By Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
Sept 27th, 2016

Fleetwood Mac, “Mirage (Deluxe).” Oft-delayed remaster of original 1982 album, plus a disc of outtakes highlighted by Christine McVie’s randier take of “Hold Me” and Stevie Nicks’ demos of “Smile at You” and “If You Were My Love.”

The angry “Smile at You,” later rerecorded in a considerably tamer version on “Say You Will” in 2003, would have given “Mirage” the edge some critics said it lacked after the left-field turn of the preceding “Tusk.” Her cut would have been a better choice than Lindsey Buckingham’s pointless and grating side two opening number, “Empire State.”

“I loved ‘Smile at You’ because it was a real rock and roll song,” Nicks said. “Only thing I can say is when it all came to push and shove we had 19 songs [recorded] and it was 12 songs on the real record. That means 13 to 19 had to go. I lost songs all the time I thought should be on records. But when you are in a band it’s a team and it’s a vote and Lindsey always had a bit of a stronger vote and I kind of went with that.”

The attractively packaged “Mirage” reissue also includes a live disc from the Mirage Tour from The Forum in Los Angeles from Oct. 21-22, 1982, originally issued on VHS. A 180-gram vinyl LP is tucked inside, too. Original co-producer Ken Caillat offers a new 5.1 surround and stereo remix.

“Back then we would paint with indelible colors,” Caillat said. “I had a philosophy early on that I wanted to always have the musician hearing the track as closely as possible to what I expected the end result would be. An engineer friend pulled me aside and asked, ‘Have you listened to ‘Mirage’ in awhile?’ I hadn’t played it and I was surprised how great it sounded. I was pleased with our sounds. We were always pleased with our sounds on the records.”

Fleetwood Mac
Mirage (Expanded Reissue)
(Warner Brothers/Rhino)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Often considered the belated follow-up to 1977’s mega platinum Rumours, 1982’s Mirage was a clear retreat from the somewhat abrasive, occasionally commercial avant-pop of the controversial Tusk. While that album has, over the decades, come to be respected as Lindsey Buckingham’s creative zenith, it appears Warner Brothers was less enthusiastic about their star act’s detour into the artsy abyss. Perhaps Mac were tired of it themselves, because the slick, glossily produced Mirage seems a capitulation to an audience who might have found the dense, inconsistent, but bold Tusk a musical and drug-fueled bridge too far.

While Mirage was no Rumours, its dozen sophisticated pop songs include such near-classics as “Love in Store,” “Gypsy,” and “Hold Me,” the latter two appearing on most subsequent Mac hits packages. But there are other, often unappreciated gems here too. Selections such as Buckingham’s folksy “Can’t Go Back,” Stevie Nicks’ surprisingly effective foray into country “That’s Alright,” the frisky pop/rock and sumptuous harmonies of “The Eyes of the World” and the closing “Wish You Were Here,” one of the always dependable Christine McVie’s more affecting and least appreciated pieces, are well worth reexamining. Continue reading Fleetwood Mac: Mirage (Expanded Reissue) | American Songwriter →