Mirage (Fleetwood Mac album)

Did You Know?

• Two of the final shows of the Mirage tour were filmed in Los Angeles in 1982, originally released on VHS and CED videodisc in 1983.
• A deluxe edition of Mirage was released on 23 September 2016, featuring a remaster, 13 live tracks, B-sides, outtakes, and other songs.
• An album of recordings from the October 1982 performance at The Forum was released in 2024 under the title Mirage Tour '82.

Recording

The album's initial recording took five weeks at Château D'Hérouville, with completion happening in California months later. During that gap, Buckingham worked on his solo record Law and Order. By September 1981, Fleetwood told Cleveland Scene the project was "more than halfway finished," originally aiming for a November release but expecting it around New Year. Nicks recalled the band used multiple Los Angeles studios to finish the record and wasn't certain how much work occurred after leaving France. According to Caillat, Nicks mainly participated in the early sessions at the château, adding overdubs for ten to fifteen days across various LA studios. Most recording sessions included Caillat, Dashut, Buckingham, Fleetwood, and Christine McVie. Buckingham noted Fleetwood would point out mixing issues, and described the backing vocals as "fairly lush at times, a sort of space-age forties' feel." After the album came out, Christine McVie discussed the material with Sounds magazine's Sandy Robertson.

Composition

Nicks reported that her original three submissions for Mirage were "That's Alright," "If You Were My Love," and "Smile at You," though Buckingham encouraged her to replace the latter with a different composition. Nicks agreed, stating that "Smile at You" was "kind of a bitter song." That song later appeared on Fleetwood Mac's 2003 album, Say You Will. The Nicks-penned "Gypsy" was the second single, accompanied by a video directed by Russell Mulcahy. Nicks wrote "Gypsy" in 1979 and considered it for her Bella Donna solo album but saved it for Mirage. "That's Alright" dated back to the Buckingham Nicks days of 1974, while "Straight Back" was written in the winter of 1981 and referred to her separation from producer Jimmy Iovine. Of Christine McVie's four compositions, three were written in collaboration: "Love in Store" with Jim Recor, "Hold Me" with Robbie Patton, and "Wish You Were Here" with lyrics from Colin Allen. The other, "Only Over You," was credited "With thanks to Dennis Wilson for inspiration."

Release

In February 1982, the album was tentatively called Mirage, though song titles weren't finalised yet. One Christine McVie track was described as having a noticeable country influence. George Hurrell, who had done the cover for Lindsey Buckingham's solo album Law and Order, was handling the cover art. A March release was initially planned, but this shifted to June 9, 1982, with a tour starting in August. A press release mentioned that David Puttnam would produce a concert film for cable and home video, and promotional videos were also in the works. Record World reported on June 21 that the UK release would be July 2 through WEA, with a major press campaign alongside WHSmith. Point-of-sale displays included posters and dump bins. Cassettes were made on chrome dioxide at the Alsdorf, Germany plant. The album hit number one on the US Billboard chart for five weeks—the first time since Rumours—and spent 18 weeks in the top ten. It went double platinum in the US, reached number five in the UK (platinum for 300,000 copies), and number two in Australia.

Critical reception

Billboard commended the efforts of all three songwriters for "contributing their strongest songs yet" and said the album demonstrated Buckingham's capabilities as an arranger, particularly regarding vocal harmonies evocative of the Beach Boys. Cashbox wrote that the "perky, upbeat energy and soaring vocals" of the Fleetwood Mac sound were abundantly evident on Mirage, marking a return to the production and stylistic choices of Rumours. Ken Emerson of The Boston Phoenix wrote that Mirage was "a winning synthesis of the best of both worlds" from Rumours and Tusk. Sandy Robertson of Sounds thought the album bore a "superficial resemblance" to Rumours and believed "Hold Me" and "Only Over You" were the best songs. Buckingham told Rolling Stone he rejected the premise that the album was a Rumours redux and characterized Mirage as "a more conservative album." In 1987, Buckingham dismissed Mirage as "safe" and "uninspiring." Christine McVie called it a "wimpy Rumours" and said "the overall impact was superficial." Fleetwood commented that the band would "never go there again in terms of playing it safe."