Tango was announced

[WatchChain]

I've never understood the deep love that "Tango in the Night" gets from critics and Fleetwood Mac fans. The album's sound has definitely not aged well - it's extremely synth heavy and overproduced, like most late 80's music.

The production on Fleetwood Mac's first three albums with the Buckingham Nicks lineup is timeless - the music holds up well and it's not dated. Even "Mirage" is a far superior album to "Tango in the Night".

"Tango in the Night" definitely has some fine moments, but it's far from one of the greatest Fleetwood Mac albums.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by WatchChain

I've never understood the deep love that "Tango in the Night" gets from critics and Fleetwood Mac fans. The album's sound has definitely not aged well - it's extremely synth heavy and overproduced, like most late 80's music.

The production on Fleetwood Mac's first three albums with the Buckingham Nicks lineup is timeless - the music holds up well and it's not dated. Even "Mirage" is a far superior album to "Tango in the Night".

"Tango in the Night" definitely has some fine moments, but it's far from one of the greatest Fleetwood Mac albums.

I sort of agree. Its pretty much a Lindsey solo album and he was fascinated with all that slick stuff of the 1980s. But Lindsey really had some challenges. John needed remedial training. Stevie was drunk or in rehab. Mick was buying drugs in Lindsey's driveway. We get a nice preview of Buckingham/McVie because they really show up on this album. There was tremendous pressure on Lindsey to make it a commercially successful album to get Mick out of bankruptcy. Looking back I am glad they did it but like you I am in the minority on this board that ranks Tango below Mirage and (wait for it.....) Behind The Mask. One reason I like BTM is we hear that Mac rhythm section play and hum again. Dear Lord we hear Chris play keyboards again too. No drum machines or programmed bass. Its bluesy Mac pop rock. I will take that over the synth 80s pop any day. Having said all this, some of my all time favorite Mac tunes are on Tango: Tango In The Night, Isn't It Midnight, and Little Lies.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by WatchChain

I've never understood the deep love that "Tango in the Night" gets from critics and Fleetwood Mac fans. The album's sound has definitely not aged well - it's extremely synth heavy and overproduced, like most late 80's music.

The production on Fleetwood Mac's first three albums with the Buckingham Nicks lineup is timeless - the music holds up well and it's not dated. Even "Mirage" is a far superior album to "Tango in the Night".

"Tango in the Night" definitely has some fine moments, but it's far from one of the greatest Fleetwood Mac albums.

This^^^.
I almost like BTM and Time as well as Tango. Because IT'S PLASTIC. White thru Mirage sounds like a BAND. Tango is crap.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

This^^^.
I almost like BTM and Time as well as Tango. Because IT'S PLASTIC. White thru Mirage sounds like a BAND. Tango is crap.

It’s calculated for sure. I don’t think most of it is crap. The two Stevie songs are turds. The rest is pretty well done—but most of it isn’t well done as a group…

In terms of the fairlight (sp?) and synth sounds, I always thought it odd, even dated THEN. Had it come out in 1984, it’d have been right on target. But by ‘87 it seemed like they were a bit behind the times.

Only Big Love sounds new in the sense it wasn’t following a trend as much as carving out a new space for a different kind of song.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Only Big Love sounds new in the sense it wasn’t following a trend as much as carving out a new space for a different kind of song.

I thought it sounded pretty interchangeable with “Go Insane.”

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

I thought it sounded pretty interchangeable with “Go Insane.”

They’re definitely cousins, but I wouldn’t say interchangeable.

In the context of a FM album, Big Love sounds new, sounds different, weirder for sure, and oddly more of a solo statement than Go Insane, which is solo. The bulk of Tango sounds like cleverly-disguised reiterations of previous modes.

For what it’s worth, Stand Back is a new kind of song for Stevie. But not a FM song.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

They’re definitely cousins, but I wouldn’t say interchangeable.

In the context of a FM album, Big Love sounds new, sounds different, weirder for sure, and oddly more of a solo statement than Go Insane, which is solo. The bulk of Tango sounds like cleverly-disguised reiterations of previous modes.

For what it’s worth, Stand Back is a new kind of song for Stevie. But not a FM song.

I thought If Anyone Falls and Stand Back were brilliant for Stevie.

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally Posted by WatchChain

I've never understood the deep love that "Tango in the Night" gets from critics and Fleetwood Mac fans. The album's sound has definitely not aged well - it's extremely synth heavy and overproduced, like most late 80's music.

The production on Fleetwood Mac's first three albums with the Buckingham Nicks lineup is timeless - the music holds up well and it's not dated. Even "Mirage" is a far superior album to "Tango in the Night".

"Tango in the Night" definitely has some fine moments, but it's far from one of the greatest Fleetwood Mac albums.

Because there is more to songs than just their "sound". Tango had great hit songs, more than Mirage and Tusk. Ergo more people like the album and buy it. And it's hard to call a song like Everywhere or Seven Wonders or Little Lies dated when they keep appearing ad nauseum in ads etc. Seems like they're evergreen and always sound fresh and could have been produced yesterday, like some ABBA hits like Gimme Gimme.

Plus I also really like the sound/vibe and art design of the album and enjoy its cohesive vision of a dark, night-time album, and I assume there must be many other fans and critics who liked this aspect of the album in addition to the individual songs.

[WatchChain]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

Because there is more to songs than just their "sound". Tango had great hit songs, more than Mirage and Tusk. Ergo more people like the album and buy it.

I don't measure great music by "hits" or by more people buying it. Top 40 radio plays an endless amount of "hits" that are nothing more than saturated crap.

That said, Tango has some good moments, but it's nowhere near as groundbreaking as the classic and sublime Tusk. No contest. Not even close.

[justcrazylove]

Originally Posted by WatchChain

I've never understood the deep love that "Tango in the Night" gets from critics and Fleetwood Mac fans. The album's sound has definitely not aged well - it's extremely synth heavy and overproduced, like most late 80's music.

The production on Fleetwood Mac's first three albums with the Buckingham Nicks lineup is timeless - the music holds up well and it's not dated. Even "Mirage" is a far superior album to "Tango in the Night".

"Tango in the Night" definitely has some fine moments, but it's far from one of the greatest Fleetwood Mac albums.

I completely disagree, Tango has held up when in the context of current music trends. The album is incredibly influential to the current crop of synth-pop bands. Why do you think Linds is obsessed with bands like Phoenix and Empire of The Sun. I understand your point, and can easily see how the album can be viewed as dated. However, I feel the album sounds fresh and sparkles on vinyl and through headphones.

I love revisiting this article as it's a perfect document of how meticulous the process was. Tango wasn't a bunch of buttons Lindsey pushed to create a fake sound.

https://www.salon.com/2017/04/02/he-...-in-the-night/

[Macfan4life]

Tango is the band's second best selling album, no? I always believed that for all of its 4 charting pop singles, the album greatly undersold in the United States. I know Tango was a sensation in Europe. Tango only reached #7 for a meager 3 weeks and then dropped from the top 10. It officially sold 3 million copies in the States by the year 2000. In the late 80s, albums were still selling like hot cakes. It was nothing for albums in the top 5 sell millions more copies. I am NOT saying the album was not successful (please don't go there). Mirage went to #1 which is something Tusk never did. At least the band beat Bella Donna's one week stand at #1, sort of bragging rights. The band pretty much walked away from Mirage and touring and the album fell off the charts. Warner milked Tango for all it was worth and the band toured the world and a major tour in the states. Yet the album barely went over double platinum (in the states). Scary to think it just sold double of the atrocious Rock A Little. The album sales in Europe sort of distort the picture I am explaining. The album had officially 6 singles released which is far more than any of their albums including Rumours. One thing that hurt both Tusk and Tango was the band was shunned again by rock stations. They played the hell out of Rumours and never really played Tusk or Tango. Rumours had the best of both worlds. It was played up and down the dial on rock and pop stations. In the late 80s rock stations still existed. They did touch Tango but soon as the songs became too pop charting dropped them from airplay. You would have thought the half decade wait for a new Fleetwood Mac album along with major MTV videos and charting singles would have easily pushed the album into the top 5 and stay in the top 10 for months making the album sell 5 million by 1988 (in the states).
The album was supposed to have 2 different producers that fell through. I wonder what the final product would have sounded like with Nile Rogers or Jason Corsaro. Nothing against Lindsey since he is an ace producer but I wonder having another producer would have given the album a more group sound instead of a Lindsey solo album.
This album truly was a preview of Buckingham/McVie because Chris said for the sessions it had been more collaborative than previous efforts. They really worked well together. Chris said that she was the only one that enjoyed making Tango and enjoyed the process.

[Villavic]

I like Family Man, but I imagine Tango with two Lindsey songs from OOTC instead of FF and Caroline. That would really be better!

[Macfan4life]

For all of you Tango lovers. This one is for you bwboy, wherever you are.

Seven Wonders stripped down to bass and vocals. She definitely sings rainbow's edge at the end of this early version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_U3RJie0y4

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

For all of you Tango lovers. This one is for you bwboy, wherever you are.

Seven Wonders stripped down to bass and vocals. She definitely sings rainbow's edge at the end of this early version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_U3RJie0y4

the pic of Christine on that link is sooooo gorgeous. She was at her absolute most stunning then, with her longer, fuller hair.

[Macfan4life]

I know this has been posted before but since we are celebrating Tango release month, this little gem should not be forgotten: filming the Big Love video.
Its the dawn of the big hair late 80s. This is the highest hair Chris has ever had, no? For Seven Wonders its a bit down from this and then straight for Little Lies. Lindsey and Mick have so much make up on even from a distance. I love the sound of Mick playing drums over the recorded track. Others can pretend to play their instruments, not Mick.
No scenes of Stevie playing that tambourine make the video. They don't look like they are enjoying the experience very much. This was their first music video together since Hold Me. Stevie's dress Gurl please! A drag queen on Rupaul's drag race would be sent home for wearing such a thing. I wonder if this dress was made especially for this video so she can pull up the sides with something to do. Its not a typical dress. It allows her to pull up the sides and dance without showing her undies. It had musical notes on it. Gurl please! When she is just standing there from the rear it looks like she would weigh over 200 pounds. She's trapped on this small stage and tries to do some sort of dance with picking up each foot a few inches. Its the goofiest thing I have ever seen. This video is so cheezy and the special effects look like something from the early 80s, not the late 80s. Does anyone know this is was a real house or just a studio lot? It looks like part of it was shot outside since John is wearing sunglasses. The best part is them at the beach and its only 2 seconds.

This is so 80s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9mq3S908WI