![]() "If you were a sort of super-intellectual critic, which is maybe not a great place to come from, it would be fair game to say the album kind of went backwards. "I don't think it would be wrong to say it sort of got overlooked," Mick Fleetwood said about the Mirage album in retrospect. In the UK, "Oh Diane" was released as the third single instead of "Love in Store." It was a hit, peaking at #9 on the British charts. ![]() The third single from Mirage, "Love in Store," made it's way to #22 on the singles chart. The #1 song in America that week: Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." Second single "Gypsy" peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 for the week October 23, 1982. ![]() The album was something of a singles bonanza: Lead single "Hold Me," released June 1982, stormed up the Hot 100, peaking at #4 for the week of July 24, 1982. It finally fell to John Cougar's American Fool on September 10, 1982. The album remained atop the Billboard 200 for five weeks straight. The record raced up the charts to peak at #1 for the week of August 7, 1982. Released on June 18, 1982, Mirage proved that Fleetwood Mac still had that old fire. so that we could make an album without imploding." "But in truth, knowing me, I think the main purpose of it was to get them the hell out of L.A. And very kindly they did that," drummer Mick Fleetwood told Rolling Stone in 2016. "My recollect was I asked the band if I could record overseas to help me out with some tax issues. Soon, the band began putting together what would become their thirteenth studio effort, Mirage. The sprawling and experimental double-album had been a huge hit, but still paled in comparison to the monster sales and cultural influence of its 1977 predecessor, Rumours.įollowing Tusk with a victory-lap Live album, the members of Fleetwood Mac eventually met up in France, setting up shop at at the famed Chateau d'Herouville outside of Paris. ![]() I deem it to be one of those essential records that nobody else adores but you personally could listen to endlessly and still enjoyably discern nuances that you had previously overlooked.By 1982, the dust had finally settled from the maelstrom that surrounded Fleetwood Mac's 1979 album, Tusk. I will never tire of it, even its refined and prevailing essence elevates its quality these saccharine elements, but also the album's synthesis and depth, render it even more aurally pleasurable to me. It is quite simply one of the most soothing records that you will ever have the privilege to hear. I am of the belief that "Mirage" is a masterpiece in its own right, an analogous assemblage of anguished country western romanticism, evoking sincere palliative warmth and tenderness, feelings that not many albums manage to conjure in the listener. a less iconic, ambitious and powerhouse record, but an atmospheric, reflective feat of musical expertise nonetheless. It may not be recognised as an integral part of their varied discography, but in my opinion, the album is in desperate need of reappraisal as being at least comparable to "Tango in the Night" in terms of merit, i.e. Since its release, "Mirage" has become unfairly maligned by critics, and although the soft rock aspects of Fleetwood Mac's conventional approach are more pronounced and intentional, the album is far too expertly crafted to deserve to be viewed in contrast to the intense mastery of what had gone before. ![]() Each composition registers aurally as sheer bliss, and the amplified, cascading sounds throughout the album are so expansive and melodic that, as with "Rumours" and "Tango In the Night", it is entirely addictive to simply extract and isolate the extensive sonic minutia, individual instrument tracks and lilting harmonies operating in the background. Lindsey Buckingham's comprehensive, elaborate distillation of pop may have lost its off-kilter tension, but there is no reduction in his virtuoso musical prowess without question, the album is a tour de force on every conceivable level. "Mirage" is an outstanding collection of songs, imbued with raw emotion and meticulousness, and although it cannot compare with its predecessors, therein lies the point: it isn't either of those albums, and it should not be judged for its shortcomings in that respect. Lindsey Buckingham's glossy production and intricate guitar, bass and drums layering is endemic, even the remarkable Stevie Nicks cuts "That's Alright", "Straight Back" and "Gypsy" are sonically and lyrically cohesive with the rest of the album, despite the newfound solo star confidence. Fleetwood Mac explored musical innovation on their previous album, "Tusk", but "Mirage" is a return to the traditional pop rock song structures of "Rumours", albeit with country leanings and perceived lack of substance. ![]()
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