Does it have a lot of lyrical substance? No, not really, by Christine's own admission. The way the soaring guitar solo is backed by the hard strums on the 12-string is magic. Brilliant melodies, the fantastic vocal blend of Christine and Lindsey, gorgeous piano (with that opening piano lick being a major highlight), fantastic guitar. In my opinion, 'Hold Me' is basically perfect pop music.
John is on bass and Mick on drums, tambourine and congas. Lindsey played 12-string acoustic and electric guitar. Christine sang the lead vocals in unison with Lindsey and also played piano and electric piano. The 45 sleeve features that slightly strange painting of the band on it. Why didn't the UK respond to this amazing pop song? When it was re-released in 1989 to promote the Greatest Hits album, it peaked at #94. It was blocked from the top by 'Abracadabra' by Steve Miller Band, "Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor and 'Hurts So Good' by John Mellencamp (three far lesser songs, IMO). It was a big, big hit in America, peaking at #4 for seven consecutive weeks.
'Hold Me' was released as a single in June 1982 prior to the album. He opened for them on the 1979 tour and then Christine produced two of his albums (and played on them) and Lindsey and Stevie also appeared on Robbie Patton songs. 'Hold Me' was written by Christine McVie with Robbie Patton, a songwriter that Fleetwood Mac kind of took under their collective wing. We finally come to the song that was selected as the lead single for Mirage: I really, really always enjoyed this album and it seemed to always be the underrated gem of the "fab five".
The Mac was not too generous with "Non-album B-sides" - "Silversprings" and this one were the exception, not the rule until "Tango"- which I guess will be discussing soon, had a quite a few. I was really disappointed that this track did not make the 25 year boxed set, but with a little patience, it was rightfully included in the Mirage boxed set. The Police, R.EM., Sting, The Rolling Stones, and many others had quite a few of these and they were fun to collect. In the 80s and 90s I always sought out singles (Vinyl and CD singles) - I was always a big fan of the "b-sides" - frequently artists put some really oddball, fun, stuff on there that did not make the albums. I'm not sure how a track like this could have fit in on Mirage.īack in the days of old school juke boxes I was at a pizza joint in '82 or '83 and I played "Gypsy" and then later on played this song for fun as I was not sure what it was. It's really just a jam but it is a little bit harder edged with some cool guitar riffing on it (and lots of Lindsey doing wordless vocalization ). It was also included on the 25 Years box set. This is really a run-through-no words have been written. There is also Teen Beat from Lindsey (and Richard Dashut): It isn't as strong as any of the four Christine songs that did make Mirage, but I would have liked to see this one get finished off and maybe included on her '84 solo album. This run-through clearly isn't complete and the lyrics aren't all there, but it's a fun song. It's more an uptempo piano rocker in the vein of Sugar Daddy or Homeward Bound, reflecting Chris' lifelong love of Fats Domino. He isn't a songwriter who often bears his soul openly, but this feels close to that.įrom Christine, there is Put a Candle in the Window:Įvery time I read that title, it just puts 'Long As I Can See the Light' by CCR in my head, but this is an original Christine song. This is lovely with chiming guitars and a really nice vocal performance from Lindsey. It's also a little bit more in 'ballad' territory, or just sweeter and sadder than his material that made the album. It's another good song and sounds to me like quite a personal track from Lindsey. This was included on the 25 Years- The Chain box set in 1992. This outtake is very cool though, with Lindsey joining in for vocals in the final chorus. It has that midtempo rock feeling that was very indicative of her sound on Bella Donna and The Wild Heart. This is a song, like 'Straight Back' that sounds a bit more like solo Stevie Nicks than Fleetwood Mac to me. Stevie at some point said that this song was written about Tom Petty, who was a dear friend of hers but never a romance. It's a strong song and I'm glad it didn't have the languish as an outtake forever. This song is one of the tracks that was eventually done for the 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault project. There are a few other outtakes from Mirage worth taking a look at.įrom Stevie, there is If You Were My Love: