MIRAGE - Fleetwood Mac

YEAR: 1982

LABEL: Warner Bros.

TRACK LISTING: Love In Store, Can't Go Back, That's Alright, Book of Love, Gypsy, Only Over You, Empire State, Straight Back, Hold Me, Oh Diane, Eyes of the World, Wish You Were Here

IMPRESSIONS: This album has special meaning to me because it contains my favourite Fleetwood Mac song "Wish You Were Here". The calibre of the songwriting for about half the album is a little lax and "soft rock" but I have a real soft spot for MIRAGE despite that fact. And there are still some of the best Fleetwood Mac songs to be found on this album: the Stevie Nicks country/western styled "That's Alright" is one of my favourites and Lindsey Buckingham's 50's-sounding "Oh Diane" is sweet and fun. Then, of course, there's the major video hit single "Gypsy" which ranks with their best and the aforementioned sublime "Wish You Were Here" which nobody's knows but, when I play it for them, everyone falls in love with. Fleetwood Mac would return in a couple years with some radio hits and a differing line-up but this album really marks the end of the "second great era" of the band which emerged in the mid-70's.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: That's Alright, Gypsy, Oh Diane, Wish You Were Here

FACT SHEET: MIRAGE is Fleetwood Mac's 13th album released after the hiatus following the release of their experimental (and commercially disappointing) TUSK album in 1979. In the interim Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie all embarked on solo careers and this was intended at the time to be the last Fleetwood Mac album (at least with this lineup). This was the first Fleetwood Mac album to top the charts since monumental megahit RUMOURS in 1977.