The Ledge - 'Heroes Are Hard To Find' podcast

I really enjoyed this. It's long so I had to watch in bits and pieces but having a deep dive on an album like this is better than any entertainment you can buy. The conversation after discussing all the songs really hit the nail on the head about this era of the Mac. These conversations are brilliant because you will either see someone else's perspective that you never thought about or you get amazed that someone has the same thoughts as you. It still surprises you because you think you were the only one that thought that.
One consistent vibe about this album is it has a different vibe than the other pre-Nicks albums. Its hard to put your finger on it but its a different vibe. Its the first Mac album recorded with only 1 guitarist. The album allowed both Bob and Chris shine a bit more but I agree with the consensus of the panel that it's really Bob's album even though Chris may have your favorite songs on it. The album came at a bad time for the band. They just fired one of their guitarists and were replaced with a fake Fleetwood Mac. Because of this legal drama the tour was very short and not very profitable. Clearly no one was very happy. But this new make up of the band went on to quickly record this album, do a few shows and then everything changed.

Album Cover
Yes its controversial but its photographed by Herbie who because famous of photographing Jimi Hendrix and this was before his Rumours shoot made him the hottest photographer in the biz. However if you look at album covers in the mid to late 70s many of them were very weird. Even the ones not trying to be weird look weird by today's standards the way people look. An album cover was very important back in those days and a quirky cover could get you attention. I think the cover sets the tone of letting everyone know Fleetwood Mac is changing.

Songs
I actually like the horns on the title track. They make the song more bluesy which instantly reminds the listener that the Mac started as a blues band. After the horns in the title track we go right into sort of an acid rock or psychedelic song "coming home." It does throw you for a loop but its incredible. That sort of music was popular back then so it fit into the scene but on a Fleetwood Mac album? Then we get Angel and Bermuda Triangle from Bob. 2 great songs. Bermuda Triangle is like his Hypnotized spooky song. I once read that Bob's inspiration for the song came from his early days of boating on Key Biscayne (Miami) when John also had a boat docked there. He would listen to the tales of the captains about the Bermuda Triangle. Every time I cross the Key Biscayne Bridge I always think of this Mac history. The band had a house there for a time both pre-Nicks and post Nicks era. Chris also gives a shout out to Key Biscayne in her song Bad Journey. I love all of Chris's songs. We get a bluesy horn pop song, an angry song (Bad Loser) and 2 broken heart ballads. She covers a full spectrum.
A good point made at the end of this video is how awkward Bob was as a band leader. He was meant to be a side musician. He lacked that charisma to lead a band. Chris never felt comfortable being a leader in a band either. Yet both of them are forced forward to sort of be this duo on this album. A criticism that I agree with this panel on is how muted Chris's backing vocals are. You want to hear her more on Bob's songs.

This album does not fit into a typical mold for the band which is why I enjoy it more than others. If I had one album to have 30 minutes discussion with any band member, this would be the album. It was recorded rather quickly after so much turmoil in the band. Their touring was drying up. Only one guitarist in the band. Its the last album before Buckingham/Nicks show up. It was also fully recorded in Los Angeles. It landed in the top 40 Billboard charts without any charting singles. It shows experimentation with the band and also pushing Bob and Chris to the front. We get a flavor of Bob's solo work that was to start shortly too. These are all great songs and this album gets overlooked because of the short time it was out before Buckingham Nicks joined.

Edit: I had completely forgot about the coupon in the album sleeve. I bought the album in 1984 which it was 10 years old. Back then it was an ancient album but 10 years is really nothing. One of my favorite photos of the band is the one next to the Hollywood sign. It was a sign they arrived in the states and were about to rocket to the moon. But they do not look really happy in that photo. To think Heroes was released in late summer 1974 and in one year they would have another album out with a new line up and they became superstars with a #1 album. Heroes is sort of a premonition of things to come. We can hear Bob's solo stuff that was yet to come. He even tries out a few pop songs on Heroes. Chris's songs are so strong that its revealing she would be on her way to one of the greatest pop song writers in music. All of these secrets are hidden on this album. I think there are better songs on Mystery To Me but the overall album I like more is Heroes.