Lindsey Buckingham / Christine McVie
Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie
Atlantic
Three and a half stars
The sessions that eventually spawned this album might well have heralded the return of Fleetwood Mac – indeed, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie contribute throughout here – but when Stevie Nicks stalled on her involvement, the songs instead became an engaging side project for Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie.
The mood throughout is part sun-dappled Californian sunshine and part crisp English winter, and McVie – who by her own admission turned her back on music for much of her 16-year break from touring and recording – is the undoubted star.
Carnival Begin, which closes the album, finds McVie brooding over a "new merry-go-round", a transparent reference to returning to the recording fold.
Game of Pretend, another McVie composition, considers the complex world of relationships, a key Fleetwood Mac battleground over the decades. Buckingham shines, too, particularly on the radio-friendly In My World, Sleeping Around the Corner and On With the Show. Throughout, there is a clarity of thought and sound that rolls back the years.
nmarch@thenational.ae
