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This one is really a tale of two album’s interspersed with one another. Lindsay Buckingham is intent on not repeating Rumours, and instead channels his inter Talking Heads and maybe some experimental Beach Boys to create the wildest sounding songs in the Fleetwood Mac catalogue to this point. Tusk is the classic in this style towards the end of the album, and maybe most emblematic of this. What Makes You Think You’re the One sounds just like Talking Heads, though the genius of these parts of the album is that Buckingham, unlike his predecessors, sounds like he’s taking inspiration rather than simply making a neutered version of what already exists.
The other piece of this album is more in line with the Fleetwood Mac past with the songs contributed by Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks. Mc Vie comes out hot with Over & Over and Think About Me, though the rest of her contributions seem lost in the shuffle and in line with the pre-Buckingham and Nicks days. Nicks brings in two stellar songs in Sara and Sisters of the Moon - both songs build nicely and have the right amount of space here.
It’s great to hear the disjointed aspects in the start of Over & Over into The Ledge, and this one certainly holds its own with the last two albums, though one certainly gets the sense that they barely shared a room in recording this. Buckingham is clearly off in his own universe, the rest of the band be damned.
Oh man. You clearly liked this one a lot more than I did. I could barely make it thru it. Tusk (the song) has always been a favorite but almost all of the rest of it is a let down for me. I’m not against going in different directions or whatever but I just don’t feel any of Buckingham’s selections really landed. Other than the title track. (Which was what they’d play as intro music on the previous tour). I’ve never liked Sara and feel that Beautiful Child and Sisters of the Moon are much stronger. Until Brown Eyes came on, I was sorely disappointed in McVie’s offerings.
Overall, I was disappointed in the whole thing. With only 2-3 tunes out of 20 that I would ever really go back and listen to I’d call this one a dud. And I know I’m in the minority.
I definitely did, but I wouldn’t want place it in the pantheon of great albums some people do. I take some level of dissatisfaction with anyone calling it experimental. I mean I get the term is both loaded and on a sliding scale depending on the artist, but disjointed is the better term. I’d put it probably above the albums I have been crapping on, but maybe just below Then Play On. It has some really good moments, and I would probably take say a bit over half the album. That’s the half I meant to say holds up with their other stuff from the era.
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
wease wrote:
liebzz wrote:
Tusk
This one is really a tale of two album’s interspersed with one another. Lindsay Buckingham is intent on not repeating Rumours, and instead channels his inter Talking Heads and maybe some experimental Beach Boys to create the wildest sounding songs in the Fleetwood Mac catalogue to this point. Tusk is the classic in this style towards the end of the album, and maybe most emblematic of this. What Makes You Think You’re the One sounds just like Talking Heads, though the genius of these parts of the album is that Buckingham, unlike his predecessors, sounds like he’s taking inspiration rather than simply making a neutered version of what already exists.
The other piece of this album is more in line with the Fleetwood Mac past with the songs contributed by Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks. Mc Vie comes out hot with Over & Over and Think About Me, though the rest of her contributions seem lost in the shuffle and in line with the pre-Buckingham and Nicks days. Nicks brings in two stellar songs in Sara and Sisters of the Moon - both songs build nicely and have the right amount of space here.
It’s great to hear the disjointed aspects in the start of Over & Over into The Ledge, and this one certainly holds its own with the last two albums, though one certainly gets the sense that they barely shared a room in recording this. Buckingham is clearly off in his own universe, the rest of the band be damned.
Oh man. You clearly liked this one a lot more than I did. I could barely make it thru it. Tusk (the song) has always been a favorite but almost all of the rest of it is a let down for me. I’m not against going in different directions or whatever but I just don’t feel any of Buckingham’s selections really landed. Other than the title track. (Which was what they’d play as intro music on the previous tour). I’ve never liked Sara and feel that Beautiful Child and Sisters of the Moon are much stronger. Until Brown Eyes came on, I was sorely disappointed in McVie’s offerings.
Overall, I was disappointed in the whole thing. With only 2-3 tunes out of 20 that I would ever really go back and listen to I’d call this one a dud. And I know I’m in the minority.
I definitely did, but I wouldn’t want place it in the pantheon of great albums some people do. I take some level of dissatisfaction with anyone calling it experimental. I mean I get the term is both loaded and on a sliding scale depending on the artist, but disjointed is the better term. I’d put it probably above the albums I have been crapping on, but maybe just below Then Play On. It has some really good moments, and I would probably take say a bit over half the album. That’s the half I meant to say holds up with their other stuff from the era.
Fair enough. Then Play On is a MUCH better record. I started to say it was a step backwards to the albums they released before self titled but wasn’t sure I felt quite that way. Mystery To Me is a better album for sure.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
Getting in some more live material before the solo stuff takes center stage seems like a nice way to close the book. I think Go Your Own away sounds much better here, though the must hear performances are I’m so Afraid and Sisters of the Moon. The rest is good, don’t get me wrong, but I think these are the greatest standouts…and the end of Rhiannon and the end of Eyes of the World.
Also, Lindsey Buckingham’s voice does not translate well in live recordings.
Last edited by liebzz on Fri January 13, 2023 12:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
The second solo album from Stevie Nicks doesn’t have all the recognizable hits of Bella Donna, nor does it quite live up to that album, but it’s pretty good in its own right. The title track, Gate and Garden, and Enchanted establish Nicks as an 80s pop rock force to reckon with, Stand Back is the hit, I Will Run to You a wonderful duet with Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers), Nightbird, Sable on Blond all solid. Stevie seems to be the one who’s got the 80s locked down. The jury’s definitely out on the others as we approach a string of solo albums.
Armed with Billy Burnette along with some guests (most of Fleetwood Mac in spots), Mick Fleetwood delivers a much more straightforward set of songs delivered in 80s pop rock style. The songs are decent enough, and I enjoyed this much more than his last album. I’m Not Me, Tear It Up, and Just Because we’re my favorites, and while this isn’t some master work of any kind, it at least was catchy and quick - and I was getting a kick of the gruff male late 70s/early 80s soft rock vocals that just ooze faux-testosterone. Where have those singers all gone?
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
Lindsey Buckingham - Law and Order
Apparently after the band decided Buckingham’s oddball additions to Tusk were beyond the purview of Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham decided solo albums would be a good outlet for him. There are moments here, like the hit song Trouble, or I’ll Tell You Now, where it gets interesting. Mostly these seem like half-baked song ideas I am not convinced he listened back to or had any voice editing his ideas. Bwana and That’s How We Do It in LA are examples of that, and Johnny Stew has the bones of a good basically wasted.
For years and years I’ve wondered how the “serious” dude from “serious” band Fleetwood Mac that wrote and sang on such important, “serious” tunes could be the same guy that wrote and performed Holiday Road for the Vacation movie. I got my answer. Between this release and Tusk before, it’s clear Buckingham has a LOT of musical ideas and pop influences of the day surely direct a number of those ideas.
I agree with your take of this being an album of half-baked ideas. (His contributions on Tusk felt the same to me). It’s like his whole motivation was to get away from the type of songwriting that forged his success. I’ve always thought Trouble was a Fleetwood Mac song so I was surprised when I heard it on here. I’ll Tell You Now was the only other decent song in the set, but I do confess to enjoying Johnny Stew. Everything else is pretty much immediately forgettable.
Now, let’s see what Stevie was up to while all this was going on…
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
Rarely has there been a more apt album title. Buckingham way overuses synthesizers, and drum machines to the extent that much of this seems clown-level ridiculous. Like he was making a parody of the eighties, but somehow it’s maybe the most eighties sounding album I may have ever heard. And yet…it’s wildly entertaining, and if you suspend disbelief for a half hour, songs like Play in the Rain, split between two sides of the record because why not, actually work. Every song on this album is weirdly enjoyable in a bizarre way. It’s Lindsey Buckingham wishing he was in Pink Floyd, but kind of also Bananarama? I at least found this to be great fun even if not a single song would be something I’d ever reach for.
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna
In the year of the solo album, Nicks finally delivers something worth a repeat listen among the bunch. Bella Donna is a fantastic soft rock album. It sure helps to have some rock star friends, and Tom Petty’s classic duet with her, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, is one of the top highlights here, with Edge of Seventeen, Kind of Woman, and Bella Donna. Leather and Lace is another hit, though it’s basically Landslide with Don Henley and different lyrics.
I’d heard the biggest part of this before but never the album as a whole. Definitely delivers as a cohesive musical work even with her various influences coming thru. I’d never heard Kind of Woman before and it was the sleeper hit for me. I know Edge of Seventeen is her signature song (well, of her solo work anyway) but I’m just bored with it at this point and Kind of Woman was a breath of fresh air.
It’s loaded with hits as well, with the aforementioned Edge of Seventeen along with Leather and Lace. L&L has long been a favorite probably harkening back to when I was a kid and liked The Eagles. A sweet little ditty writer with the intention of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter recording it, they decided not to and Stevie kept it.
Then comes the (my) show stopper. Stop Dragging My Heart Around. Full disclosure. This is one of my favorite songs of all time ever. However, I don’t consider it a Stevie Nicks song at all. It’s a Tom Petty song. Billing on the album notwithstanding, it’s a Tom Petty song. She got a pure gift when Iovine talked Petty into bringing her in on it.
Overall, a much more polished effort than what Buckingham brought on his debut solo effort. I guess sometimes it is a good idea to ask your boyfriend to produce your album.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
Mirage
After the brief hiatus we just experienced, Fleetwood Mac attempts a return to form with Mirage. To my ears, this seems like largely a mediocre affair with the whole album being carried by Stevie Nicks’s contributions of That’s Alright, Gypsy, and Straight Back. Wish You Were Here is also pretty decent and the outtro in Eyes of the World caught my attention for a moment, but I would be lying if I didn’t express the feeling that this band at this moment largely seems creatively bankrupt at least in the studio. There won’t be another album for 5 years from this, and perhaps that was wise.
Hold Me is probably the most memorable song for me. While Gypsy is regarded as one of Nicks’s most popular tunes, I never really cared for it that much. The fact it’s one of the two best tracks from the album pretty much says everything I need to say about it. None of Buckingham’s track are that memorable although the “experimental” aspect of his songwriting seems to be toned down a bit here.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart
The second solo album from Stevie Nicks doesn’t have all the recognizable hits of Bella Donna, nor does it quite live up to that album, but it’s pretty good in its own right. The title track, Gate and Garden, and Enchanted establish Nicks as an 80s pop rock force to reckon with, Stand Back is the hit, I Will Run to You a wonderful duet with Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers), Nightbird, Sable on Blond all solid. Stevie seems to be the one who’s got the 80s locked down. The jury’s definitely out on the others as we approach a string of solo albums.
Stevie is investing hard in the 80’s pop rock. The title track, Enchanted and Nightbird are all worthy of revisits. I Will Run to You tries to catch that Petty-duet magic again. It fails but it’s a nice enough effort. As I mentioned before, Stand Back is her best non-Fleetwood Mac tune. Inspired by Little Red Corvette she crafts a tune reportedly about marrying her recently deceased best friend’s widower and what a mistake it was and the disappointment felt by Buckingham not stopping the wedding. Gets me going every time. It’s almost hypnotic. Overall, a solid effort and one that helps cement Nicks’s legacy as a solo artist.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
Last edited by wease on Sun January 15, 2023 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
Stevie Nicks - Rock A Little
The third solo album. Stevie tries to amp up the rock aspect mid-to-late 80s style. After turning down These Dreams (hits number 1 for Heart) and Don’t Coke Around No More (number 2 for songwriter Tom Petty) Stevie gets a hit with Talk To Me. It’s easily the best track on the album but I Can’t Wait is pretty good too. None of the remaining songs totally bad none are super great either. This is her last release before she enters Betty Ford for cocaine addiction.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
McVie takes another turn at a solo album in the context of the 80s. Her first album under the name of Christine Perfect was really strong, a pop rock turn that yielded a quite solid album’s worth of material. We’re not as fortunate here. Largely a collection of bland 80s soft rock, it’s just not for me, not even the hit song Got a Hold on Me. Granted, I wasn’t as annoyed by Keeping Secrets or the album closing The Smile I Live For, but I think it is mostly a matter of degree.
I found this one to be a much more difficult listen than wease. Not that he was writing poems about the genius of this thing, but I saw even less in it maybe. Yes, Nicks is trying to rock a little more, but my sense is that she’s fully swept into the 80s pop universe, her very real voice trapped in a bevy of synthetic sounds everywhere. There’s potential in I Can’t Wait, Imperial Hotel, Some Become Strangers, Talk to Me, and No Spoken Word, but all I walk away with is that synthetic Rocky III or IV sounding soundtrack. A sad development for a great voice.
Joined: Sat January 05, 2013 1:57 pm Posts: 32522 Location: Where everybody knows your name
liebzz wrote:
Stevie Nicks - Rock a Little
I found this one to be a much more difficult listen than wease. Not that he was writing poems about the genius of this thing, but I saw even less in it maybe. Yes, Nicks is trying to rock a little more, but my sense is that she’s fully swept into the 80s pop universe, her very real voice trapped in a bevy of synthetic sounds everywhere. There’s potential in I Can’t Wait, Imperial Hotel, Some Become Strangers, Talk to Me, and No Spoken Word, but all I walk away with is that synthetic Rocky III or IV sounding soundtrack. A sad development for a great voice.
I don’t disagree with anything you say here.
_________________ Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing! - C. Montgomery Burns
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