I am also guilty of having bought this album as a kid when it first came out on vinyl. Back then I remember taking a couple of listens to the album and then going back to listen to only "Gypsy," "Straight Back," and "Hold Me." I wore the grooves out big time! My impression at the time was that the album was basically all filler except for these wonderful new songs.
It wasn't until years later that I developed an appreciation for this album as a whole, especially the vocal arrangements. The three-part vocal harmonies are like a warm aura that makes each song sound full and lush even though the instrumentation on this album is relatively sparse. The arrangements on "Book of Love" and "Gypsy" are my particular faves. And as others have noted here, this is the Mac at their vocal peak. Accordingly, the "Mirage" tour was the last tour before they started relying on additional singers for their live performances.
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