliberately chose some deep cuts to include. Christine always seemed to me that she was easy to please when it came to selecting songs for tours.

Love is Dangerous, Stand on the Rock, and Save Me were great when FM played them in 1990. But since Save Me just made the top 30, I’m sure they considered it a flop as a single, and they even dropped that song near the end of their tour.

As you said, Freedom would have been an obvious choice for the 2018 tour, since Stevie co-wrote it with Mike Campbell.

BTM is one of the only albums in my life that I can remember the exact day I bought the album. Earth Day 1990. I remember it because I can recall sitting in the mall parking lot and the radio mentioning Earth Day. First time that I realized there was something called Earth Day. Was so excited to get this cassette tape.

This was already a bit of an unfamiliar Fleetwood Mac tour, so I’m sure they wouldn’t have wanted to make it even more unfamiliar by including BTM songs. Audience would have been…wtf?
That they included a Time song….I guess it just fit.
Personally I’d have gone with Why. But hey ho

All over again was an inspired choice to end the show, if as I suspect, Christine was feeling less confident about exposing herself on the keyboards with Songbird- there was a certain frailty about her then that wasn't evident on the previous tour. Stevie apparently liked the song too and it felt great that this simple, lovely song got a live airing at last. With Christine's passing its performance and lyrics take on an added piquancy.

I think the reasons why no BTM songs were played were they were nearly all absolute duds, the title track would have been tricky to pull off live, Christine thought the album was terrible and I'd be surprised if Stevie could even remember being on it. Other than that... just as well we were spared the spectacle of Neil Finn covering Stand on the Rock.

You’re totally right about All Over Again and Stevie. Stevie said she discovered the song while she was listening to The Fleetwood Mac Channel on SiriusXM in May 2018.
I would have loved the show to have closed with When It Comes To Love or As Long As You Follow!

I didn't know that. It shows how distant I was from the Present Band and that tour. Actually to this day I've never seen any video of that tour.

Definitely!

I am sorry. I don't believe that for a minute. She's trying to create a myth of some fandom like she discovered the song. She could never name any song off Time. In 2018 they were rehearsing for the tour. They were playing tons of songs that never made it to the set and digging deep. No doubt Chris thought this was a good encore since she could not really play Songbird anymore.