This is far from the final installment in my deep dive into Christine McVie’s discography; there are 15 more posts to write after this one. But it is the last (thus far) of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘alternate’ albums comprising demos and different takes of material both beloved and overlooked.
Yet, while previous assortments provided insightful curios that deepen our understanding and appreciation of their finished versions, this mix is a mishmash missing a few too many crucial ingredients. Chiefly: lots more from Christine.
The poor planning behind this package is maddening. Whereas its predecessors were almost entirely song-for-song revamps — true alternates — this Tango doesn’t even have as many cuts as its completed cousin. Which makes it all the more infuriating that McVie’s ‘Ricky’, a vaguely Kate Bush-y B-side good enough for the original release, is absent, while Lindsey Buckingham’s similarly situated leftover ‘Down Endless Street’ leads off Side 1.
I get that on the whole this was Lindsey’s creation more than that of his cocaine-caked comrades. It’s fair to emphasize more of his material from such a piecemeal process, including two of his sweetest less-celebrated songs: ‘Special Kind of Love’ and all 6.5 minutes of ‘You and I,’ much better in full than in two segments.
Christine had a hand in that piece, but mainly her bits on this set are a skeletal ‘Mystified’ and a featherlight ‘Isn’t It Midnight.’
Yes, it’s entirely possible there weren’t viable options to present in-progress incarnations of ‘Everywhere’ or ‘Little Lies.’ But, along with ‘Ricky,’ why not include one of the latter’s remixes and actually number 12 tunes?
Better yet, seeing as Tango is the lone Mac LP to be treated to extensive dance mixes, why not include several on a second disc? They’re all there digitally, just waiting to be pressed.
This is a missed-opportunity misfire.