''Time'' is the 16th studio album by British-American rock band
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
, released on 10 October 1995. This album features a unique line-up for the band featuring the addition of former
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
guitarist
Dave Mason and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
vocalist
Bekka Bramlett (daughter of
Delaney and Bonnie
Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Al ...
).
Lindsey Buckingham, who had left Fleetwood Mac in 1987, makes an appearance as a backing vocalist on one track, but ''Time'' is the only Fleetwood Mac album since 1974's ''
Heroes Are Hard to Find
''Heroes Are Hard to Find'' is the ninth studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 September 1974. This is the last album recorded with Bob Welch, who left the band at the end of 1974. It was the first Fleetwo ...
'' not to feature any contribution from
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...
. It is the final Fleetwood Mac studio album to feature
Christine McVie as an official member. Although she appears in some songs on the next studio album, ''
Say You Will'' (2003), she is credited as an additional musician.
The album received unfavorable reviews from critics and was a commercial disappointment, failing to chart in the US and peaking at number 47 in the UK.
Background
The new lineup toured in July 1994 with Steve Thoma deputizing for Christine McVie – McVie had retired from touring in 1990. A second leg of the tour began in April 1995 with dates in America, Europe and Japan.
Jeremy Spencer
Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the ...
, one of the band's original guitarists, joined the group on stage for their Tokyo performance.
Fleetwood mentioned in his autobiography that
Christine McVie did not originally intend to participate on the album (she had technically quit in 1990) but that
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
had insisted she appear. As such, her five featured songs were recorded separately from the full band and all guitar parts on these were played by session musician
Michael Thompson, although Billy Burnette is featured on the album's only single, "I Do", which only charted in Canada. "Hollywood" alludes to the homesickness that would cause her to retire temporarily from the band, while "Nights in Estoril" celebrated time spent at
Estoril in Portugal with her then-husband Eddy Quintela, who was Portuguese himself.
Within a year this band line-up had split, with Mason, Bramlett and
Billy Burnette all leaving the band. Christine McVie, who had already retired from live performances, informed the band that it would also be her last album appearance. Bramlett and Burnette recorded the ''
Bekka & Billy
Bekka & Billy was an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette, who first worked together as members of Fleetwood Mac. Their eponymous debut album was released by Almo Sounds in April 1997. Whi ...
'' album together in 1997, the same year Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks rejoined Fleetwood Mac.
The band did not tour following the album's release in October 1995, but had (without Christine McVie) toured from July to December 1994, and again from April to September 1995. The only songs from ''Time'' to be performed at these shows were "Blow by Blow" and "Dreamin' the Dream". "All Over Again" received its first live performances on the
An Evening with Fleetwood Mac
An Evening with Fleetwood Mac was a concert tour by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The tour's lineup consisted of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. The tour marked the first tour w ...
tour in 2018 as a live duet between Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks, with new guitarist
Neil Finn playing keyboards.
Songs
Another version of "Blow by Blow" had featured on the album for the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...
the previous year. The five-piece lineup fronted by
Billy Burnette, Mason and Bramlett performed it at the tournament's launch concert along with "Dreamin' the Dream", "
The Chain" and "
Oh Well".
"Nothing Without You" had originally been recorded by
Delaney Bramlett
Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer and guitarist. He was best known for his musical partnership with his wife Bonnie Bramlett in the band Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included a wi ...
, the father of Bekka, on his 1975 album ''Giving Birth to a Song'' which had featured writing contributions from Billy Burnette. An additional verse written by Bekka ensured she got a writing credit. Aside from this her only writing contribution was "Dreamin' the Dream".
The album also featured a rare lead vocal from drummer/band leader
Mick Fleetwood on the seven-minute spoken piece "These Strange Times", produced by
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
producer John Jones and written with
Beach Boys co-writer
Ray Kennedy. The spoken-word piece paid tribute to
Peter Green and openly alluded to his songs "
Man of the World" and "
The Green Manalishi
"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consec ...
". The third verse also alluded to Stevie Nicks' "
Dreams" and Lindsey Buckingham's "
Walk a Thin Line
"Walk a Thin Line" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of the nine songs he wrote for the ''Tusk'' album.
Background
Along with "Angel" and title ...
". Fleetwood's only previous vocal/lyrical contribution to the group had been another spoken piece, "Lizard People" (from the "
In the Back of My Mind
"In the Back of My Mind" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album ''The Beach Boys Today!''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it is a heavily orchestrated ballad composed in 6/8 time. Dennis Wilson largely sing ...
" single).
Critical reception
AllMusic gave the album a two star review, considering it to be a drop in quality from their previous efforts.
It was voted number 10 in the All-Time Worst Albums Ever Made from
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged".
Along wit ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums
''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...
''.
Track listing
Personnel
Fleetwood Mac
*
Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals
*
Dave Mason – guitars, vocals
*
Billy Burnette – guitars, vocals
*
John McVie – bass guitar
*
Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion, guitars (13), vocals (13)
*
Bekka Bramlett – vocals
Additional musicians
* Scott Pinkerton – synthesizer programming
* Steve Thoma – keyboards (3, 4, 9)
* John Jones – keyboards, guitars, bass (13)
*
Michael Thompson – guitars (2, 5, 8, 10, 12)
*
Fred Tackett
Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat.
In addition to his work with Little F ...
– trumpet (8)
*
Lindsey Buckingham – backing vocals (6)
* Lucy Fleetwood – backing vocals (13)
Production
* Fleetwood Mac – producers (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11)
* Richard Dashut – producer (1, 2, 4–12)
* Christine McVie – producer (2, 5, 8, 10, 12)
* Dave Mason – producer (3)
* Billy Burnette – producer (7)
* John Jones – producer (13), recording (13), mixing (13)
*
Ray Kennedy – producer (13)
* Ken Allardyce – recording (1–13), mixing (1–13)
* Charlie Brocco – additional engineer (1–12)
*
Alan Sanderson
Alan Sanderson is a recording engineer, mixer, music producer, studio owner based in Southern California.
Sanderson is credited with working on some of the most successful albums of the 1990-2000s while working as an engineer at Cello and Ocean W ...
– additional engineer (1–12), assistant engineer (1–12)
* Allen Sides – additional engineer (1–12)
*
Jimmy Hotz
Jimmy Hotz is an American inventor, record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, author and musician.
Background
Hotz began playing guitar at the age of seven.
He plays a number of instruments such as the gu ...
– additional engineer (13)
* David Eike – assistant engineer (1–12)
* Richard Huredia – assistant engineer (1–12)
* Tom Nellen – assistant engineer (1–12)
* Dave Shiffman – assistant engineer (1–12)
*
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
* Don Tyler – mastering assistant
* Scott Pinkerton – production assistant
* John Courage – production coordinator
* Mick Fleetwood – cover concept
* Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction
* Frank Chi – design
* Lance Staedler – band photography
* Dale McRaven – cover photography
* Bonnie Nelson – cover photography
Studios
* Recorded and Mixed at
Ocean Way Recording
Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...
(Hollywood, California).
* Additional recording at
Sunset Sound Recorders (Hollywood, California).
* Mastered at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, California).
Charts
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Time (Fleetwood Mac Album)
Fleetwood Mac albums
1995 albums
Albums produced by Richard Dashut
Warner Records albums
Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders
Albums recorded at United Western Recorders
Albums produced by John McVie
Albums produced by Mick Fleetwood
Albums produced by Christine McVie
Albums produced by Dave Mason