Behind the Mask (album)

Behind the Mask is the fifteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 9 April 1990. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham (although he did play acoustic guitar on the album's title track). He was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, both guitar players, singers and songwriters. Fleetwood Mac thus became a six-piece band with four singer/songwriters. The album was not as successful as its predecessor, Tango in the Night, nor did it spawn any big hit singles, although "Save Me" made both American and Canadian Top 40, while "Love Is Dangerous" and "Skies the Limit" enjoyed some airplay. Though Behind the Mask barely reached the US Top 20, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1 and achieved platinum status there. Following the album's release and subsequent world tour, band members Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito left the band, though Nicks would rejoin in 1997.

The cover for the album was created by photographer Dave Gorton. He stated that the band did not wish to appear on a front picture and Mick Fleetwood himself suggested that he create an image that "spiritually symbolised" the band instead. The cover earned a Grammy nomination in 1991 for "Best Album Package".

The song "Freedom" was written by Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Campbell would join Fleetwood Mac in 2018.

The original CD release for the album was one of the first to be encoded with the CD+G format, which allows graphics to be shown on a TV screen in time with the music, such as pictures and lyrics.