Mirage Reviews

[michelej1]

Drop Off in Sales

New York Times, August 14, 1982

"It's the 1980's, and the cream is definitely off the top of the business," said Irving Azoff, manager of some of the biggest rock stars. Back in the 70's, five of Mr. Azoff's clients, the Eagles, sold 15 million copies of their "Hotel California" album and broke attendance records across the country. He also manages members of Fleetwood Mac, whose "Rumours" album almost matched the Eagles' sales.

Now the Eagles have disbanded, and the band's members are pursuing solo careers, with varying degrees of success. Fleetwood Mac has another No. 1 album, "Mirage," but sales are in such a slump that it is unlikely to achieve more than a fraction of the sales of "Rumours." While the group is going on the road this month, it will not be raking in the money at stadium concerts and outdoor festivals.

"Fleetwood Mac only had offers to do two outdoor shows in the whole country," according to Mr. Azoff. "One was in a town that doesn't have a large indoor arena; the other was the Us Festival, which is scheduled to take place Labor Day weekend in San Bernardino County in California and is going to be the summer's only really big festival. There's a very good reason why groups like Fleetwood Mac aren't doing more stadium shows - the kids aren't buying tickets."

[David]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Fleetwood Mac has another No. 1 album, "Mirage," but sales are in such a slump that it is unlikely to achieve more than a fraction of the sales of "Rumours." While the group is going on the road this month, it will not be raking in the money at stadium concerts and outdoor festivals.

"Fleetwood Mac only had offers to do two outdoor shows in the whole country," according to Mr. Azoff. "One was in a town that doesn't have a large indoor arena; the other was the Us Festival, which is scheduled to take place Labor Day weekend in San Bernardino County in California and is going to be the summer's only really big festival. There's a very good reason why groups like Fleetwood Mac aren't doing more stadium shows - the kids aren't buying tickets."

I don't think they played any stadiums in the United States on the Tusk tour, either.

And didn't they do three or four outdoor festivals on the 1982 tour? There was the one in Florida in early September (with John Mellencamp & Loverboy on the bill) . . . . I mean, the band toured September & October -- those aren't traditional outdoor festival months like July & August.

[michelej1]

[Like with Don't Stop, some people thing Hold Me is Lindsey's song, just because his voice is on it]

http://library.marist.edu/archives/M.../1982_11_4.pdf

The Circle, Marist College November 4, 1982 by Rick O'Donnell

Now's the time that the sleeping giants have begun to awaken. Familiar names in seventies rock are once again climbing up the album and hit charts. The members of the group may be different, but the sound remains essentially the same, and rock fans of the eighties appreciate the sleeping giants as much as rock fans of the past. Fleetwood Mac's latest L.P. "Mirage," is doing extremely well in national sales. The last album Fleetwood Mac released was its live album, that had little artistic quality and was released just before Christmas a couple of years ago insuring it would sell. Coming on the tails of two brilliant solo albums by Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, "Mirage" is an unexpected surprise. As usual, the material is fresh and varied as is often the case with a band that has many writers. Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie have been penning some excellent material since Tusk was released. The rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood on "Mirage" proves that they may be the best rhythm section in rock music today. Nicks' vocals are as good as they were on "Tusk," and her solo L.P. "Belladonna," but on this album her vocals are used much more sparingly so they don't become predictable. But if credit must be given, Lindsay Buckingham is certainly the target. Not only did he help in the production of the L.P., but he also wrote some of the best cuts on "Mirage," including the hit "Hold Me." The cuts are short, and they only cover two sides of vinyl, unlike the marathon L.P.,"Tusk." Almost anything that Fleetwood Mac releases is a commercial winner; however, "Mirage" deserves special credit for not relying on old fans, and taking the effort to win over many more new fans. There are no duds on this one.