Behind the Mask turns 34

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

My usual two pennyworth on this subject.

A third of a century has not dimmed the sense of despondency I felt when I first listened to it. I first became a fan when Tango came out, and whilst that was a flawed gem, it captivated my interest and I explored the band's history.

And then this. Someone on Rolling Stone in his review had the nerve to say "what's really funny, though, is that the addition of Rick Vito and Billy Burnette is the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac." I suppose in the sense that they didn't suffer from schizophrenia, join a cult, or sleep with Mick's wife or descend into a spiral of drink and drugs that might be true. Stevie was terrible on this album, Christine was sub-par and occasionally embarassingly so and seemed to know it.

I didn't know whether to laugh or just stare at the wall to see if doing that was more fulfilling. Out of the Cradle a couple of years later was a cathartic moment and a hint at what could have been...

I remember thinking: the arrangements are awful. Some of the songs had beautiful bones. Without all of the bloat and gloss, maybe three or four of the songs would have been very nice. But once Lindsey had left in 87, I lost a lot of interest.

Always loved Love Shines and Heart of Stone, though.

Funny you should mention Out of the Cradle, which I loved. I ended up getting it the same day I bought Time. Naturally, LB's album is a classic, but Time is misunderstood, underrated, and on the whole much better than Mask. "Sooner or Later" alone was worth the admission. And if you skip the Dave Mason tunes, and the last one...