After years of drug abuse, mental illness and partner-swapping, it's a minor miracle that Fleetwood Mac are still alive - let alone that they've got around to making their first proper album for 16 years. The soft-rock merchants are, of course, best known for their 1977 MOR classic Rumours, although their massive record sales have always been accompanied by a certain critical disdain. Say You Will, however, makes a pretty good case for taking the Mac seriously again. Featuring every member of the classic lineup except Christine McVie, it features no fewer than 18 new compositions, with the songwriting credits rigorously divided between the band's creative mainstays Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While Buckingham's contributions are distinctly superior to Nicks's, the performances throughout are searing and intense, suggesting that the band has belatedly rediscovered the sense of conviction that seemed to desert it after Rumours. In short, it sounds like classic Fleetwood Mac - and while that's not a prospect that's going to excite everybody, it's certainly deserving of at least a little respect. Just one major complaint - Nicks's song about September 11 is so awful, it's surely time for some kind of moratorium on the subject.
