Tango In The Night

[Ripley]

First Impression.

I'm a fairly young FM fan (24) and although I've loved Rumours, S/T and Bella Donna for a decade I've actually never listened to Tusk, Mirage and TITN in their entirety before. Of course I'm familiar with most of the singles from these albums and the ones performed on The Dance though. So, I've decided to rectify this glaring omission and I've begun with Tango.

I'm sort of surprised that Christine McVie's contributions are the stand out of the entire album. Mainly because her 80's solo record is mostly unremarkable. On Tango, however, she gets in the best songs with Everywhere and Little Lies. Isn't It Midnight is a great jam and a very typical McVie song. Mystified is a bit odd with it's almost "Let's Get It On" mood and You and I, Part II is fun.

Stevie's songs lack the urgency that her material from S/T & Rumours have. Seven Wonders feels very much like a solo track and Welcome to the Room Sara is largely forgettable. When I See You Again is fantastic but far from a masterwork.

And Lindsey... *sigh*, I find his tracks on this album insufferable. I've always found Big Love to be a bit pretentious and jarring to listen to and Family Man has to be one of his worst songs. Caroline and the title track are both fairly boring. I like Lindsey but his work in the 80's is indulgent to a fault.

Overall it's a good album. I almost wish it was a follow up to McVie's self titled record because she seemed to be on quite a roll during this period. Unfortunately Nicks offers very little and Buckingham is still on a mission to prove how clever he can be.

B-

I hope I haven't made any enemies with my thoughts and welcome some observations from more seasoned fans of the band.