Behind the Mask

Behind the Mask is the fifteenth studio album by Fleetwood Mac, released in April 1990 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the first album recorded after Lindsey Buckingham's acrimonious departure in 1987, and the band recruited two guitarists to fill his role: Billy Burnette, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter whose family connections go back to Dorsey Burnette and Johnny Burnette, and Rick Vito, a session and touring guitarist who had worked with Bob Seger and John Mayall. The album was produced by Greg Ladanyi alongside the band, and the production has a more polished late-1980s/early-1990s rock sheen compared to the Buckingham-led records. Christine McVie remains the dominant songwriter, contributing 'Save Me,' which reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave the album its most commercially successful track; Stevie Nicks and the two new guitarists also contributed material. The album debuted at number eighteen on the Billboard 200, a solid commercial performance that demonstrated the Fleetwood Mac brand retained substantial audience loyalty even after Buckingham's departure. Behind the Mask was supported by a world tour, though neither Vito nor Burnette remained with the band long enough to appear on another studio record, with Vito departing in 1991 and Burnette following shortly after.