Mirage Reviews

[markolas]

I have still never heard this whole album. It's the only one from the Rumours line-up I've never owned.

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Boston Globe, August 8, 1982

Section: ARTS/ FILMS

RECORD / REVIEW WHILE FLEETWOOD GROWS STALE, CS&N ADD BREATH OF FRESH AIR, by Steve Morse Globe Staff

HA! The title of this is really funny considering that the "breath of fresh air" must be Art Garfunkel, since he did the harmonies because Crosby was too high to record with Stills & Nash for this album!

[michelej1]

Tucson Weekly, September 3, 2009

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/u...nt?oid=1315255

[This unsubstantiated comment was made in an article called "Unmasking Crap" by Bob Grimm. He was talking about Michael Myers and digressed]

This time out, Myers is driven to kill by visions starring the pale ghost of his mom (Sheri Moon Zombie) riding a white horse, accompanied by the younger version of himself. Yes, it appears that Myers' subconscious is a goofy place that sort of looks like a low-grade Stevie Nicks video. (Actually, come to think of it, some of those videos were pretty bad, and could perhaps drive the more easily influenced to kill. Speaking of bad, how about Nicks' pitiful participation on Fleetwood Mac's Mirage album? That one didn't feature the band on its best day.)

[michelej1]

From David Bowling's ongoing series of FM album reviews for Blogcritics.org, November 18, 2010

http://blogcritics.org/music/article...od-mac-mirage/

It had been almost three years since Fleetwood Mac released their last studio album and a year since its last tour ended. In the interim Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had begun to taste the solo waters.

The group traveled to Chateau d’Herouville, Herouville, France, to record their new album. Mirage was released during June of 1982. It would return the band to the top of the American charts for a five-week stay.

Mirage was a return to the slick California pop sound of Rumours rather than the overall experimental nature of Tusk. While it may not have reached the rarefied atmosphere of Rumours, it did have some very strong points. Songs such as “Gypsy” and “Love In Store” had a pop sheen to them and became hit singles. The harmonies were in place and the album had an overall wide appeal to it.

It is Stevie Nicks who really shines on the album. “Gypsy” is classic Nicks and has a beauty to it. The song is a sophisticated and well crafted pop classic. Also of note was the elaborate video that was produced for it.

“That’s Alright” was written back in 1974 during her Buckingham-Nicks days. It has close to a country feel, with background vocals by Buckingham that blend well with Nicks' lead singing. “Straight Back” was written in 1981 by Nicks and was a song about a relationship ending.

Christine McVie’s contributions are only a step behind. “Love In Store” is the album's first track and established its style, as it was a catchy pop tune. “Hold Me” was another catchy outing, as she combines vocally with Buckingham.

“Wish You Were Here” closes the album on a positive note. McVie's only miss was “Only Over You,” which was one of the most average songs of her career.

Lindsey Buckingham struggles here and there, plus takes some chances which veer a little from the group's modern day pop sound. “Book Of Love” and “Oh Diane” have an experimental nature to them which don’t make them bad but do make them different.

“Can’t Go Back” is Buckingham's best track, as the sound just washes over you. On the other hand, “Eyes Of The World” is average and “Empire State” less so.

Mirage may not be Fleetwood Mac's best album, but there are still a number of high points. While Tusk has grown on me over the years and Rumours has increased in brilliance, Mirage has remained the same. It is not an essential Fleetwood Mac release but it is pleasant, which probably defines its legacy.

[michelej1]

[Since there's a Mirage Thread, I thought I'd add reviews to this thread]

Mirage| **** (4 out of 5)

By John Milward August 16, 1982

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...#ixzz3h8TAKYsI

Fleetwood Mac boasts the rarest of chart-topping, adult-oriented rock virtues — a group personality. In the three-part harmonies and the assured snap of the rhythm section, we hear five distinct personalities merge into a sound that is unmistakably Mac. On Mirage, Lindsey Buckingham once again reaches into his bag of magicianly production tricks and pulls out an elusive gem of a Fleetwood Mac record that, to borrow some lines from his own "Can't Go Home," has "a face as soft as a tear in a clown's eye."

"Can't Go Home" would sound comfortable in a music box. As with most of Buckingham's tunes, we're hooked before the first word. The melody is sprung from beat one as vibes and guitar play tag atop John McVie's ticktocking bass, and just when you expect it, Mick Fleetwood's snare drum locks the machinery into gear. Fleetwood and McVie, rock's classiest rhythm section, know how to make the simple sublime.

Fleetwood Mac, a vocal group with a beat, doesn't scrimp on harmonies. Voices make a feather bed for Christine McVie's pulsing "Love in Store," adorn the edges of Stevie Nicks' fairy tales and jump all over Buckingham's quirky contributions. Whether answering the lead voice or chanting "bom, bom, bom," the singing keeps Mac's fuzzy face in focus.

Nicks, whose easy allure has made her the most popular of Mac's front three, is also the most problematic. While Buckingham steals from everybody, Nicks picks her own pocket. Is there a witch in the house who could banish "dream," "gypsy" and (gasp) "velvet underground" from her vocabulary? "That's Alright," with a countryish melody and a demonstrative opening image ("Meet me down by the railway station"), is far and away her best new song. Still, when Fleetwood drops extra drum beats into the belly of the belfry on "Gypsy," it's clear that nobody can weave Stevie's velvet and lace like Fleetwood Mac.

Christine McVie might turn out to be the Alberta Hunter of the future. "Only over You" is Mirage's inevitable breakup blues: "I'm out of my mind," she sings in an ascending arch, and while that's not too far from "I'm over my head," Christine's wisdom is in her honey-toned voice. And though "Wish You Were Here" is a Jackson Browne soundalike with really bad words, "Hold Me" bristles with randy fun. Singing in tandem, Christine and Lindsey snuggle up to the rhythm ("Slip your hand inside my glove"), she smoothing his edges and he pushing her over the top.

Hellbent on becoming the silliest of rock stars, Lindsey Buckingham takes Fleetwood Mac's limp language to its logical extreme. He composes mint-fresh pop tunes, but the words are strictly recycled: i.e., "Love is like a grain of sand" or "Who wrote the book of love?" While Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Brian Wilson ignite his imagination, they also tangle his tongue. How lucky they were to have said it first! "Empire State," which crosses the space-cadet Byrds with the car-hopping Beach Boys, is as aggressively asinine as anything to come from Brian's sandbox. Minimally deeper are "Oh Diane" and "Eyes of the World," the former coaxing the dreaded "grain of sand" over a Buddy Holly-ish chord structure, and the latter launching a riveting guitar solo from a "Tusk"-like beat. The finely turned details that illuminate these tunes are deployed throughout Mirage, from the enthusiastic "hey" on "Empire State" to the tiny organ telegraphing "Only over You." Pop touches like these make a few grains of sand seem like a beach.

Fleetwood Mac have never pretended to be heavy thinkers. But like E.T. or baseball's pennant race, Mirage is another of 1982's sunny entertainments: it sounds great in the morning and fine over a sunset with wine.


Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...#ixzz3h8TXBxeT
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[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.