not worthy the fleetwood mac brand
in fact i didnt hear about it for five years or more and my mac friends said stay away! no stevie nicks. this came at an odd time. but i've heard its good so i had to make up my own mind. i put it on last night. theres an odd trippy laziness to the whole project. this project was 8 years since lindsey left and they had to replace him with two other guitarists for a 1990 album which didnt do so well. then stevie left to do her own thing. christine was still on board but even though she had written some of her best work from 87 thru 92 you'd be hard pressed to hear it here. nites on estoril could be pretty but it sounds like the drug they must have all taken to make such sleepy time music. bringing in veteran dave mason didnt help much. billy burnett the one guitarist hold out from 90 still tries mining the country rock sound to no great effect and great singer bekka bramlett is lost in so so songs. there are some pretty moments but i found the last song the most interesting. it had the loveliest melody with mick doing a spoken word. this just does not fit in the fleetwood mac scheme of things since 75. oh well.
Good album even without Buckingham/Nicks
Stevie Nicks is one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac members but "Time" is surprisingly good even without her and Buckingham. Mick Fleetwood and Christine and John McVie are joined by Dave Mason, Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette on this album made without Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Bekka Bramlett is a great singer and sings one of the catchiest songs on the album, "Winds of Change", which might have had a chance to chart if it were released as a a single. I always love hearing Christine McVie's voice and her material here is good as usual (I was going to write "not up to her usual standards", but after another careful listen I realized there are several good songs here).
Favorite tracks: Winds of Change, I Wonder Why, Nights in Estoril: Least favorite: Dreamin' the Dream.
Overall, "Time" is a good album and the group works surprisingly well without Buckingham/Nicks. Those who want to hear more of Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette may also want to check out their country album "Bekka & Billy".
Interesting, new members give Fleetwood Mac a different flavor...
This is true for Fleetwood Mac. Some people consider that some "Classic" band lineups should never be changed.
. . . But, even when in this album Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are not part of the boys in the band, having Dave Mason and a wonderful female voice (Bekka Bramlett) give to Fleetwood Mac a different, interesting "flavor" to their music. An interesting one, but only for serious Music fans.
I warn you, if you have the prejudice of "Only the original lineup is acceptable", then do not listen this CD. . . .
Fleetwood Mac - New Lineup, Average Material
It was released after the departure of Stevie Nicks with only the core trio of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie remaining from the band's superstar 70's period. "Time" is a bit of an oddball album in the Fleetwood Mac catalogue. Rick Vito is gone, but Billy Burnette, who had been in the band for a decade at this point, is still on board for this one. The new faces include former Traffic and solo artist Dave Mason and vocalist Bekka Bramlett. This would be the only album released from this version of The Mac and the result was a decent, but not great album. I have never been a huge Christine McVie fan, and her contributions here sound quite dull to my ears. Of the main songwriters that have been with Fleetwood Mac over the years, her style has never clicked with me and this album does nothing to change that view. Billy Burnette is all over the disc as it has a lot of rockabilly underbelly to the material. Dave Mason is kind of lost in the mix, and although Bekka Bramlet has an outstanding voice, most of the material she has to work with is just average. My favorite tracks on the album are the opener and closer of the disc. "Talkin To My Heart" is a cool little tune with Mason and Bramlet on lead vocals and they work very well together. The last track "These Strange Times" clocks in at over 7 minutes and has Mason doing a spoken word narrative with Bramlett singing the chorus in the background. Again, this really works well and showcases the newcomers talents. The tracks in between are pleasant enough, but are nothing spectacular. This is certainly not essential Fleetwood Mac, but if you like the Christine McVie / non experimental side of the band, you might like this one.
Continuation of the sound of Behind The Mask, but without Nicks
It could be the worst selling Fleetwood Mac studio CD of all time. This CD was released in 1995, this is Fleetwood Mac's 17th studio album. Including live CD's, restrospectives and Blues Jam in Chicago, this is something like the 40th album officially released by the group.
It is 60 minutes long and the sound quality is very good.
This was Fleetwood Mac's first studio album in 5 years, after Behind the Mask was released. Although this CD was released 5 years later and half the musicians are different, it has that same rockabilly tinged sound that Behind the Mask had.
I had high hopes for this CD. It had original members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie and Christine McVie who has been with the group since 1969. Also present was Billy Burnette, a hold over from Behind the Mask. He had a great pedigree in rockabilly, with his uncle, Johnny Burnette having a number of hits in the fifties and his father also a guitartist. A newcomer to the group is Bekka Bramlett, daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, the duo who would work with Eric Clapton a lot. And, the band included Dave Mason who was in early Traffic and had a number of solo hits (his version of All Along the Watchtower was as good as Jimi Hendrix's).
Unfortunately, while there are some very good songs on this CD, it does not live up to expectations or to the best of Fleetwood Mac. I would say tha this has to be one of their worst studio albums of all time. But, even the worst of Fleetwood Mac is still pretty good.
I think the big problem is that there is too much Billy Burnette influence on the sound of the CD. Dave Mason is almost nonexistant. He does have 2 songs on the CD, but they really don't sound like Mason (or Fleetwood Mac). You can pick up bits and pieces of Mason's guitar style here and there, but they aren't dominant.
Many of the songs are just bland, rockabilly tinged. This style was gaining popularity in the early nineties, but was dead by 1995. Even most of the Christine McVie songs are rather dull and are not helped by this musical style.
There are some very good songs. Sooner or Later is Christine McVie at her best. Dreamin' the Dream is nice blues number from Bekka Bramlett. The album starts out strong with one of Burnette's better songs, Talking to the Heart. It ends up with a good (if a little pretentious) 7 minutes song from Mick Fleetwood, These Strange Times.
I would say that half of this CD is very good and the other half is just filler. That gives you about 30 minutes of good music. If you find it cheap, you can rip the songs you like and discard the rest.
WITH DAVE MASON AND BILLY BURNETTE, THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN A VERY GOOD LIVE BAND. BUT, SEEING THE BAND IN CONCERT DOES NOT MAKE THIS A FIVE STAR CD.
You can see a complete list of all Fleetwood Mac discography, or go back to the Fleetwood Mac tabs
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