If I could turn the page…

There are many, many injustices worthy of spilling ink over and this article will address exactly none of them. No, this is about giving a lot of love to an album that is often overlooked by critics, fans, and the public. If it wasn’t obvious from the title, this is about Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac.

Let’s quickly cover two things: 1. Yes, yes, Rumours is the famous sibling; and 2. Yes, yes, a lot of time and effort has gone into writing about Fleetwood Mac. Both things are true but neither of these things matter. Rumours is worthy of the critical reception it gets, go and listen to “The Chain” if you’re not convinced. And yet, and yet six of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits came from Tango and not Rumours. Quick, think of a Fleetwood Mac song. Odds are it came from Tango.

Funnily enough, critics at the time made the claim that Tango had “no obvious single choices.” Ah hindsight, how cruel you can be. Listening to Tango now, it’s crazy to think that this isn’t considered one of the greatest pop-rock albums of all time.

Lindsey Buckingham kicks things off with “Big Love” before handing over to Stevie Nicks to announce her presence with “Seven Wonders.” We won’t hear much more from Nicks, except for backing vocals, until she returns with “Welcome to the Room... Sara” but that’s for later in our story. No, the first half of this album is very much the Buckingham and McVie show and is all the better for it. “Everywhere” is stripped back to give McVie’s siren call the room it so richly deserves.

Buckingham picks back up with “Caroline” and then the punchy “Tango in the Night.” And here’s where you realise that Fleetwood Mac are at their best when they allow their edges to shine. And nowhere are their edges sharper than on “Little Lies”. The lyrics cut so deep that it’s only because the music is sheer perfection that you don’t realise you’ve bled out on the parquet floor. You’d hate to be the target of Christine McVie’s ire, that’s for damn sure.

There’s more pop from “Family Man” and the glorious “Isn’t It Midnight” is an injection of pure 1980s zeitgeist. Watch the video for this song and you can almost feel your shoulder pads getting larger.

And you might be thinking, sure thing but Rumours had all the drama. Well, just consider that this was the last studio album to feature Fleetwood, both McVies, Buckingham, and Nicks.

So, let’s be honest. If you want to pick an album to impress people, you go for Rumours. If you want an album that you enjoy, you should go for Tango in the Night. You should also listen to Rumours because it’s an incredible album as well.

Tango in the Night is Taped

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