I'm sorry but if Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham ARE Fleetwood Mac to you, then you are not a fan of Fleetwood Mac, but a fan of Stevie Nicks and/or Lindsey Buckingham, and the work they have done with the Mac. Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band, and I have at least enjoyed (if not loved) everything they have done since 1967. Time is certainly not my favorite Mac album, but it is an enjoyable album nevertheless. It has some extremely cheery and upbeat songs on it, and is perfect for driving on a sunny day.

Christine McVie is my all time favorite Mac member, and all five of her songs are very likeable. Her voice is as strong as ever, and is the saving grace in songs that suffer from somewhat generic songwriting. I definetly prefer Dave Mason's work with Traffic to his Mac efforts, and his song Blow By Blow is probably the worst (or at least the most boring) on the album. He does have a nice singing voice though, and plays some great lead guitar. Bekka Bramlett is in my opinion underrated on this album. Sure the songwriting in her tunes isn't the most inspired work you'll ever hear, but you can't ignore her voice. People who see her as a Stevie Nicks knock off are probably just sore over the absence of Ms. Nicks. Although Bramlett does have a somewhat raspy voice, and I'm sure that this was no coincidence on the part of the band, you can really hear her struggling to find her own little niche here. At times soulful, and others sweet and vulnerable she is a very strong vocalist, and her Dreamin' the Dream is one of my favorite Mac songs (if only for her singing on it). I love Billy Burnette's work with the Mac (more so on the 'Behind the Mask' album than here) but his singing and guitar playing go very well with Bramlett's voice throughout the album. And then of course you have drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John Mcvie. It just wouldn't be Fleetwood Mac without them. Not just because they are where the band gets it's name from, but because they provide the music with it's driving rhythm. Their performances are very strong on Time (as they are on any album), and I won't be the first to say that they are one of music's greatest rhythm sections.

I wish that we had heard more form this lineup of Fleetwood Mac because I think that they could have only improved. 'Time' is a good if not great album, and should please real Fleetwood Mac fans who have loved the band through all of the changes that they have undergone.

Favorite songs: I Do, Winds of Change, Sooner or Later
Dreamin' the Dream

Least favorite songs: Blow By Blow, These Strange Times

Recorded at perhaps the most confusing period of FM history, Time is a curiousity. There is very little here that sounds like "classic" Fleetwood Mac, yet the album is very listenable and a generally good effort. What may not be known is that by the time this album was put together, Christine McVie had followed Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks... out of the group. Her 5 songs are stellar and her vocals never better but clearly they were recorded apart from the rest of the album (probably earlier) and do not contain Burnette, Mason, or Bramlett on them. Still getting half a Christine solo album is reason enough to buy this CD. The rest of the songs appear to have been recorded without C. McVie, with the exception of piano and backing vocals on "Nothing Without You". Burnette has some worthy contributions but does not have much material displayed. His interaction with Bramlett is great. Bramlett is a fair singer and seems to be an interpreter only. Dave Mason has only 2 songs on the album, "Blow by Blow" is harsha and dry, while the other one is very groovy. Fleetwood and McVie shine througout and tie the album together slightly. But overall this is a CD of tracks tossed together. On the upside the production and recording is much cleaner than Tango or Behind the Mask.

It is very interesting to see that Fleetwood Mac still pressed on without the presence of Stevie Nicks. If you think about it, why would they? Wasn't she the reason that we bought their albums in the first place. As that may be, Fleetwood Mac drove on and came up with "Time." Immediately panned by critics for not being a "regular" Fleetwood Mac album, that is what gives it a little charm. Fleetwood Mac did several albums before Nicks and Buckingham came on board. Sure they gave them a a lot of success, but they were just like the other members of Fleetwood Mac. They did their thing, and they moved on. With that in mind, the album itself brings on two more members, Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason. Along with Billy Burnette and Christine McVie, they had managed to come up with a beautiful but distorted album. Distorted as in Burnette didn't seem to appear on anyone else's songs except his own. Mason didn't appear on anyone elses songs either. McVie turned up 5 songs, and everyone else had 2 or 3. The cohesion wasn't there. But separate as it was, the music was tight and well played. Bramlett's harmonies on the record were very strong, in fact, even stronger than on the first album with Nicks. They showcased her voice though as harmony instead of the lead, like the first album with Nicks. Whether she was supposed to be a replacement for Nicks or her own personality is not known, but she doesn't go off in fairy land with her songs. "Winds of Change" is absolutely gorgeous, with Christine McVie's harmony, it is a Mac classic. Her "Dreamin' The Dream" is also a standout track with soft, emotive vocals. Burnette and Mason each contribute two tracks, Mason's "Blow By Blow" sees an electric garage rock out session with Bramlett singing in the background. "I Wonder Why" sounds like a cut that should've came from an earlier album, such as "Penguin" or "Mystery To Me." It has that cold lonely feel to it that came from that era of Mac. Burnette's contributions were the most lightweight on the record. "I Got It In For You" is standard radio fare. "Talkin' To My Heart" is simply filler. McVie's 5 songs were supposed to carry most of the weight on the record. "Sooner or Later" isn't her best effort. "All Over Again" sounds like we're losing another member of Mac. Closing with a strange track by Mick Fleetwood, the album isn't half bad. It sounds like Fleetwood Mac when Bob Welch was in. The underappreciated and unpopular Mac. Back in those days, it didn't matter that they weren't popular, but now that they have hit superstardom, it doesn't seem they want to work for it anymore. Too bad, because this was one of those albums they should've worked at.

Let's face it a group is a group effort. Fleetwood Mac was an underrated blues band from the 60's that had a lot of potential but were overlooked commercially because rock and pop were just starting to come of age. Then throw in Buckingham and Nicks, and you had the perfect combination for the sound of the times. John McVie is a very good bass player, Mick Fleetwood is a great drummer, and Christie McVie an outstanding vocalist. But without Buckingham & Nicks, they were not a "group". Lindsey Buckingham's guitar style, his vocals, and Stevie Nicks voice were ALL part of it. This is a 5 person GROUP, and when Fleetwood Mac tried to split and dorm various reformations of Fleetwood Mac, it wasnt the same. Basically Mick tried to make another saga in the Fleewood Mac hisotry with Dave Mason and another female vocalist. But the songs with them just dont work. Many of them to me sound like generic 80's music. The bluesy feel of the old Mac albums is not recapured here and without at least the guitar of Lindsey and background voices (Stevie and Lindsey), this doesnt strike me much at all. Even when Buckingham and Nicks werent lead singers, they played a big part in the background/interchanging vocals and the guitar sound. Otherwise, you have a whole new Fleetwood Mac here and the sound isnt catchy. The songs are not that great either. Let's face it Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie were all outstanding songwriters to boot. I will say though that most of the Christine McVie songs on this CD are very good. That's why I give it 3 stars for the value of her 5 songs. I also disagree with what the other reviewer said, that if you dont like this CD your not a Fleetwood Mac fan, your a Buckingham Nicks fan. Buckingham Nicks solo album was not that great! You could hear the potential in the music, but without the rest of the band, the production, Christine McVie and musicians, they were not great! It was a group. Even the Fleetwood Mac CD Say You Will in many ways sounds like Buckingham Nicks II because they do every song. I like the GROUP albums the best, Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, Tusk, Mirage, and Tango In The Night. And of course, a true Fleetwood Mac fan cannot deny the great Peter Green and even some of the Bob Welch albums (which helped The Mac head in a more melodic direction).

I was one of those people who thought Fleetwood Mac had bowed out of the picture after Behind the Mask album and tour but if you are a fan of FM you should know never to count this band out.
They always seem to return in one form or another, and each album and line up has something worthwhile to talk about. Time caught me by surprise when it was released because, as I say, I thought the band was gone. Sure, it's different,but if you listen to FM albums from the beginning to Say You Will, you'll see that every album is different than the one before it. Why do you suppose the band did Tusk instead of Rumours, part II ?
It's because FM has always tried to remain fresh. Line up changes are nothing to this band. They shrug off the changes and carry on! The Time lineup was a good one, with first class talent and some very good songs. Talkin' to my Heart was the song I played over and over when I first got the album, and to this day I think it's an excellent song, done very well by Bekka Bramlett. The woman has an excellent voice. Of course Christine McVie's songs are good. I think it's difficult for her to write a bad song. Besides the core of McVie, McVie and Fleetwood there is the undeniable talent of Dave Mason and Bekka Bramlett to add a little different touch to things. And who on earth doesn't recognize the talent of Billy Burnette?? All you "There's no FM without Buckingham & Nicks" whiners must never have heard of Peter Green or Bob Welch. C'mon, listen to Time one more time.
If you take the time, Time will show you some things. Also give Behind the Mask another chance. You won't be sorry.