May 11, 2003
Story by Scott Mervis

Sixteen years. that's the amount of time from birth to driver's license. And that's how long it took for Fleetwood Mac to go into the studio again with the winning combination of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

It all began with Buckingham, who had departed after 1987's "Tango in the Night," bringing in the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie around '96 to work on what he expected to be a solo record. They planned to record for a few weeks. It turned into almost a year.

Things were going so well they decided to invite Nicks and Christine McVie into the project. McVie declined, but Nicks, who was about to tour with her solo record, "Trouble in Shangri La." sent over a collection of 17 demos - songs ranging from ones she wrote in 1976 to pieces that didn't make it onto her latest disc.

"Once we got Stevie's songs, the recording took on a life of its own,"Buckingham says in the band bio. "Without anybody really saying as much, we knew we were doing the next Fleetwood Mac album. It was a very organic process. John and Mick and I spent the next six months working on Stevie's material while she was on tour and when she got back we presented her with the results."

Nicks loved what the guys did with the songs and sat down to write more, knowing that this could be a Fleetwood Mac reunion without her female singing partner.

"When Christine made it clear she wasn't coming back, I knew I'd miss her, both as a friend and a collaborator," Nicks says. "But it's been my experience that change creates opportunities. Someone leaves and suddenly something great has a chance to happen."

With Christine out of the picture, Buckingham and Nicks had plenty of space on the disc for their own material. In fact, with each of them having nine songs, some reviews have likened the comeback record, "Say You Will," to two solo records combined. It features the typically lovely Fleetwood Mac harmonies on pretty songs like "Thrown Down" and the haunting "Illume (9/11)." Buckingham also lends some scorching guitar parts to several tunes, including "Come" and the single "Peacekeeper".

"Creative tension never dies," Nicks says, "We've always had our differences and we always will. But through it all we managed to be smart about what matters." Fleetwood Mac was originally formed as a blues-rock outfit in the late '60s, with former Bluesbreakers Fleetwood and McVie backing volatile frontmen Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Though popular in England, it didn't translate to the American market. With their departure, the rhythm section opted for a more polished pop sound in the hands of Christine Perfect, who would marry McVie. Christine was partnered with Danny Kirwan for 1971's "Future Games" and then Bob Welch on 1972's "Bare Trees."

After various other personnel changes, Fleetwood and John McVie were turned onto the Buckingham Nicks record in 1974. With the addition of Buckingham's pop smarts and Nicks' entrancing vocals, Fleetwood Mac became a creative and commercial juggernaut. Their debut - featuring the smash singles "Rhiannon," "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me" - hit No. 1 In 1976 and sold more than 5 million coples.

The romantic fallouts in the band - the McVie's divorced in '76 and Buckingham and Nicks were on the outs shortly after - only served to spark the wildly successful "Rumours," featuring such songs as "Go Your Own Way, "Dreams.' "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun." After the sprawling and adventurous "Tusk," the members split off to work on solo records, with Nicks having the biggest commercial success.

Buckingham then split after "Tango in the Night" in '87. The classic lineup regrouped for President Clinton's inauguration in 1993, and then didn't reunite again until an "MTV Unplugged" session in 1997 that produced "The Dance," a mix of new and vintage material. And now, even though Christine isn't on board, what looks like a new chapter has opened for one of rock's most enduring acts.

Reflecting on the current reunion and the countless progressions of the band, Fleetwood says, "Somehow we've always managed to stay in touch with the spirit of Fleetwood Mac. Let's face it. We're not all just saying hello to each other. We're connected very deeply. It's been a seamless journey, it's just the logistics that sometimes need working out."

 

THE MAC DISCOGRAPGHY

"FLEETWOOD MAC" (1968) The band's debut, a mix of original songs and cuts by Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson, goes to UK No. 4, but the reaction in the States is less enthusiastic as the album barely hits the charts at No. 198 despite a Rolling Stone review that has them "joining Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Ten Years After and Savoy Brown as chief practitioners of blues in England."

"MR. WONDERFUL" (1968) The title track, with a guest appearance by Chicken Shack's Christine Perfect (future wife of bassist John McVie) on piano, goes to UK No. 10, as does the album, a UK-only issue (although roughly half the songs turn up on "English Rose" the next

"ENGLISH ROSE" (1969) In the UK, "Albatross," an instrumental, tops the charts while Peter Green's "Black Magic Woman" peaks at No. 37 (only to be taken by Santana all the way to US. No 4). Here in the States, the album - hailed in Rolling Stone two years later as "one of the best British blues albums" -- stalls at No. 184.

"PIOUS BIRD OF GOOD OMEN" (1969) This 12-track compilation of the Peter Green days poaches tracks from "Fleetwood Mac" and "Mr. Wonderful" - in addition to containing both sides of the band's first single ("I Believe My Time Ain't Long" and "Rambling Pony"). It goes to No. 18 in the UK, where it sends a single, "Need Your Love So Bad," to No. 42.

"THEN PLAY ON" (1969) Signed to Reprise in the States, the band does better on the album charts, peaking at No. 102. In the UK, "Then Play On" hits No. 6 while the extracted classic "Oh Well" soars to No. 2. Rolling Stone trashes the album at the time but bumps it up to four stars in a '90s Album Guide.

"BLUES JAM IN CHICAGO, VOL. 1" (1969) The title says it all, as the group and a handful of blues greats (Willie Dixon, Otis Spann etc.) jam at Chess on classic blues material. Recorded on the band's first visit to the States, "Blues Jam" is followed by a second volume. A repackaged edition in '75, "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago," combines both volumes, climbing to No. 118 on the US.

"KILN HOUSE" (1970) A major U.S. breakthrough, this one climbs to No. 69, climbing higher in the UK, where it peaks at No. 39. By this point, Peter Green has left the band. But rather than trying to fill the void, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan have, to quote a Rolling Stone review, "shifted gears and made a quick high-speed turn off the cosmic trail Green had left them on and headed out the two lane highway of high-class vintage rock & roll."

"BLACK MAGIC WOMAN" (1971) The Peter Green days get a second second look on this two-record set, essentially a combination of the first release and "English Rose," including both the title track (of course) and "Albatross." The album stalls here in the States at No. 143.

"VINTAGE YEARS" (1971) Yet another two-record repackaging, this collection of vintage material cut from 1967-1969 (half of which is also on "Black Magic Woman") doesn't do a whole lot at the time, but when it's later re-released to cash in on their growing popularity, it peaks at US No. 138 (in March, 1975).

"GREATEST HITS" (1971) Never issued in the States, the band's first greatest hits collection - hailed as both "well-chosen" and "concise" in a four-and-a-half star review at All Music Guide -- climbs to UK No. 36. All 12 songs - including "Albatross," "Black Magic Woman" and "The Green Manalishi" - are from the Green years.

"FUTURE GAMES" (1971) Bob Welch, in for Spencer, contributes the haunting title track while Christine Perfect, now McVie, brings a poppier sound to the table. Kirwan gets more songs in, but a Rolling Stone review concludes that it's McVie who "puts in far and away the best performance of the album." It peaks at US No. 91.

"BARE TREES" (1972) All Music Guide hails "Bare Trees" as "arguably the first consistently strong album Fleetwood Mac ever recorded" while suggesting that
"Spare Me a Little of Your Love" sounds
like a "dry run for the string of hits" McVie would start writing in '75. Falling one spot shy of "Kiln House," still their highest-charting effort in the States, the album peaks at No. 70.

"PENGUIN" (1973) With Kirwan gone, Welch and McVie are left to emerge as the dominant forces in the band on the poppier "Penguin." Featuring a cameo by Green, the album fails to chart in the UK. In the States, though, it's their highest-charting effort yet at No. 49.

"MYSTERY TO ME" (1973) Despite an incredibly negative review in Rolling Stone that ends "Mediocrity really is a drag," it musters up a No. 67 US chart appearance. A far more recent review of the album in All Music Guide has kinder things to say, concluding that "this effort is custom-made for those who like thoughtful offerings, and is a valuable set in the scheme of the band." And that's no drag.

"HEROES ARE HARD TO FIND" (1974) Their first Top 40 album in the States, it reaches No. 34 while Rolling Stone concludes an at-best mixed review with "Overall, though, 'Heroes Are Hard to Find' stacks up as a very pleasant album, thanks chiefly to a pair of Christine McVie tracks. 'Prove Your Love' is exquisitely pretty and 'Come a Little Bit Closer' is a gorgeous tune reminiscent of the Beach Boys and especially of the Raspberry’s' brilliant cover of 'Overnight Sensation.' Add the ominous 'Bermuda Triangle' and an attractive 'Bad Loser' and the end results are definitely worth investigating.

"FLEETWOOD MAC" (1975) The dawn of the Buckingham-Nicks years, this one tops the US charts at the end of a 15-month ◦ climb in which they chart a string of three US Top 40 singles — "Over My Head" (their first, at No. 20), "Rhiannon" (No. 11) and "Say You Love Me" (No. 11). And as a four-star in the Rolling Stone Album Guide notes, "Unlike many blockbusters..the surrounding songs nearly equal the hits here."

"RUMOURS" (1977) Their best and biggest album, "Rumours" tops the charts both here and in the UK, selling more than 15 million coples worldwide while spending no fewer than 400 weeks on the UK charts. "Dreams" will top the US charts, but three more classic Top 10 singles from this Grammy-winning album of the year contribute to the landslide - "Go Your Own Way" (No. 10), "Don't Stop" (No. 3) and "You Make Loving Fun" (No. 9). Twenty-five years later, Rolling Stone assigns the album five stars in a Hall of Fame review that begins by stating that "Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' hasn't become a dated Seventies artifact, mostly because it sound-

"TUSK" (1979) The title track is recorded and filmed at Dodgers Stadium with the biggest backing band to crack the Top 10 that whole century - the U.S.C. Trojan Marching Band. The single goes to US No. 8 and UK No. 6. A more experimental side of Fleetwood Mac, this double album tops the UK charts and peaks at No. 4 here in the States. "Sara" peaks at US No. 7, "Think About Me" peaks at US. No. 20.

"FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE" (1980) A concert sampler of the hit years, this one peaks at US No. 14. A three-star review in All Music Guide begins with "Fleetwood Mac's first live album finds it at its popular height, pumping out hit after hit. To its credit, the group nevertheless puts out."

"MIRAGE" (1982) Three years down the road from "Tusk," the group enjoy a five-week run at No. 1 here in the States, where "Hold Me" peaks at No. 4, "Gypsy" peaks at No. 12 and "Love In Store" checks in at No. 22.

"TANGO IN THE NIGHT" (1987) This one tops the UK charts and peaks at US No. 1, gaining early steam here in the States from "Big Love" (No. 5). Other US hits include the No. 19 "Seven Wonders," "Little Lies" (No. 4) and "Everywhere" (No. 14).

"GREATEST HITS" (1988) Their greatest hits on Warner Bros, this one peaks at UK No. 3. A five-star review in All Music Guide calls it "an excellent choice for casual listeners."

"BEHIND THE MASK" (1990) It's Nicks' last album before the reunion. And her former lover, Buckingham, is gone, replaced - If that's the word, which it isn't - by two guitarists, Rick Vito and Billy Burnette. The album tops the UK charts but stalls at No. 33 here in the States, where "Save Me" climbs to No. 33.

"PETER GREEN'S FLEETWOOD MAC: LIVE AT THE BBC" (1995) A set of historic recordings for the BBC, it hits the UK charts - and peaks - at No. 48. In a four-star review at All Music Guide, Cub Koda (yes, the Brownsville Station guy) begins with "If you've ever wondered what the original Fleetwood Mac really sounded like, these BBC Recordings give a very good idea." He ends on an even more positive note with "An illuminating two disc set that any roots music or blues lover will adore. Highly recommended."

"TIME" (1995) With Delaney & Bonnie offspring Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason in for Nicks and Vito, "Time" is apparently not on Fleetwood Mac's side as this disappointing effort becomes the first studio album since the '60s not to hit the US charts. Surprisingly, it hits the UK charts - and peaks - at No. 47.

"THE DANCE" (1997) Recorded on the roundly hyped reunion tour the "Rumours" lineup, this one finds the band recovering from the pathetic performance of "Time" by checking in at U.S. No. 1.

"THE VERY BEST OF FLEETWOOD MAC" (2002) This two-CD collection peaks at US No. 12 and doesn't take long to go platinum while Rolling Stone weighs in with four stars, noting that by going heavy on the big three - "Fleetwood Mac,'
"Rumours" and "Tusk - it "showcases the results of having three strong songwriters and a willingness to spend months in the studio sweating the smallest details."

"SAY YOU WILL" (2003) Without Christine McVie, the other members of the "Rumours" lineup hits the US charts at No. 3 as lead-off single "Peacekeeper" finds a hero's welcome on Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary formats.

— Ed Masley