Time, Q Review

[michelej1]

Tulsa World, October 27, 1995

Fleetwood Mac - Time - Warner Bros.

If you don't believe in reincarnation, pick up a few Fleetwood Mac albums. For about the sixth time, the most durable rhythm section in popular music -- Mick Fleetwood and John McVie -- has found new life in another roundup of free spirits.

This year's draft picks include veteran Mac mother Christine McVie, though she won't be touring this time around; graceful guitarist Billy Burnette, one of two guitarists brought in to replace Lindsey Buckingham in '85; Dave Mason, who hasn't done much since his days as the prime piston in the engine of Traffic; and Bekka Bramlett, daughter of '60s high-voltage hit-makers Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. You should see the photos in the liner notes; the whole group looks like a Benson & Hedges ad -- smooth, stylish, wearing their respective generations well. Here we go again.

``Time,'' to borrow a pun, often comes off more like news weak. Mason gets in Burnette's way a lot, and Christine McVie's keyboard parts, using lots of electric piano effects, sound like romping sitcom themes. Her voice is a timeless treasure, though, and Bramlett's vocals are a welcome respite from Stevie Nicks' sleepy, barnyard approach to singing. The songs here are all passable and well-built, but nothing reaches out to grab you (save maybe Fleetwood's eerie recitative at the end). ``Time'' is reminiscent of the tepid ``Mystery to Me'' and ``Heroes Are Hard to Find'' days before the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks. But don't count them out, by any means. The Mac always comes back.

T.C.

[michelej1]

Virginia Pilot and Ledger-Star (Norfolk, VA), August 6, 1994

Section: LOCAL

ON STAGE, AT LEAST, THE MAC IS BACK - SORT OF

ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER


About three-fourths of the way through Fleetwood Mac's two-hour Thursday night set, new member and longtime rock veteran Dave Mason told the Boathouse crowd, ``The Mac is back.''

He wasn't half wrong, either.

In this summer of Jurassic Park reunion tours, rock dinosaurs are all over the place. The Stones are back and so are the Eagles, Traffic and a host of other graying, aging rockers. And into this stampede of bopping brontosaurs slips the never-say-die Fleetwoods.

Another new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, fronted by one ol' vet and two youngbloods - explosive singer Bekka Bramlett and singer/guitarist Billy Burnette - performed a solid, professional show before a medium-size crowd of baby boomers and older rock fans.

Granted, the concert could have been a cheesy affair. Gone are the band's long and esteemed list of singer/songwriters who originally performed all the hits the crowd came to hear. Indeed, the idea of another group of singers performing the band's FM-radio hits seemed as exciting as hearing one of those tired used-to-be rock bands going through the motions at a Holiday Inn lounge.

Gone are Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch, Christine McVie, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But then, that's the way this long-lasting band has survived. People came, people went, but the band always adapted, and the solid rhythm section of bassist John ``Penguin'' McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood kept up the beat, as it did Thursday night.

Mason, who helped start Traffic and had his own distinguished pop/rock career, is the band's new lead singer and guitarist. And with this way-over-40-something performer joining the equally aging John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, you can bet the group's drug of choice was Rogaine. But they all performed with panache, skill and a collective experience that is long, varied and rich.

What gave this band its kick, however, was the contributions of the younger members, both coming from distinguished musical families.

Bramlett is the daughter of R&B rockers Delaney & Bonnie (who once had Mason and Eric Clapton in their touring band), and Burnette comes from the well-known rockabilly/country and western Burnette family of singers and songwriters.

Bramlett easily aped and improved on the vocal standards established by Nicks and Christine McVie. In fact, her vocal explosions were a concert highlight. She can flat-out sing, and she possesses a stage charisma not unlike a young Janis Joplin. She's a knockout power performer whose soulful voice could peel paint.

Burnette added pretty-boy good looks and a fine vocal tenor that shone in the group's flawless three-part harmonies.

Mason showed he could play solid lead guitar lines and proved his mellow voice had not lost its touch. He did well on his own hits, including ``Only You Know and I Know,'' ``Dear Mr. Fantasy,'' ``All Along the Watchtower'' (yes, he made it into his own minor '70s hit) and a fresh-sounding rendition of his syrupy ballad, ``We Just Disagree,'' with good harmonies from Bramlett and Burnette.

And yes, they trotted out all the other Mac hits too, much to the delight of the crowd. Even though we'd heard them a million times, the sometimes unctuous, predictable hits like ``You Make Loving Fun,'' ``World Turning,'' and ``Go Your Own Way'' sounded surprisingly fresh and alive. ``Oh Well'' thundered across the stage like a summer storm, and even the Clinton anthem ``(Don't Stop) Thinking About Tomorrow'' sounded better than the original band's wretched version at the president's inaugural.

What this band now needs to do is establish its own body of songs and material. Then Mason's boast can be taken as fact.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Street_Dreamer

The legacy of Fleetwood Mac was ruined in 1977 when Rumours was released. Fleetwood Mac is one of the most unique bands in the history of pop music. The story of the band itself could not be written by the best script writers in Hollywood. Fleetwood Mac has made so much great music throughout the years with its various different members, but the focus always ends up on Rumours and the drama in and surrounding the making of that album. The thing is Rumours saga isn't even the best story of the band. You can start with the band having its name hijacked, to Bob Weston having an affair with Mick's wife, to Jeremy joining the Children of God, to Peter getting messed up on LSD. I can't speak for anyone else, but I find those stories and others to be so much more fascinating than the tired old Rumours story.

As far as I'm concerned, Fleetwood Mac should be placed on the level that bands like The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, The Beatles, The Who, etc. are, but they aren't. The difference between Fleetwood Mac and the bands I mentioned is that you can pick and choose what albums are the greatest of their releases. It's an argument as to which album is the best. With Fleetwood Mac, it's already been set in stone that Rumours is the best album the band ever made which in my view is not the case. Fleetwood Mac has had some of the greatest guitarists ever in the band, but you never hear about it. It's such a shame that one album has overshadowed so many good things about this band.

Matt

Great points. Massive success and over-exposure has its downfall. Rumours did, indeed, eclipse some of the light of prior works, and then completely sucked the light out of future efforts (exempt Tusk).

Perhaps, if the Rumours phenomena came much later in their career, we would have a few more fine albums by that line-up. The over-the-top success allowed their egos to run wild...and from each other. If they were still kept a little "hungry for a while," their dependence on one another would have kept their chemistry intact.

[MacShadowsBall]

Originally Posted by michelej1

``Time,'' to borrow a pun, often comes off more like news weak. Mason gets in Burnette's way a lot, and Christine McVie's keyboard parts, using lots of electric piano effects, sound like romping sitcom themes. Her voice is a timeless treasure, though, and Bramlett's vocals are a welcome respite from Stevie Nicks' sleepy, barnyard approach to singing. The songs here are all passable and well-built, but nothing reaches out to grab you (save maybe Fleetwood's eerie recitative at the end).

Don't quite know what the whole "Mason gets in Burnette's way a lot" line is about, but I tend to agree with this review, esp. the bolded part.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Tulsa World, October 27, 1995

Fleetwood Mac - Time - Warner Bros.


``Time,'' to borrow a pun, often comes off more like news weak. Mason gets in Burnette's way a lot, and Christine McVie's keyboard parts, using lots of electric piano effects, sound like romping sitcom themes. Her voice is a timeless treasure, though, and Bramlett's vocals are a welcome respite from Stevie Nicks' sleepy, barnyard approach to singing. The songs here are all passable and well-built, but nothing reaches out to grab you (save maybe Fleetwood's eerie recitative at the end). ``Time'' is reminiscent of the tepid ``Mystery to Me'' and ``Heroes Are Hard to Find'' days before the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks. But don't count them out, by any means. The Mac always comes back.

T.C.

The writer's remark about Christine's "electric piano effects" is spot on. Never understood why she opted for those cheesy sounds there. They mar an otherwise perfect song ("Hollywood").

Not sure how Mason gets in Brunette's way either. But there's no question in my mind that the record would have been greater without him. "Blow by Blow"--pardon the pun--blows.

[MacShadowsBall]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

The writer's remark about Christine's "electric piano effects" is spot on. Never understood why she opted for those cheesy sounds there. They mar an otherwise perfect song ("Hollywood").

Her Time songs seem very "light and bouncy" perhaps a little too "sugary pop" sounding.

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Not sure how Mason gets in Brunette's way either. But there's no question in my mind that the record would have been greater without him. "Blow by Blow"--pardon the pun--blows.

I don't know much about music and playing in a band, but it seems to me that if Dave plays "lead" and Billy plays "rhythm", they should be able to co-exist. After all most rock bands have more that one guitarist. Even FM at one time had 3 of em!

I don't really see that Dave Mason was even needed (even though I love Blow by Blow ), but it seems that Billy had left FM then returned a few months later. So in the interim, they brought in Dave Mason - to only have him contribute two songs!