Fleetwood Mac - Behind The Mask (Behind The Mask - Fleetwood Mac)

Member Name: Rapunzel

Product:	Behind The Mask - Fleetwood Mac
Date:	18/08/00 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: At least it's not the Corrs!

Disadvantages: Buckingham's gone!

Just over ten years ago Fleetwood Mac released their first post-Lindsey Buckingham album. He had left the group almost three years before, after the hugely successful Tango in the Night album. Critics and fans alike wondered if the band would be any good without their resident genius, the results were definately mixed.

Buckingham was replaced by two singer/guitarists: Billy Burnette (who had been recording albums since he was a child, as well as being Johnny Burnette's nephew and Dorsey Burnette's son) and Rick Vito (a session player who had worked with the likes of Bob Seger and Bonnie Raitt). They had some pretty big shoes to fill and though they didn't quite succeed some of their material was better than some of Stevie and Christine's songs. Billy's In the Back of My Mind, When the Sun Goes Down (written with Rick) and Hard Feelings are particularly good, but he was a proven songwriter, his most famous song probably being The Bigger the Love made popular by Bonnie Raitt. Rick's Stand on the Rock wasn't a great studio track, but came into it's own when performed live.

Christine supplied some of her well-crafted love songs, but they sound somehow dull and lifeless without Buckingham's magic touch. Save Me is clunky and Do You Know is a yawnfest. Skies the Limit is better, as is the title track, I wonder if it was written about Lindsey - "there will never be a second chance for you..." He appeared on this song incidently. She works best as the calm in the eye of the storm, unfortunately that doesn't work when there isn't one.

Stevie seemed to be phoning in her contributions. Love is Dangerous (co-written with Rick)is plain bad and The Second Time could seriously contend for the worst song she has ever written, I have probably listened to this song twice all the way through - two times too many! Affairs of the Heart and Freedom are better, the lines "don't look at me
with daggers, it won't do you any good, all the looks that you've used on me don't work now that you've fallen" HAVE to be written about Mr. Buckingham.

They are capable of better.

Summary: