The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac collection is a nice warm up for the holidays, which should please fans old and new. The retrospective, which features the classic Rumours lineup, includes all the hits (and then some) from the 1975 "white" album through 1997's reunion album The Dance.

It's refreshing to find some new elements incorporated into this release, making it more than just your standard best-of. Some of these highlights include single versions for "Rhiannon," "Over My Head," "Think About Me," and "Sisters of the Moon" -- all previously unavailable on CD. There's also a different mix of Silver Springs, emphasizing Stevie Nicks' vocal overdubs at the end of the song. (The original 45 mix of "Silver Springs" has never been released on CD.)

Overall, the sound quality is excellent. Remastered by engineering heavyweights Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch (who handle many of the Rhino remasters), the tracks have never sounded this good, particularly the ones from Rumours and Mirage. Everything is clean and crisp, with bass and high-end levels faithfully restored. Finally, the depth to these recordings has returned -- something dreadfully missing from the shoddy CD reissues from the late-80s and early 90s.

The liner booklet is very well done, though the selection of photographs could be better. But there are some nice ones, like the one of Christine McVie playing a large bass. There is also a charming Rumours cover outtake featuring Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood in an alternate pose. The liner notes are written well by David Wild, a contributing writer for Rolling Stone. Informative and concise. Selected discography, chart placements and credits are also included.

The enhanced material (on disc 1) is adequate though it may a challenge to play on your computer. (QuickTime for the studio stuff and Windows Media Player for everything else seemed to work). The behind-the-scenes footage is probably the only real interest here, as much of the other material has been available previously. The behind-the-scenes footage takes you through a beautiful Bel Aire mansion (where the band is recording a new album, 2003's Say You Will), practice sessions, and short interviews about the recording process without Christine McVie, who retired from the music business.

The other material on the CD, like "the vaults" (which has to be accessed through the Internet), is a bit disappointing, particularly the selection of performance clips. Two tracks are culled from the 1982 Mirage concert video ("The Chain," "Go Your Own Way") and one from The Dance ("Don't Stop"). The music video for "Seven Wonders" is also included. The rarest footage included here is the classic Rosebud documentary performance of "Rhiannon." (The entire Rosebud documentary will be available for the first time on DVD, when Warner Bros. issues the super deluxe edition of Rumours on January 29, 2013.)

I purchased this CD because it contained most of the Fleetwood Mac songs I enjoyed as a young teen. However, when I listened to it, I was a little disappointed. Although all of the songs have been remastered on this album, it is not perfect. The quality of the recordings are sterile. In otherwords, they are clean with no distortions or noise, but they lost that foot taping musicality that could be found on their old record albums as well as some of their older CDs. It's a great album because of the collection of songs, but I wish that it retained the musicality and dynamics of the older recordings.

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac is a good example of successful compilations are made. While only covering the Buckinham-Nicks version of the band, the two CD set offers a great range of songs from thier career. Unlike the previous greatest hits (which was only 1 disc), Very Best includes The Chain, Landslide, Gold Dust Woman, and even the obscure hit Family Man, on top of having all the other classics. The inclusion of songs like Think About Me, Love In Store, World Turning, No Questions Asked and Paper Doll proves that the set truely covers this era exstensively.

The remastering is decent and allows the listener to hear parts of the songs that were not obvious before. The drums sound much crisper and songs from Rumours, The "White Album," and "Tusk" seem much clearer.

The single version of Rhiannon, Over My Head, and Sisters of the Moon are also a plus, although they can take awhile to grow on you. If you are use to the album versions, these will seem kind of odd and unfulfilling. After a few listens however, one will notice the heavy guitar layering and texturing. These songs turn out to be quite cool.

The complilation will appeal to long-time fans because of the inclusion of bonus material on the first disc, as well as the song Go Insane from the Dance. It will appeal to more casual fans because of the extent that it covers their catalog.

Some songs that were not included are Eyes of the World, Oh Diane (which was a big hit in Europe & Japan), Big Love (the original), and Crystal. All of these would have made the compilation even stronger but like any Best Of, you can't have everything. All and all it is a nice set and I recommend it to anyone who wants a MAC ATTACK!!

(Music: 5 Stars; Compilation: 4 Stars)

After 1988's "Greatest Hits" (too short at 1 CD) and 1992's "The Chain: Highlights" (2 CD's but mixing in too many pre-1975 tracks), we are finally getting the ultimate compliation of "classic" Fleetwood Mac (sorry, Peter Green!). All the hits and key tracks are here, including the obvious (Dreams, Go Your Own Way, Don't Stop, The Chain, Hold Me, Everywhere, Silver Springs, Tusk, Gold Dust Woman, Gypsy, etc. etc.) but also key album tracks like Never Going Back Again, Monday Morning, Love in Store, etc. All? well almost: missing are Oh Diane! and Not That Funny. Not funny indeed.

Two other quibles: why are we served with several live (from 1997, no less) versions that really don't add anything, including Big Love, a key studio song? Also, I find the sequencing less than desirable. I know it sounds cliched, but more often than not, a "boring" straight choronogical overview simply works best, and I think this would have been the case here as well. But in the end, the music is here in one place for us to enjoy, at last.

It is just so unreal to realize, that we often forget about certain artists in the music industry because they are older. That does seem to be the case with so many acts from the 70's. It still doesn't surprise me, but no matter what people think of music now, there will always be a special place for so much great music out there in so many people and their hearts. That just truly is the case for Fleetwood Mac. They have no doubt, seem to define what survival is absolutely all about. They have encountered substance abuse, and other hazards that would enchant the formula of mass destruction that would never lead a band back together again. The music still leads a lot more than ever.

The 2002 Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac is considered as a gem for any fan of the 70's group, or for anybody who is just started to be interested in their groove. The double-disc collection contains 36 great songs that are truly landmarked here, accept without failures including Time from 1995, and earlier records from the 1960's and 70's, but they aren't featured here. The songs are just absolutely geared into greatness. The songs range from upbeat and signature classics like Landslide and Little Lies, to absolute true masterpieces like Gypsy, Don't Stop, Hold Me, and Sara. The album highlights a whole lot, including some great songs like Tusk, and Silver Springs as well. Still, it would also lead into another chapter for Fleetwood Mac. Longtime member, Christie McVie, left the group in the 1990's after their comeback live record, The Dance. That leads into the behind the scenes of Say You Will for 2003, which none of the songs from that record are on it, for people who don't have a computer. Truthfully, Say You Will, didn't do as well as this did, largely because there was no commercial support for that record on radio.

It just surprises me that I've just rediscovered Fleetwood Mac for what they truly are. Nevertheless, they've had a fantastic journey for what they've encountered as a group. I still wish that so many people who are onterested in manufactured artists today, can try to celebrate these gems from the past. The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac is a absolute must have.