Mirage Article

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I love this era of the band maybe because it is sort of forgotten and was really fast and furious time in their lives.

I feel the end of the era was the last day of the Tusk tour. The golden age of that lineup, despite not being peaceful. But I agree Mirage was magical and shone on his own. It's a shame there aren't any documentaries deeply dedicated to Mirage, like the Tusk doc or all those where 80% is about Rumours. Even about Tango!

The fact that there are no videos of the France recording sessions (for a doc or at least for tv reports from that time) also makes me doubt what Christine says about everybody getting on great. Obviously, cameras weren't welcome at Tango either. So both moments can be similar.

[David]

Stevie saw a bit of romance to it. I remember her galloping in on horseback one day, in a velvet gown – I can’t remember why.

Because Madame Nicks wanted to re-create Josette Day’s scenes in La Belle et la Bête, the Cocteau movie she had somehow discovered in 1978 or thereabouts. Day/Belle rides through the enchanted forest to Beast’s castle on a white horse. She’s dressed in a flowing cape and hood. When Stevie talked to Timothy White in 1981 for her cover story for Rolling Stone, she kept referring to this movie and what it meant to her.

I just finished reading Ray Lindsey’s completely disappointing book on his years as a gear tech for the band, and he devotes all of two or three sentences to recording Mirage. He reports that the band didn’t give a damn about anything at that time. Everybody in the band was no longer interested in the band. It’s amazing that Lindsey and Richard gave any engineering craft to the sessions — without even that, Mirage would have been a total dud as far as leaving any sort of impression. Robert Hilburn (LA Times) thought the album was appropriately named because it “practically disappears while you’re listening to it.” For us fans, the album has isolated little sweet spots, like “That’s Alright,” “Can’t Go Back,” and “Hold Me.” Maybe it should have been an EP.

[HomerMcvie]

I LOVE Mirage. I'm not sure I can rank them, but Mirage is in my top three, alongside Rumours and Tusk. White is in fourth place, and Tango fifth(or 70th place!)

[soul_drifter333]

I think part of her riding the horse was included in the original Stand Back video that got nicked because they thought she looked fat in that dress. At one point the horse is taking off like it's about to throw her. Good times

I love that version of the Beauty and the Beast film. Criterion has a great restoration of it.

Originally Posted by David

Because Madame Nicks wanted to re-create Josette Day’s scenes in La Belle et la Bête, the Cocteau movie she had somehow discovered in 1978 or thereabouts. Day/Belle rides through the enchanted forest to Beast’s castle on a white horse. She’s dressed in a flowing cape and hood. When Stevie talked to Timothy White in 1981 for her cover story for Rolling Stone, she kept referring to this movie and what it meant to her.

I just finished reading Ray Lindsey’s completely disappointing book on his years as a gear tech for the band, and he devotes all of two or three sentences to recording Mirage. He reports that the band didn’t give a damn about anything at that time. Everybody in the band was no longer interested in the band. It’s amazing that Lindsey and Richard gave any engineering craft to the sessions — without even that, Mirage would have been a total dud as far as leaving any sort of impression. Robert Hilburn (LA Times) thought the album was appropriately named because it “practically disappears while you’re listening to it.” For us fans, the album has isolated little sweet spots, like “That’s Alright,” “Can’t Go Back,” and “Hold Me.” Maybe it should have been an EP.

[Macfan4life]

It's a shame Ray Lindsey's book did not tell juicy stories. I read reviews and they are mostly all positive but the core Mac fans say nothing new is revealed and its what they already know
He probably does not want to embarrass anyone and keep good graces.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

Because Madame Nicks wanted to re-create Josette Day’s scenes in La Belle et la Bête, the Cocteau movie she had somehow discovered in 1978 or thereabouts. Day/Belle rides through the enchanted forest to Beast’s castle on a white horse. She’s dressed in a flowing cape and hood. When Stevie talked to Timothy White in 1981 for her cover story for Rolling Stone, she kept referring to this movie and what it meant to her.

I just finished reading Ray Lindsey’s completely disappointing book on his years as a gear tech for the band, and he devotes all of two or three sentences to recording Mirage. He reports that the band didn’t give a damn about anything at that time. Everybody in the band was no longer interested in the band. It’s amazing that Lindsey and Richard gave any engineering craft to the sessions — without even that, Mirage would have been a total dud as far as leaving any sort of impression. Robert Hilburn (LA Times) thought the album ex was appropriately named because it “practically disappears while you’re listening to it.” For us fans, the album has isolated little sweet spots, like “That’s Alright,” “Can’t Go Back,” and “Hold Me.” Maybe it should have been an EP.

Hilburn’s commentary is clever but perhaps a bit disingenuous, in my opinion. The album doesn’t so much disappear as one listens but one’s expectations are certainly reoriented—possibly deflated but then oddly reconstructed to suit the album’s almost stubborn attachment to giddy pleasures on a minor scale. Mirage charms; its does not haunt or beguile the way certain songs on the previous three albums do. It also doesn’t seem to spring from the earth. It’s sprinkled with fairy dust.

But I’ve been listening to it lately and believe it could have been quite different had the core trio fought Buckingham a bit more on his “music box” touches. Outtakes and rehearsals from the period show Christine’s piano is chunkier and more aggressive than one might expect, and the drum-bass combo has a real kick to it. “Put a Candle in the Window” suggests the pre-arranged material may have had some muscle…

The “alternate” (really a version before overdubs) of “Only Over You” has this hypnotic groove that I could listen to for hours. That groove is muted or subdued in the mix that ends up on the record. Why?

“That’s Alright” is a killer tune. So good. Stevie at her most lyrically engaging.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

The album doesn’t so much disappear as one listens but one’s expectations are certainly reoriented—possibly deflated but then oddly reconstructed to suit the album’s almost stubborn attachment to giddy pleasures on a minor scale.

Frankly, I don't know if my limited english skills prevented me from understanding what this means. Anyway, my confusion led me to analyze whether the album is a sum of all possible classical and non-classical trajectories between the initial and final states. That is, of course, assuming the songs were written to offer us a diploid, rather than a haploid, experience. Of course, whenever the lyrics consciousness does not cause a physical collapse of the wavefunction.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Villavic

That is, of course, assuming the songs were written to offer us a diploid, rather than a haploid, experience. Of course, whenever the lyrics consciousness does not cause a physical collapse of the wavefunction.

Now it’s my turn to be confused. I admit my ignorance. No idea what you’re saying.

[jbrownsjr]

Villa, you sound like you're trying to write Juliet from the book of science and miracles.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Villa, you sound like you're trying to write Juliet from the book of science and miracles.

Actually these days I was reading Hawking's A Brief History of Time. I think that trying to understand more than half of the book (which I did manage to grasp) burned more neurons than when I was experimenting in the 80s.

Anyway I was checking Mick words about Lindsey during Mirage.

He arrived in France with two good songs, "Can't Go Back" and "Eyes of the World. " Three others, "Book of Love," "Empire State," and "Oh Diane," were written with Richard Dashut at the chateau and in the three other studios in L.A. where Mirage was wrapped up over the next seven months. Tired of being typecast as the archetypal northern California hippie, Lindsey had now veered from his New Wave sound into a 1955 Eddie Cochran rock and roll feel. (I remember some semitense conversations on musical direction in this era, as Lindsey still felt that I blamed him for the relatively weak sales of Tusk. I thought we should do what we do best, and insisted on doing this album as a band. This time, the whole band played on almost every track; then Chris, Lindsey, and I spent months in the studio, overdubbing in typical Fleetwood Mac fashion.)

I don't see Lindsey's Mirage songs as very different from his L&O sound, which was a cool album. But I like the ones on Mirage much better. I didn't really like Go Insane; I only listened to it a couple of times years ago and haven't played it again. But his comeback with OOTC was masterful, though unfortunately it came too late.

I guess that "Chris, Lindsey, and I spent months in the studio overdubbing" is what Christine found great.

.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by David

Because Madame Nicks wanted to re-create Josette Day’s scenes in La Belle et la Bête, the Cocteau movie she had somehow discovered in 1978 or thereabouts. Day/Belle rides through the enchanted forest to Beast’s castle on a white horse. She’s dressed in a flowing cape and hood. When Stevie talked to Timothy White in 1981 for her cover story for Rolling Stone, she kept referring to this movie and what it meant to her.

I just finished reading Ray Lindsey’s completely disappointing book on his years as a gear tech for the band, and he devotes all of two or three sentences to recording Mirage. He reports that the band didn’t give a damn about anything at that time. Everybody in the band was no longer interested in the band. It’s amazing that Lindsey and Richard gave any engineering craft to the sessions — without even that, Mirage would have been a total dud as far as leaving any sort of impression. Robert Hilburn (LA Times) thought the album was appropriately named because it “practically disappears while you’re listening to it.” For us fans, the album has isolated little sweet spots, like “That’s Alright,” “Can’t Go Back,” and “Hold Me.” Maybe it should have been an EP.

oh this is a bummer to hear... I've had his book in my stack of books to read for a little while now and have been waiting for a moment when I can really sink into it......

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Hilburn’s commentary is clever but perhaps a bit disingenuous, in my opinion. The album doesn’t so much disappear as one listens but one’s expectations are certainly reoriented—possibly deflated but then oddly reconstructed to suit the album’s almost stubborn attachment to giddy pleasures on a minor scale. Mirage charms; its does not haunt or beguile the way certain songs on the previous three albums do. It also doesn’t seem to spring from the earth. It’s sprinkled with fairy dust.

But I’ve been listening to it lately and believe it could have been quite different had the core trio fought Buckingham a bit more on his “music box” touches. Outtakes and rehearsals from the period show Christine’s piano is chunkier and more aggressive than one might expect, and the drum-bass combo has a real kick to it. “Put a Candle in the Window” suggests the pre-arranged material may have had some muscle…

The “alternate” (really a version before overdubs) of “Only Over You” has this hypnotic groove that I could listen to for hours. That groove is muted or subdued in the mix that ends up on the record. Why?

“That’s Alright” is a killer tune. So good. Stevie at her most lyrically engaging.

the lyrics are good because she'd written the song a lot earlier in her career. once she got famous, like really famous, she started believing that anything she belched out was great. As someone mentioned earlier, all that 'he said she said' twaddle interspersed with lots of "well"s...

One of the major reviews did call Mirage a 'music box' album and it certainly has all the twinkles and chimes of one...which isn't inherently a bad thing... I always did wonder about the choice of title though...a reference to them being a coherent band anymore is just a Mirage??

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

I always did wonder about the choice of title though...a reference to them being a coherent band anymore is just a Mirage??

I remember I posted here asking why they named it Mirage, but it was long ago and can't remember if anybody knew there was an official answer from the band.

I just posted the question on Google and its AI said:
Fleetwood Mac named their 1982 album Mirage to reflect a,,reflective, almost dreamlike return to form after the experimental and commercially disappointing Tusk. The title symbolized the band's reunion, appearing as a "beautiful blur" of,nostalgia and,familiarity that sought to replicate the,softer, melodic sound of Rumours.

I'm not convinced this comes from a reliable source. It could be a mix of fans opinions.

[Mr Scarrott]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

. Mirage charms; its does not haunt or beguile the way certain songs on the previous three albums do. It also doesn’t seem to spring from the earth. It’s sprinkled with fairy dust.

I enjoyed reading this post, but it's hard to say that Gypsy does not haunt or beguile. It's almost too good: a soaring mountain surrounded by some occasionally interesting and attractive hills make for an odd soundscape.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

I enjoyed reading this post, but it's hard to say that Gypsy does not haunt or beguile. .

Gypsy was the spark that ignited my fanaticism for Fleetwood Mac. Before Mirage I knew and liked a lot some Mac songs I've heard, but when I heard and watched Gypsy, I started to ask What is this group about? And Mirage was the first album I entirely listened. That's why it was magical to me. Not to compare it to their 70s albums; it was a matter of experience at that time. Then I got inmersed into the Mac universe, and the rest is history.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

I enjoyed reading this post, but it's hard to say that Gypsy does not haunt or beguile. It's almost too good: a soaring mountain surrounded by some occasionally interesting and attractive hills make for an odd soundscape.

Hey, I get it. I love “Gypsy”—it’s a pop masterpiece. But I don’t walk away from it the way I do “The Chain” or “Gold Dust Woman,” or even “How Still My Love” and “Bella Donna.” I feel joy when I hear “Gypsy.” It’s joyous, nostalgic, warm, even exciting. But that haunted feeling I get when I hear those harmonies on “Rhiannon,” for instance—none of that with Gypsy.