Rolling Stone Mirage Article

[SisterNightroad]

Mirage (Deluxe)

On the surface, one would read Fleetwood Mac’s work on Mirage as a form of course correction. At the time, the band had finished Tusk, which was a whirlwind of fractured, experimental songwriting dominated by Lindsey Buckingham. In contrast, Mirage was more collaborative and focused on fuller, pop-friendly songs. It certainly sounds like Fleetwood Mac in ways that Tusk never did and wasn’t aiming to do. A cynic could view this as a form of playing it safe, and Mirage certainly resulted in a re-establishment of the band’s pop-chart place. Perhaps its success is what warranted the massive deluxe reissue that came out this year. But while Mirage is certainly a more commercially palatable version of Fleetwood Mac, this Fleetwood Mac is arguably the most fractured that the group would ever be.

Previously, Fleetwood Mac existed as a cohesive piece, united behind a singular concept (such as Rumours and its odes to fractured, ****ed up relationships) or one person’s vision (as they were behind Buckingham’s mad genius on Tusk). Mirage, on the other hand, is clearly the work of three individuals, each with their perspectives and approach. As a result, Mirage occasionally lacks cohesion, largely because of Buckingham. The guitarist had immersed himself in punk and New Wave while recording Tusk and his first solo album, and those influences pop up again on his Mirage compositions.

However, his work is melodically flat almost deliberately; it often seems as if he’s resentful of the fact that he has to record with Fleetwood Mac at all. As such, his songs meander and alienate, bringing the overall mood of Mirage to a screeching halt whenever they appear. Buckingham was reportedly unhappy with the direction in which the band was headed on Mirage, but to this listener’s ear, he was intent on making things worse with plodding songs like “Book of Love” or the wretched “Empire State”.

Despite this, Mirage is a great pop album at points. Both Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie bring their A game here, the latter especially so. The songs that the duo wrote for Mirage could easily be counted among the finest they ever wrote and that goes beyond the hit singles. Nicks’ “Gypsy” is immortal, sure, but her country-tinged “That’s Alright” rings more authentically than it should.

McVie, meanwhile, kicks the album off beautifully with “Love In Store” and delivers another classic with “Hold Me”. Even “Only Over You”, one of Mirage’s more dated songs, works in spite of itself. Furthermore, the pair’s work reaches beyond the group’s common lyrical touchstones of love and heartbreak, instead exploring ideas like mortality and death. It’s all done in a familiar way, but it further proves Buckingham’s assertion that Mirage was Rumours II wasn’t all that accurate.

For all of Buckingham’s complaints about Mirage, he offered a fundamental contribution that is enhanced by this most recent remaster. His work with Richard Dashut and Ken Calliat behind the boards not only helped elevate his bandmates’ songs, but it gave Mirage a timeless sound in an era when Fleetwood Mac’s contemporaries were stumbling over themselves to sound “new”. Fleetwood Mac’s “soft rock era” albums have always sounded immaculate, but Buckingham went a step further by adding touches of dark melancholy in his mixing of the band’s harmonies and his restrained guitar work. Now, the band sounds fuller and more vibrant than ever; each note comes out with perfect clarity.

Mirage is not often mentioned as being Fleetwood Mac’s best work, but it could be their most underrated album. While it lacks the cohesion of Rumours or their self-titled 1975 album, the calling card of this band has always been the presence of many cooks in the kitchen. And given that a few of the band’s finest compositions are here, Mirage merits reconsideration.



http://www.popmatters.com/review/fle...e-2016-deluxe/

[bombaysaffires]

slight factual errors: Stevie had in fact released Bella Donna by the time they got to France and had even toured for it; in fact she'd flown to France within days of finishing the Bella Donna tour. Jimmy Iovine, who'd produced BD and with whom she had been living, accompanied her to the Chateau. He was supposed to stay 10 days but left after one because Lindsey was so nasty to him. (See the story in the booklet in her re-issued Bella Donna. She says Lindsey didn't take well to her new producer boyfriend and the two men almost came to blows. Jimmy refused to stay and tolerate it). And the Chateau itself has been described by Stevie and also by Richard on his blog as being not that romantic really...very old, hot, no air conditioning, middle of nowhere ..... no cable tv or anything (no internet in those days).... not so great food....

But I love that Mick is the only one being a good soldier and doing his part to promote it. Not a peep from anyone else.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

But I love that Mick is the only one being a good soldier and doing his part to promote it. Not a peep from anyone else.

Chris did a bit.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by FuzzyPlum

Chris did a bit.

I read I think 2 interviews, plus an audio of Christine promoting it.

[SisterNightroad]

Fleetwood Mac: Mirage box set review – high-calibre songs that outshine the imitators

4 / 5 stars

This ultra-shiny remastering of Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage – clearly someone out there thought the band just didn’t sound cokey enough – gives us a chance to reappraise what has become an unfairly overlooked Mac album. After the wilful experimentation of Tusk and with the band branching out into solo projects and drug despair, Mirage probably seemed like a half-arsed statement at the time – a return to the band’s AOR pop songwriting days that didn’t quite match up to the likes of their self-titled 1975 album and Rumours. But with songs of the calibre of Gypsy, Book of Love and Love in Store – before you even get to the second side – and with the band’s dark undercurrent present and correct, Mirage still outshines most of the current crop of Mac imitators. Included in this box set is a weighty slab of vinyl, a 1982 live set from the Forum in Los Angeles – notable for Lindsey Buckingham cackling maniacally on Not That Funny – and an outtakes disc that includes previously unreleased versions of Gypsy and Oh Diane among other things. A suitably decadent reupholstering.



https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...review-warners

[jbrownsjr]

hahaha cackling..