this is stellargirl

Fleetwood Mac
Say You Will
Reprise
brought to you by Egg Boy

I know what you're thinking. Fleetwood Mac. Music for grey hairs. Songs to sell SUVs. A soccer mom's delight. Heck, a soccer GRANDmom's delight.

Before I heard this record, I would have agreed. In fact, I would have said the same things.

And you still could, I suppose. Except that its a really really great record. Yeah I said it: a really really great record. Take away all the images of what the name 'Fleetwood Mac' conjures up. Bad synths in the 80's? They had em. WAY too many ballads? Check. Girlie vocals? You bet.

But its all gone. In fact, except for the fact that its the same people with the same name, its a whole new sound. It makes sense that many of these tracks were guitarist Lindsey Buckingham's for use for a solo record. With vocalist Christine McVie (definitely the 'weakest link') out of the picture and Buckingham on production duty, Say You Will is a guitar rock record. I can even deal with the Stevie Nicks songs. And at 18 songs, one might think boredom would set in about 45 minutes into the disc.

Not so. Kicking off with 'What's This World Coming To?,' the record never lets up. Ok ok, it hints to some early Fleetwood Mac. There's some vocal interplay and big drums and the like. The title track goes down the VH1 happy highway, along with a couple of others you'll be hearing in a mall near you soon. Even cheese can age well, though.
But damn, 'Red Rover?' Indie rock bands these days are too lazy to try and touch this balance of musicianship and hip-ass production. 'Everybody Finds Out' is a retread of their 1987 hit 'Big Love,' replete with those sexy 'Uhs' that sounded like a recording of people doin it, but hey, we need some more love in music these days. Drummer Mick Fleetwood's lo toms pop in now and again between synthetic loops and keyboard string pads.

It's Buckingham's guitar that really makes this record special. Too bad his association with the Mac will never get him the props he deserves, but then again who knows? Everyone loves Hall and Oates these days...give it time.

Let's forget Beck a second. Give the Flaming Lips' Fleetwood Mac to tour and play with and watch the magic happen!

Metric
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Goldfrapp
Black Cherry
Fleetwood Mac
Say You Will
DJ Dara
Breakbeat Science Exercise 01
The 88
Kind of Light
The Kills
Black Rooster EP
The Libertines
Up the Bracket
Jettatura
Squadra Fantasma
Tone
Ambient Metals
The Streets
Original Pirate Material
Grand Buffet
Cigarette Beach
Roni Size
Touching Down
Rolling Stones
40 Licks
Brendan Benson
Lapalco
Anticon
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