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Buckingham is back to his best

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The return of Fleetwood Mac

Are Fleetwood Mac going to record an album as well as tour?

"We'll do some dates and get comfortable again. And assuming all goes well, we'll make an album and then tour. So we have a rough, long-term sketch going and everyone's very excited about it. I think Fleetwood Mac still have a lot to say musically."

Tell me about Sheryl Crow's supposed involvement at one point. Did you guys rehearse with her?

"No. [laughs] That whole thing has been blown up so far out of proportion to anything that was real. The reason that there was even any consideration in bringing in someone like Sheryl was that Stevie, having gone through a tour in 2003 without Christine McVie, missed that female camaraderie on stage, and so she was looking for someone else to kind of share that with.

"I think Stevie and I will get to explore a lot, musically and emotionally."

"We're all acquainted with Sheryl and Stevie brought up Sheryl's name. I was fine with the idea, hypothetically speaking. I did have some private reservations about it that I didn't voice, like, 'Hmmm, are we now going to be doing Sheryl Crow songs in a Fleetwood Mac set?' [laughs] That would be something of a mixed message. So the idea sort of sat there and there was no decision on it.

"Then Sheryl had an album come out and, as I understand it, during interviews she took it upon herself to announce it to the world that she was joining Fleetwood Mac! [laughs]

"That was something I was distanced from, but I guess it bothered Stevie a great deal. It was weird, and I think it led to Stevie having a bit of friction with Sheryl. Plus, Sheryl then realized that we weren't just talking about 40 dates; we were talking about three years. So, after that…it just kind of went away.

"To me, the best way to approach Fleetwood Mac is to take the four core people and work on our dynamic, and there are many positives to that. I think this is going to allow Stevie and I to explore a lot, musically and emotionally."

How do you and Stevie maintain a relationship? She's said in interviews that you're still the great love of her life. Does that make you uncomfortable?

"One of the things about Fleetwood Mac is, when we're not together, we don't talk a lot or keep in touch. We keep a healthy distance. But a good part of what we need to approach this time around is the dynamic between Stevie and me. It's intense. We've been down a long road and we've known each other since we were about 16. We need to honor that and dignify that story, and I think that we'll do that on our next recordings."

Guitars and production

On the new album's song Great Day, you have a wonderful mix of acoustics, and you play a blazing electric solo. What guitars did you use?

"I use a Rick Turner Renaissance gut-string for playing those little bluesy kind of drop-D riffs. The solo is the normal Turner stage guitar. I like that song a lot because it's almost like a potpourri of everything that follows on the album."

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