Fleetwood Mac - Behind the Mask

The only song I like is "Freedom"

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R266ARZP4F17TO My name is Jeremy Gloff. I am a musician (check me out on Amazon!) and retro music enthusiast. If you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my Amazon user profile to check out my other reviews. I am always up for making new friends and discussing the music I love!!! July 29, 2008

Fleetwood Mac minus Buckingham= Still Fleetwood Mac

I've read all the reviews by those who feel FM took a nose dive when Lindsey Buckingham left the band. I've also read the reviews by those who feel FM was just as good without him and that this album (as well as the album TIME ) should be given a break. I tend to agree with the latter reviewers. Everyone who "found" FM after Buckingham and Nicks joined could not possibly see the band without these two, and that anything put out under the FM name without those two should be regarded as a travesty.
I say BULL! Just as there was a very good Genesis before Phil Collins , there was a very good Fleetwood Mac (several, actually) before Buckingham and Nicks joined. There was even a Fleetwood Mac before Christine McVie. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have always had a talent for finding good singers, players and writers to join the band.
The fact that Buckingham and Nicks brought the band a great deal more success doesn't take anything away from the pre and post B and N lineups. Give these lineups a chance. Open up a little and see what the other players have to offer. Danny Kirwin, Peter Green, Bob Welch,Dave Mason, Billy Burnette,Rick Vito....all these people are talented and worthy of a listen. And, like it or not, all are part of Fleetwood Mac history. They should be given some respect. After all, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have made very few mistakes in choosing players. As long as John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are there, there will always be Fleetwood Mac. February 19, 2008

Worthy, but somehow, the spark just isn't there

I've been following the Mac - and especially Stevie - for over two decades, and I must agree with the consensus that they're at their best when both Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks are in the mix. After Lindsey left in high dudgeon in 1987 after a dispute over touring, Mick Fleetwood went out and recruited Billy Burnette (son of rock'n'roll pioneer Dorsey Burnette) and Rick Vito to fill the gap. I saw them in concert several times with the Mac in 1987 and 1990, and they were very good, likeable live performers. They try hard - and I give them A for effort - on "Behind the Mask", and they do blend well with the other group members, but there's just not quite the same fire and zing there is when Lindsey is doing his thing onstage and behind the mixing board.

Actually, Christine McVie has to carry most of the burden of this album (and does so very well, in truth, as in "Save Me" and "Skies The Limit"). It's important to understand, when considering Stevie Nicks' work here, that at the time she was really screwed up by Klonopin, which had been prescribed to her in the first place as a measure to help combat her former cocaine addiction, but which, in turn, she ended up getting hooked on. Stevie herself has said on numerous occasions since breaking Klonopin's hold that, in her opinion, that drug was actually worse for her than cocaine, because at least cocaine didn't interfere with her creative processes. Whatever the case, she doesn't have, unfortunately, any really memorable songs on "Behind The Mask" - which is more the pity when compared to her terrific work the previous year (1989) on "The Other Side of the Mirror") (Side A of the LP is still, IMHO, one of the best slabs of Stevie music I've ever heard). None of her songs here quite measure up, again IMHO, to "Rooms On Fire" or "Whole Lotta Trouble". July 4, 2007

Best.Mac for the Ninenties

Surely underrated..A good pop album from a great band..Lindsey was not..present but he was replaced by two guitarist who worked fine and matched with the project.Skies the limit,love is dangerous,behind he mask,when it comes to love do you know, the songs that i like best but my favourite is hard feelings.It needs remastering though..This album's follow up 'time' was a disaster and boring but their last try,when Lindsey returned 'say you will.' is pefect. February 8, 2007

Fleetwood Mac's Most Underrated Album...

When Lindsey Buckingham up-and-left Fleetwood Mac right after the release of 'Tango in the Night', things were looking bleak for the band, but after the extremely successful 'Shakin the Cage' tour with replacement's Rick Vito and Billy Burnette, public interest increased, and the band released 'Behind the Mask'.

Although not up to previous efforts chart-wise in the US (peaking at #16) and containing no hit singles, "Behind the Mask" was a massive hit in Europe and the UK (peaking at #1), and deservedly so, as the album is a much stonger effort than any album the band released in the the 80s.

Christine McVie gives some of her best contributions to a Mac album ever, with "Skies the Limit" and the best track on the album, the title track "Behind the Mask". Compared with the lackluster efforts on 'Tango in the Night', Stevie Nicks picks up her game in a big way, with the haunting "Freedom" and the oh-so-sweet "Affairs of the Heart". Rick is excellent with his ample guitar work, and Billy comes in strong with the standout "In the Back of My Mind" and the ballad "Hard Feelings".

If you like Fleetwood Mac, this album will not disapoint, and despite certain reviews, it is every bit as good as an album like "Mirage" or "Tango in the Night", and perhaps even better. November 21, 2006

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