Non-Album Survivor Rounds 4-5

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by ReFleetwoodMac

You have quite the fondness for that word, don't you?

You're saying that Empire state and Book of Love, and even Can't Go Back are typical pop songs?

Actually, I'm not that fond of the word, but it's far less offensive than what I'd like to call the album.

Book of Love is nothing but a huge rip off of an older song by the same name (the artist escapes me at the moment) while claiming to be a Buckingham original.

As for the rest of them, yes, in terms of the overall sound I think it's typical pop. That's just my opinion. And you people can argue with me about it until the end of the world but it'll still be my opinion.

[face of glass]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

Book of Love is nothing but a huge rip off of an older song by the same name (the artist escapes me at the moment) while claiming to be a Buckingham original.

Hope it doesn't seem that I'm too obsessed with this.

Quoting an older post of mine:

Originally Posted by face of glass

Finally, "Book Of Love". This song seems to encapsulate nearly everything about Lindsey's work from 1981 to 1983. You have your usual '50s I-IV-V chord structure but the delivery is really angry and yet in the chorus he is laughing at himself for some weird reason. Why on earth is that? The usual answer that I have to this is that it's Lindsey doing the sonic painting thing again. He has two very different emotions there put together, both in '50s doo-wop ballad for chrissake! And yet it still doesn't confuse me. It feels very natural, in fact.

But then again I don't find Mirage a huge letdown or a lackluster effort in Lindsey's part (I think I went into more detail on that in the post that I linked to).

Personally I don't mind that "Book Of Love" is a '50s rip-off (the name of the particular artist and the song escapes me too, but I bet this isn't the only rip-off we've heard of that song). I never fell in love with Buckingham or Nicks solely because of their songwriting anyway, I find them rather ordinary songwriters in the end. What matters to me the most has always been their delivery of a particular song, and the way the song has been arranged. They can communicate a particular topic with such emotion and power that whatever cliches or ordinariness they use takes on a new life.
When it comes to "Book Of Love", Lindsey has inserted such an amount of anger and production details into it (not to mention that precious laughter) that it doesn't feel like a rip-off to me, its atmosphere is, after all, very different from your average '50s ballads. And that's what makes me think of it as another great moment in his career.

Not that this will change anyone's mind, though.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

Because the whole album is fluff. It was the band regressing. In terms of pop accessibility it was the Rumours II that people had wanted Tusk to be. Just look at "Oh Diane" and that rip-off "Book of Love." I like "Eyes of the World," "Empire State," and "Can't Go Back," but this is probably the only album where I like some Christine and Stevie's contributions ("Gypsy," "Hold Me," "Wish You Were Here") more than Buckingham's. But as a whole, the album stinks. Just my opinion.

I think Mirage is very UNDERRATED myself. It is what it is...I don't think it was in any way "Rumours II." And if Tusk HAD been what everyones 'wanted' it to be, then they wouldn't have made Mirage

[ReFleetwoodMac]

I've always thought of Lindsey's Mirage songs as equally as quirky as his Tusk songs, just more polished. His Tusk stuff was so uncomfortably raw that there's no way anyone will call them typical pop songs. But his Mirage stuff is pretty much the same, just nowhere near as raw. But I still don't think any of them sound like anything else I've heard outside of Lindsey.

Casual fans I think have the same opinion about Mirage as Tusk. How many would be interested at all in Lindsey's Tusk or Mirage stuff? Probably not many. How many would like Sara or Think About Me? Gypsy or Hold Me? Plenty.

[trackaghost]

I agree they're just as quirky as his Tusk stuff. The only difference is they are more 50s influenced than punk. A lot more safe as well.
I really like Mirage. I never understand why it gets such a raw deal.