Quote:
Originally Posted by David
You didn't read my post above, did you? Or did you, & simply chose to ignore its truths?
I guess that Fleetwood Mac followers have their own version of the Hanslick Syndrome.
Great music is always a possibility. But you have to write better songs than "Stand on the Rock" & "Freedom" (a dumb ripoff of lines & phrases from Wilde's "Dorian Gray").
You said "overall," which implies that you do in fact have some criticisms of the album. What are your criticisms? What do you think of the sonic qualities of the album? What do you think of the level of songwriting on "Stand on the Rock" or "Freedom"?
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Ok. Just in the interest of being completely honest about how I feel about the entire "Behind The Mask" disc, Here is my opinion on a song-by-song basis.
Skies The Limit: New beginning!!! All the old B/N nonsense is over!! We are starting fresh!!
Love Is Dangerous: Perhaps a bit too much echo on the vocals. Other than that, it's great!!
In The Back Of My Mind: Intro could be a little shorter. Perhaps a little more intelligible vocal during the intro so we all know what is being said. Still haven't figured all that out after all these years.
Do You Know: Great song!! Don't understand why it didn't get airplay or wasn't released as a single. Could have done very well.
Save Me: Great song!! Don't see any issues with it.
Affairs Of The Heart: Weakest track on the disc, bar none. Lyrics are weak, Stevie's performance is weak. Just not a strong effort on her part. Musically, it sounds good. Lyrically, I can live without it.
When The Sun Goes Down: A nice little trip back to the Blues/Rock beginnings. Nicely done. I particularly like Christine on the accordion. Nice touch.
Behind The Mask: Good song, no problem with production. My question: Lindsey was needed why?
Stand On The Rock: Great song!! Perhaps a couple fewer voices on background vocals but other than that, I don't have a criticism of this song.
Hard Feeling: Another trip down "Blues Lane" so to speak. Nice effort by Billy. I like it.
Freedom: Don't see what the problem is with this song. I like it. I like Stevie's delivery, the musicianship and everything.
When It Comes To Love: Love it!! Great duet. Another one that could have been a hit if released as a single. Don't see a problem.
Second Time: A not so great attempt to replace "Landslide" in my opinion. Not a bad song, but I think it was an attempt at replacing something that didn't need to be replaced.
Overall, I would say that "Behind The Mask" holds up very well against the rest of the Fleetwood Mac catalog and fits in very well. There are elements of each era present on this disc. There's blues, there's straight up rock, love songs, a ballad, some of that "trippy" stuff from the early 70's, a la Bob Welch (In The Back Of My Mind).
Perhaps this disc was just too much of a departure from what fans had become accustomed to with Lindsey and Stevie for it to be greatly accepted, but I honestly have never understood why. The band sounds great.
Anyway, there's my opinion song-by-song. Don't take this as a justification either. It's simply my opinion of the disc.
I welcome any comments by anyone who may feel differently.