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Behind the Mask (album)

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Behind the Mask is the fifteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 9 April 1990. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham (although he did play acoustic guitar on the album's title track). He was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, both guitar players, singers and songwriters. Fleetwood Mac thus became a six-piece band with four singer/songwriters.

Behind the Mask
Studio album by
Fleetwood Mac
Released9 April 1990
Recorded1989–90
StudioThe Complex (Los Angeles, California); Vintage Recorders (Phoenix, Arizona).
GenreRock
Length54:26
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerGreg Ladanyi, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Greatest Hits
(1988) 		Behind the Mask
(1990) 		25 Years – The Chain
(1992)
Singles from Behind the Mask
  1. "Save Me"
    Released: March 1990[1]
  2. "Skies the Limit"
    Released: July 1990 (US)
  3. "In the Back of My Mind"
    Released: August 1990 (UK)[2]
  4. "Hard Feelings"
    Released: October 1990 (US)[1]

The album was not as successful as its predecessor, Tango in the Night, nor did it spawn any big hit singles, although "Save Me" made both American and Canadian Top 40, while "Love Is Dangerous" and "Skies the Limit" enjoyed some airplay.[3] Though Behind the Mask barely reached the US Top 20, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1[4] and achieved platinum status there.[5] Following the album's release and subsequent world tour, band members Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito left the band, though Nicks would rejoin in 1997. The song "Freedom" was written by Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Campbell would join Fleetwood Mac in 2018.[6]

The cover for the album was created by photographer Dave Gorton. He stated that the band did not wish to appear on a front picture and Mick Fleetwood himself suggested that he create an image that "spiritually symbolised" the band instead.[7] The cover earned a Grammy nomination in 1991 for "Best Album Package".[8]

The original CD release for the album was one of the first to be encoded with the CD+G format, which allows graphics to be shown on a TV screen in time with the music, such as pictures and lyrics.[9]

Background

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In 1987, shortly after the release of Tango in the Night, long-time guitarist/vocalist/producer Lindsey Buckingham had left the band. For the accompanying tour, the band recruited Billy Burnette and Rick Vito to replace him. Once the tour wrapped up, Fleetwood Mac went into the studio to record two new songs for their Greatest Hits compilation album, released in 1988. The new members got the opportunity to record a full album in 1989 when the band began the Behind the Mask sessions.[10]

In need of a new producer, the band first selected Don Gehman, who had produced for John Mellencamp and R.E.M. The initial sessions did not work out, so the band instead hired Greg Ladanyi, who previously worked with Don Henley on his solo albums. Ladanyi was suggested by George Hawkins, who played and sang on Mick Fleetwood's first two solo records.[11] Although Buckingham did play acoustic guitar on the title track, Behind the Mask deviated from the ornate production found on earlier Fleetwood Mac albums in favor of adult-oriented rock. As noted by Nicks, the album was easier to record compared to their other work. "It's not that we didn't take as much time, it's more that the time that we did take was quality time. So it therefore did not seem to take nearly as long."[10] The band spent around eight months making Behind the Mask.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
Los Angeles Times     [14]
Rolling Stone     [15]

The album received mixed to negative reviews. AllMusic retrospectively gave the album 1.5/5 stars, their lowest rating of any Fleetwood Mac album, calling Buckingham's departure "a severe blow" for the band and saying that "the songs are among the least inspired the band ever recorded."[16] Other critics, however, praised the new line-up. The Los Angeles Times gave the album 3.5/5 stars, commenting that "[w]ithout Buckingham's obsessively unique vision, the group has embraced an all-for-one, one-for-all attitude for what sounds like the most truly group effort since Rumours, or perhaps even since 1972's Bare Trees."[14]Rolling Stone rated it as 4/5 stars, claiming that "the addition of Rick Vito and Billy Burnette is the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac" and that "[n]ot since Rumours has Fleetwood Mac recorded pain so unwaveringly and sounded this together."[15]

Track listing

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Behind the Mask track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Skies the Limit"Christine McVie, Eddy QuintelaC. McVie3:45
2."Love Is Dangerous"Rick Vito, Stevie NicksNicks, Vito3:18
3."In the Back of My Mind"Billy Burnette, David MalloyBurnette, C. McVie7:02
4."Do You Know"Burnette, C. McVieBurnette, C. McVie4:19
5."Save Me"C. McVie, QuintelaC. McVie4:15
6."Affairs of the Heart"NicksNicks4:22
7."When the Sun Goes Down"Vito, BurnetteBurnette, Vito3:18
8."Behind the Mask"C. McVieC. McVie4:18
9."Stand on the Rock"VitoVito3:59
10."Hard Feelings"Burnette, Jeff SilbarBurnette4:54
11."Freedom"Nicks, Mike CampbellNicks4:12
12."When It Comes to Love"Burnette, Dennis Morgan, Simon ClimieBurnette, C. McVie4:08
13."The Second Time"Nicks, VitoNicks2:31
Total length:54:26

Personnel

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Fleetwood Mac

Additional musicians

Production

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  • Fleetwood Mac – producers
  • Greg Ladanyi – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Tim McCarthy – assistant producer
  • Bob Levy – engineer
  • Dennis Mays – engineer
  • Craig Porteils – assistant engineer
  • Duane Seykora – assistant engineer
  • Brett Swain – assistant engineer
  • Paula Wolak – assistant engineer
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Lacquer (Hollywood, California)
  • John Courage – studio coordinator
  • Dennis Dunstan – studio coordinator
  • Steve Dikun – guitar technician
  • Michael Randolph Reed – drum technician
  • Dave Gorton – cover photography
  • Jeri Heiden – art direction

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Behind the Mask
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] Gold 35,000^
Germany (BVMI)[44] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[45] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[48] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Fleetwood, Mick (1993). My 25 years in Fleetwood Mac. Hyperion. ISBN 0-297-81336-6.
  2. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 11 August 1990. p. 27.
  3. ^ Giles, Jeff (10 April 2015). "25 Years Ago:Fleetwood Mac Release 'Behind the Mask' Without Lindsey Buckingham". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Behind the Mask The Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  5. ^ British Phonographic Industry online database Archived 27 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Greene, Andy (9 April 2018). "Fleetwood Mac Fires Lindsey Buckingham". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  7. ^ Gorton, Dave. "D. Gorton . Behind the Mask". D. Gorton official website. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  8. ^ "33rd Annual GRAMMY Awards | GRAMMY.com". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". The CD+G Museum. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History. New York: Sterling. pp. 252–253. ISBN 978-1-4027-8630-3.
  11. ^ "George Hawkins Question and Answer Session". 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Debauchery! How Fleetwood Mac survived it – Q Magazine". Fleetwood Mac UK. May 1990. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  13. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Behind the Mask – Fleetwood Mac". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b Hochman, VE (8 April 1990). "Behind the Mask review". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ a b Berger, Arion (31 May 1990). "Behind the Mask review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  16. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Fleetwood Mac Behind the Mask review". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Billy Burnette, March 18 – 31 , 2000". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9141". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  22. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 18. 5 May 1990. p. VIII. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  23. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  24. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2022. Select "FLEETWOOD MAC" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Top 3 Albums in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 21. 26 May 1990. p. VII. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  27. ^ "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 27 April 1990. p. 33. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  28. ^ "Top 3 Albums in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 17. 28 April 1990. p. VII. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  29. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 6 July 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Behind the Mask" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  30. ^ ビハインド・ザ・マスク/フリートウッド・マック [Behind the Mask / Fleetwood Mac] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  31. ^ "Charts.nz – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  33. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  34. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  38. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  39. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1990". RPM. Vol. 53, no. 6. 22 December 1990. p. 12. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  40. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  41. ^ "European Top 100 Albums – 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 38. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  42. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  43. ^ "1990 Top 100 Albums". Music Week. 2 March 1991. p. 39. ISSN 0265-1548.
  44. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Fleetwood Mac; 'Behind the Mask')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  45. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Behind the Mask in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1990 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  46. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Behind the Mask')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  47. ^ "British album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". British Phonographic Industry.
  48. ^ "American album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Behind the Mask". Recording Industry Association of America.
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