Music / Tango in the Night

I keep the dream in my pocket
Never let it fade away

Although I'm not making plans
I hope that you'll understand there's a reason why
(Close your, close your, close your eyes)
No more broken hearts
We're better off apart, let's give it a try
(Tell me, tell me, tell me lies)

— "Little Lies"

Tango in the Night is the fourteenth studio album recorded by British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac. It was released through Warner Bros. Records on 13 April 1987.

After the extreme difficulties producing and promoting Mirage, it would've been easy for the band to go their separate ways. Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, and Mick Fleetwood all subsequently released solo albums.

Lindsey in particular felt Mirage was not the note he wanted the band to end on, and began working on stuff for a possible final album. When Christine called members of the band to help her with a benefit recording in 1985, it led to the band working on this album.

Even by Fleetwood Mac standards, it would be particularly troubled. Nicks found it difficult to stay motivated, impacted by promotion of her third solo album, and worsened by issues with alcohol and drugs. Her availability was limited; and when she was there, her vocals frequently were recorded while drunk, resulting in her being almost completely absent from songs sung by Buckingham and McVie.

Not really wanting to produce such work except on his own terms would result in Lindsey Buckingham abandoning the band when they began working on the promotional tour. They would hire Rick Vito and Billy Burnette to take his place, and they would remain with the band for nearly a decade.

The album itself was well-received, becoming their biggest-selling album not named Rumours. It went triple-Platinum in the United States, but exploded in the United Kingdom, going eight-times Platinum there.

Five songs were released to promote the albim: "Big Love", "Seven Wonders", "Little Lies", "Everywhere", and "Family Man". This led to three hits (all Top Ten; "Everywhere" was highest at #4) in the UK, and four Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Little Lies" was highest at #4).

Tracklist

Side One

1. "Big Love" (3:37)
2. "Seven Wonders" (3:38)
3. "Everywhere" (3:48)
4. "Caroline" (3:50)
5. "Tango in the Night" (3:56)
6. "Mystified" (3:08)

Side Two

1. "Little Lies" (3:40)
2. "Family Man" (4:08)
3. "Welcome to the Room... Sara" (3:37)
4. "Isn't It Midnight" (4:06)
5. "When I See You Again" (3:49)
6. "You and I, Part II" (2:40)

Personnel

• Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, keyboards, Fairlight CMI, bass, lap harp, percussion, synthesizer and drum programming, lead vocals on tracks 1, 4-5, 8, and 11-12
• Stevie Nicks – lead vocals on tracks 2, 9, and 11
• Christine McVie – keyboards, synthesizers, lead vocals on tracks 3, 6-7, and 10
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion

"If I live to see the seven tropes"

• Art Shift: The cover is an art piece not showing any of the band members, a departure from previous albums of this era for the band.
• Out of Focus: Stevie spent most of the sessions either drunk, working on her solo album, or wanting to slap Lindsey. All in all, she spent 2 weeks out of the 18 month recording process actually in the studio. This probably contributed to Christine having more prominent vocals than usual.
• Rewind Gag: The video for "Big Love" starts off playing normally for most of the song, but at the end it rewinds up to the point at the beginning where we see Lindsey Buckingham's face.
• Rotoscoping: The video for "Little Lies" has this for half its shots.
• Sequel Song: "You and I, Part II" refers to a cut track which became a B-side to the single for "Big Love".
• Title Track: "Tango in the Night"