Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveMacD
I don't think there's a bad song on "Future Games". There's a beautiful folky, jazzy quality that never forgets that it's supposed to rock first and foremost. It's the album the band had been working up to since at least "Then Play On". The songs are more extended, and the beauty of Kirwan's playing really shines through on this like on no other record. As a whole, it's completely unlike anything the Mac has ever done before or since. It may actually be my favorite Fleetwood Mac album ever.
"Mystery To Me" is great because by this record, Welch figured out his role in the band, and was contributing some monster songs. Christine also contributed some monster songs. Bob Weston's leads were a perfect compliment to those songs. It's not a perfect record, but the high points are amongst the highest in Fleetwood Mac's catalogue. "Believe Me", "Hypnotized", "Miles Away", and "Why" are every bit as good, if not better, than any of the "Rumours" singles, IMO. Weston's lead are stunning in a '70s kind of way.
FG is more "roll with it", whereas MTM is more carefully thought out.
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I love Future Games. The overall sound of the record is so relaxed and spacious. My only complaints about the album are Christine's vocal on Morning Rain, which is uncharacteristically bad, and the short total running time. Easily one or two more songs could've fit on it. I don't see why, for instance, any number of Christine songs tried out on the Kiln House tour couldn't have gone on it. Still, this is all a quibble. In terms of a consistent album sound, Future Games has it.
All of the Welch-era albums have some great material on them but it's hard to pick a favorite or to praise one as a fully-realized record. They all seem fertile, full, occasionally bursting with ideas, but somehow transitional. Mystery seems the most forcefully realized of these records--but I'm not crazy about the mobile unit, and would have preferred the band recorded in a studio, as they did on FG and Heroes. Some of the Mystery songs, in particular, seem too close to the speakers or something. In terms of the engineering and mixing, Miles Away sounds the best.