Behind the Mask (album)

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]

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.

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]

  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.