A Very Pleasant Surprise

One week ago, I was one of you...a fan of FLEETWOOD MAC, RUMOURS and TUSK that had never delved into the band's past catalogue. I had heard rumors of good stuff, sure, but never really gave it a listen. Then "Hypnotized" suddenly appeared on my AOL Radio one day and I was like "OK, I love 'Sentimental Lady' and it's time to give the Bob Welch era a chance."



I'm glad I did. This album is absolutely wonderful. Welch had his weaknesses--he's not the strongest singer and his guitar playing is forgettable--but the man could write songs. McVie more than makes up for him in the vocals department, though, and Bob Weston is just incredible on this album. So good that I'm surprised the fans on here don't talk more about him. His lead work is just amazing--both on electric and in an amazing acoustic solo on "Keep On Going." He makes every song far richer than it otherwise would have been. John McVie is his standard great self on bass and Mick--well Mick is solid, but not at his best here.



The songs are wonderful and will appeal to all (in my opinion) who like the similar pop of the group's Buckingham/Nicks period. Trust me...I worshipped Lindsey before hearing this--but an open ear will grant these songs the due they deserve.



The truth--and I'm only beginning to fully appreciate this--is that John and Mick apparently were unbelievable judges of talent. Throughout their career, they associated themselves with tremendous guitarists, vocalists and songwriters--and that's why they've lasted as long as they have.



Don't cheat yourself. Find "Hypnotized" and "Emerald Eyes." See how stunningly beautiful McVie was pre-commercial success with songs like "Why," "Way I Feel" and "Believe Me." It's musical, it's experimental, it's bold, it's artistic. And it's no longer a MYSTERY TO ME.

Beautiful Song

I love this band as much as the next person but this is my favorite CD by them since I'm a Bob Welch fan. The song Hypnotized will always sound great to me. It's like a drug or something. I must have played this song a million times and it always sounds as good as the first time I ever heard it. Wow! It is dreamy and hypnotizing and never fails to make me feel like I'm taking a mini-vacation to someplace special.

No blues, but the pop isn't fully in force yet either

This album sounds like a transition to my ears. The Mac had lost guitarists Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green, so full out blues rock assaults were no longer the band's fare. Instead, we get pop tinged with guitar noodlings and often quasi-mystical lyrics courtesy of Bob Welch (who penned half the album).



The album's highpoints tend to be the the tunes on which Welch is most lyrically obtuse. This means that while they may be pretty good art, they aren't the stuff of which pop hits are made.



Opener "Emerald Eyes" leads the disc off on a good foot, probably the closest to a "hit" sound Welch penned on this one. (It didn't hit the charts for them unfortunately.) "Hypnotized" welds a genuinely hypnotic bass/guitar melody onto musings about UFO's and the like ("Now you know it's a meaningless question to ask if these stories are right. 'Cause what matters the most is the feeling you get when you're hypnotized.") Claustrophobic rocker "The City" isn't likely to be used by the New York Visitors and Convention Bureau ("there's something wrong with New York, it's a prison without walls") but a nicely dirty guitar tone from Bob Weston (presumably) lends it a sinister edge that makes you believe Welch, although he never really offers specifics about his dislike for the Big Apple. "Miles Away" is an escapist fantasy ("But if I could fly, I think I'd try tonight") that picks up steam through a call-and-response chorus between Welch and the rest of the group.



The lower points of the disc include a cover of Yardbirds classic "For Your Love" that isn't outright BAD...it's just too closely patterned on the original to bring anything new to the tune. It picks up a little fire with a bongo/guitar coda but it's too little, too late. Welch's dialogue with an egocentric lover ("Somebody") is weighted with an inconsequential hook (the repeated "somebody..somebody..somebody...somebody..somebody"). "The Way that I Feel" is a half-baked McVie effort. Reggae effort "Forever" is half-hearted and plagued with an early drum machine in its arrangement.



In the final analysis, removing "Somebody","For Your Love" and "Forever" in favor of stronger material and beefing up the hook on "Just Crazy Love" may have made this album their breakthrough. (Previous LP "Penguin" reached #49 but "Mystery only got as high as #67) As it is, it's still a worthy part of their catalogue, although not a highwater mark.



3 1/2 stars