Love Is Dangerous
| "Love Is Dangerous" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotional single by Fleetwood Mac | ||||
| from the album Behind the Mask | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–90 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:18 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rick Vito, Stevie Nicks | |||
| Producer(s) | Greg Ladanyi, Fleetwood Mac | |||
| Fleetwood Mac singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Love Is Dangerous" is a song released in 1990 by British-American band Fleetwood Mac from their album Behind the Mask. It was one of the album's two songs co-written by Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito.[2] The song was also issued as a promotional single, which charted in North America.
Background
Vito conceived "Love Is Dangerous" as a duet with Nicks and planned to have her cover the higher harmonies. Whereas some of Vito's other demos were rejected for the Behind the Mask album, the band demonstrated more interest in "Love Is Dangerous" and agreed to develop it. He commented that "if Stevie didn't like the song I presented to her, she was never obligated to go any further. There were a couple things that I played for her that she liked and thought she could something with. And she did."[3] Musically, "Love Is Dangerous" is a blues-rock composition with instrumentation of electric guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums. Some of Vito's guitar parts were played with a bottleneck slide.[4]
When determining which song from Behind the Mask to release as a single, the band consulted with their label to make the decision. Vito was the only member of the band who suggested "Love is Dangerous"; the remaining members were in favour of "Save Me", which was ultimately lifted as the album's lead single.[5] "Love Is Dangerous" was ultimately released as a promotional single and reached number 7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and number 70 in Canada. Vito recorded a solo version of the song for his album Crazy Cool in 2001, who reworked the song by modulating it to a major key, truncating the lyrics in the first verse, and removing the bridge.[4]
Critical reception
Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Steve Hochman thought that the song "injected the band's original blues foundation".[6] Rolling Stone characterized the song as a "funky romp that keeps the imagery to a bare minimum."[7]
Credits
- Fleetwood Mac
- Stevie Nicks – lead vocals
- Rick Vito – lead guitar, lead vocals
- Billy Burnette – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Christine McVie – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
- John McVie – bass guitar
- Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Steve Croes – additional keyboards
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock[8] | 7 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[9] | 70 |
References
- ^ Davis, Robert (30 January 2015). "Fleetwood Mac – Behind The Mask". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Rick Vito Q&A: Section 1". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Reed, Ryan (2018). Fleetwood Mac FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock Survivors. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-61713-667-2.
- ^ a b Roubin, Olivier; Ollivier, Romuald (1 April 2025). Fleetwood Mac: All The Songs. New York: Black Dog Leventhal Publishers. p. 507. ISBN 978-0-7624-8630-4.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (21 June 1990). "The Changing Faces of Fleetwood Mac". Daily Southtown. pp. 10, 11. Retrieved 1 June 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (8 April 1990). "Fleetwood Rolls on Without Buckingham". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Berger, Aaron (31 May 1990). "Behind the Mask". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Item 961". bac-lac.gc.ca. Library and Archives Canada. 23 June 1990. Retrieved 26 January 2024.