As Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage reappears remastered on shelves, The Verse’s Kate Horrobin reviews the iconic album.
Fleetwood Mac is a complicated love story if ever there was one. The remastered album Mirage transcends you to the realms of passion, love and heartache entangled with the band’s romantic history. Fleetwood Mac are masters in their ability to capture the many elements of love and relationships in their music, both good and bad; trust, distance, longing, dependence vs. independence, making the album a complimentary emotional follow up to the bestselling album Rumours. The message of the former album is one of independence, angst and futile love during a period of love triangles and affairs within the band and similarly Mirage evokes feelings of disdain, regret and a complicated history with tracks such as Gypsy and Can’t Go Back. However Mirage confesses more of an innocent vulnerability with the juxtaposing songs Hold Me and Wish You Were Here. The contrasting attitudes towards love in the album essentially omit one message, and said in the smoky-voiced style of Lindsey Buckingham, the message is ‘love ain’t simple, kid.’ Paired with the album artwork, the powerful song That’s Alright performed by Christie McVie and Stevie Nicks evokes an uncomfortable but tantalising sense of their relationship. With the band’s uncertain reformation following from successful solo careers it seems poignant, bitter sweet yet reassuring that the pair’s combined message should be – that’s alright.
Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham’s musical arrangements at times offer release from the more sombre, mellow and pensive atmosphere of the rest of the album such as Eyes of the World, which, upon first hearing, I mistook for a cover of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing – thankfully it was just the introduction and it didn’t come to belting the infamous 80s pop ballad.
Favourite tracks include Empire State with Buckingham’s quirky and charismatic vocal experimentations and the smooth number Oh Diane – making it easy feel like you’re at the Under The Sea dance in Back to the Future.
Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage (Remastered) is available in stores and online now.
