Mirage: The Most Underrated Pop Record

[SpyNote]

Mirage is my favorite album, and it is Fleetwood Mac's most romantic album. It is conceptually well-executed, this notion that love appears abloom in the distance. But that's the clever facade of the mirage -- seeing something, usually beautiful, that isn't actually there. Nine of the 12 songs seem to revolve around this theme, so Mirage stands out as one of the band’s most cohesive albums.

On the surface of each song is a bright, carefree melody. (I think some music critics would describe this as the stereotypical SoCal soft rock sound.) But what each songwriter writes about is longing and nostalgia for love that's "slowly slippin' through your hands" ("Oh Diane"). In "Gypsy," Stevie is nostalgic for the best years of her life, when she was fearless and had nothing but love to give. But it is now a passing warm memory. Christine's always writing about love, but she's especially vulnerable and heartbreaking on this album (probably for Dennis Wilson), afraid of how she feels ("Love in Store"), out of her mind (“Only Over You”), lying in the darkness ("Wish You Were") -- simply inconsolable. And then there’s Lindsey, the most heartbroken of all, demanding for “someone from up above” (“Book of Love”) to explain why he is so lonely and unsuccessful at finding love.

I do agree with Andy that side two is inconsistent. It starts off rough with a totally random song about New York ("Empire State"). I think songwriters sometimes write these songs, hoping it will one day get picked up by the media, like in a commercial. And that would translate into mass exposure and grand royalties. It didn't work here, but Lindsey sure hit a home run with with "Holiday Road"!

"Straight Back" doesn't work for this album either. Its reggae-flavored beats and esoteric lyrics about dreams, melodies, and ivory keys are one gleaming mess. But I do love the song. It just doesn't fit conceptually with the album.

"Eyes of the World" is another random, misplaced song. Granted, it is the album’s best uptempo song, by far, and even a better song onstage. But here, it’s a lot of pleasant hoo-ha about nothing.

My only other gripe about Mirage is the editing, which is quite poor. The cut-and-paste approach is very evident on many songs, especially on “Gypsy,” “Only Over You,” and “Straight Back,” where you can clearly hear where the song was edited, probably out of Rumours-inspired fear of running over on vinyl. No bueno.

But overall, musically, Mirage runs beautifully from beginning to end. It doesn’t rock too hard or too soft, which is how love, if we should find it, should ideally play out.