Quote:
Originally posted by squealy
My problem with Tango has always been that there is no band feel on any of the tracks. You never get the sense that the 4 instrumentalists ever played together, or were even in the studio at the same time. The rhythm tracks don't have any personality - Mick's drumming sounds suspiciously electronic, you don't notice John's playing much, and Christine's piano is totally absent (and Lindsey probably played many of the synth parts). I realize most albums are stitched together in the studio - Rumours certainly was - but on the earlier FM albums you at least had the illusion of a band playing together. On Tango it's obvious that Lindsey put the instrumental tracks together more or less by himself. I would say it hasn't aged well, but then, I thought it sounded cheesy and synthetic in 1987 as well.
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When I buy a Mac album, I want to hear each voice/personality on the songs. A simple song such as Only Over You or Honey Hi or Love in Store or Steal Your Heart Away is much improved when I can pick out the distinct sounds. Similarly, on the SYW album, I want to hear Stevie on Murrow, a song I do like. Otherwise, we're listening to solo songs, which seems to be a big beef to reviewers, for what little that's worth.
I remember a reviewer said that the great thing about the Tango album is how Lindsey makes each song sound as though the three singers are calling each other from castle turrets. IMO, on too many of the songs it sounds as though they're whispering to each other from different corners of outer space. To Lindsey's credit, the slickness does not sound like bubble gum pop, but instead lends to the album's mystique in a way. Behind the Mask goes a little too far in the other direction towards a more direct, even mundane sound on some songs such as Stand on the Rock. Still, Freedom and Behind the Mask have a similar slick mystical sound to the Tango album, and In the Back of My Mind comes close.
Tango is a good alum, but I do have other issues than just the one Squealy describes. I do like some of the songs, especially Seven Wonders, Little Lies, TITN, and WTTRS. I think Everywhere is very overrated. Big Love has a cool sound but highlights the lack of attention to lyrics that Lindsey was often prone to before Out of the Cradle.
Rolling Stone, a magazine that never seems to get it right when it comes to this band, called the album boring. I wouldn't go that far, but it does seem that most of the songs lack the lyrical depth found on other Mac albums. I think Stevie's absence from the bulk of the songwriting is the key factor here. Christine's songs have her typical pleasant and simple quality, and Lindsey's songs have his cool sounds, but Stevie is the one who usually delivers when it comes to meaningful lyrics for many of us. The fact that she really wrote only two of the songs really affects the album for me, like it's harder for me to connect to this album the way I do to others.
- Jake