Fleetwood Mac: The Dance

With each passing year bringing another high-profile rock reunion, prompted as often by balloon mortgage payments as any real artistic hunger, old fans could be excused for greeting 1997's announcement that the big Mac was back with skepticism: at their commercial zenith, Fleetwood Mac had offered superb transatlantic pop-rock with the added spice of a remarkable back-story, but the band's long decline and underwhelming later personnel shifts didn't bode well. Such guarded expectations make the musical punch of The Dance all the more impressive, and enable the meticulously produced concert special to genuinely surprise. The band's musicianship--the one constant between the original, late '60s English blues band and its platinum '70s lineup featuring guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks--is in peak form, buttressed by a discreet auxiliary of additional musicians. Even with the hired guns, though, it's the rock-solid rhythm section of founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and Buckingham's impassioned playing that strike sparks. Always a dynamic guitarist, Buckingham brings feverish intensity to both group classics and solo turns such as "Go Insane." Both familiar hits and new songs (including the solid "Temporary One" and "Bleed to Love Her") further confirm that this isn't a rote exercise--the band sounds fully engaged. Buckingham, Nicks, and the elegant Christine McVie retain their vocal charm (although Nicks has clearly lost her upper register). And the sense of old wounds healed, and older affections acknowledged, gives true poignancy to the set's high mark, a brilliant live version of "Silver Springs," a truly haunting Rumours-era B-side that proves deeply moving. --Sam Sutherland