Mystery to Me
By Fleetwood Mac
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(This one's for you, Bob Welch. You're the reason I never stopped loving Fleetwood Mac. R.I.P., good sir.)
Fleetwood Mac went through many incarnations in order to become the legendary monolith that it is today. One of those times involved a Californian named Bob Welch, a man with impressive vocals and guitar skills. He kicked things off with Future Games, going until Heroes Are Hard to Find when he decided to move onto bigger and better things. He saw success as a solo artist with his album French Kiss, but nothing to match his tenure with the Mac. Due to a past feud, he was not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his Mac colleagues. While battling illness and recovering from surgery, Welch died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 7th, 2012. Welch's death marked the end of a Mac era that was forgotten, mostly due to the wild success of Rumours, yet commercially successful. Let us pay tribute to this wonderful guitar hero with a close examination of one of his albums with the Mac: Mystery to Me.
The band was on a roll with this album, coming from the commercial success of the brilliant Bare Trees and Penguin, proving they could do without Danny Kirwan (though he is wonderful in his own right). Musically, the band was as tight as ever. The rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood would prove time and again to be the perfect foundation to the band whose lineup seems to change all the time. Christine McVie had long established herself as the hit-maker while the two Bobs (Weston and Welch) gave the band its much-needed kick of rock and roll.
"Hypnotized" is the album's most recognizable song, and for good reason. One of Welch's most-remembered compositions, a gorgeously melodic song focusing on the emotions of falling in love. The combination of electric and acoustic guitars give it the perfect romantic edge. Welch's harmonizing with McVie is simply wonderful. No wonder it continues to be beloved by many old-school audiophiles.
"Miles Away" definitely reminds the listener of the band's original roots. It's a rocking blues number with one excellent bass line. I'm not sure what the song is about exactly, but it seems to lean towards a "get me out of this fake environment" concept. And again, Welch and McVie singing together... I cannot even begin to explain how much I love their harmonizing.
"Why", the last track, is nothing short of achingly beautiful. Everything, but McVie's vocals and the guitars, are all in the background, letting everything else shine through. It is your typical Christine song: all about the heartbreak of a dying relationship (you could also interpret the lyrics to mean about the end of a non-romantic relationship). Again, the guitars are the showcase. To my understanding, this was Weston's doing.
As the world received news of Weston's passing earlier in the year, and we arrive at the month anniversary of Welch's passing, this album is a testament to the power of these talented musicians, but also a sad reminder of the huge gap they left behind. If you haven't, take some time out of your day to honor all the musicians that have gone. Let us make sure that, in some way, they know that they will never be forgotten.
P.S. Because I cannot stress how amazing this line-up was, here is their live performance on The Midnight Special, playing "Miles Away" and "Believe Me" (both from Mystery to Me):
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