On their 1977 sales-record shattering album "Rumours," Fleetwood Mac proclaimed, "I'm never going back again."
Over a quarter-century later, that lyric holds true for the group. Unlike so many groups from the '60s and '70s who have re-united in recent years, Fleetwood Mac has put out a batch of songs that aren't carbon copies of their previous hits. Instead, the band has pushed onward, exploring new musical territory, taking risks and making an album that is arguably their most eccentric since 1980's "Tusk."
"Say You Will" is a turning point for the band in many respects. Longtime keyboardist, songwriter and singer Christine McVie left the group after their 1997 tour, and guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Buckingham went back into the studio with the band for the first time since the sessions for 1987's "Tango in the Night."
Undoubtedly, this is a new Fleetwood Mac and one in which Buckingham is clearly in the driver's seat. In fact, "Say You Will" began as a Buckingham solo project, and his influence on the album not only as a musician and composer but producer as well is felt in a very strong sense.
Buckingham's domination has its pros and cons. On the upside, his insistence on experimentation breathes life into a group that has been around for nearly 40 years. The second track "Murrow Turning Over in His Grave," with his dark, bluesy acoustic guitar, wall of surround sound voices and scorching electric guitar solo, sounds more like David Gilmour-era Pink Floyd than the band that recorded "Don't Stop." "Miranda" features cryptic lyrics and brooding yet uptempo guitars to match, striking a chord of mystery and intrigue. Even the radio-friendly single "Peacekeeper" has an ominous air, courtesy of Buckingham.
Even on songs that aren't his, Buckingham leaves his mark. On Stevie Nicks' "Everybody Finds Out," Buckingham makes the song urgent and foreboding by adding congas, strings, his own furious strumming and even by sampling a sound effect from 1987's "Big Love." As a result, the mood originally created by Nicks is not changed but intensified.
But sometimes Buckingham goes overboard with the innovation. It's as if his soundboard had all these new buttons and he was determined to push them all. On tracks like "Illume," "Come," "Smile at You" and "Steal Your Heart Away," he warps and loops the voices and the instruments to the point of excess. Additionally, much of the time he can't pull off the overly-dramatic vocal stylings he attempts. Freddie Mercury, he isn't.
Fortunately the band's sound has not been re-vamped past the point of recognition, thanks to Nicks. Always a perfect collaborator for Buckingham, she balances out much of Buckingham's eccentricity with songs grounded in the Fleetwood Mac catalogue. The title track, "Thrown Down," "Silver Girl," and "Goodnight Baby" are all pleasing, well-crafted pop songs that keep the album from going completely over the edge.
Unfortunately, Christine McVie is missed. Through her songwriting, piano and keyboard playing and vocal harmonies, she added an element of grace that was the perfect compliment to Nicks' mystery and Buckingham's volatility. Try as they do, the band does not match the beauty of songs like "Songbird" and "Over and Over" without her.
On the whole, this is a quality album. The band remembers where they came from, but they are also looking forward to challenge themselves and their audiences. That dichotomy makes "Say You Will" worth the seven year wait.
