In The Meantime

Christine McVie

Koch Records, 2004

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_McVie

REVIEW BY: Mark Millan

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/02/2010

Fleetwood Mac has never been the same since Christine McVie departed the band following their reunion tour in 1998. While they remain a good band capable of producing solid new material (Say You Will from 2003), in losing McVie, they lost their anchor. Her pop sensibilities and soulful voice were the very ingredients needed to balance the angst-ridden songs of Lindsey Buckingham and the glorious but out-there material from Stevie Nicks. 

Another feature that made the band so great was the trio’s three-part harmonies, which helped to create some of the most memorable songs of all time. Once again, it was McVie’s pure, warm tones that were the glue holding the unique voices of Nicks and Buckingham together so well. 

Since she left the band, McVie has enjoyed her retirement, and after returning to her homeland, she now resides in the lush English countryside. This change of atmosphere was the inspiration for this very record, McVie’s third solo album, mainly written and produced with her nephew Dan Perfect. In The Meantime is a warm and engrossing collection of bluesy pop songs that find McVie still in fine voice with those pop sensibilities still firmly intact, albeit with an axe to grind.

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McVie gathered together some fantastic musicians to help bring these songs to life, including Steve Ferrone (The Heartbreakers) on drums and Mick Fleetwood’s pal and Mac touring member Lenny Castro on percussion, who also travels with Nicks on her solo jaunts around the globe. McVie and Perfect handle all the keys, synths, and guitars, and the pair also harmonize superbly on several tracks. 

The record kicks off with the funky “Friend,” which sports a great fat bass line that would make ex-hubby John proud. “You Are” is the kind of sweet song that would have made Say You Will a so much better; you can just hear this so clearly as a Mac track complete with those harmonies of old. But I digress, for it was never meant to be. “Northern Star” is one of two songs written by Perfect and along with “Calumny,” he created a couple of gems tailor-made for McVie.

One of the disc’s strongest songs is the funk-fueled “Bad Journey,” which finds McVie lamenting a broken love affair with a man she no longer trusts: “Cracks appearing on your loving face / I saw them then and I can see them now.” She gives us more of where that came from with the slow-burning rocker “Liar,” as McVie reminds this guy how bad he messed up (“You think you’ve got the winner, darlin’ / But I’m the one who truly stars”). Who was this guy and what did he do?

The Christine of old is also present on this disc, with sweet pop tunes “Anything Is Possible” and “So Sincere,” which are obviously directed to a much finer man this time. Another funk/R&B number hits the mark with “Easy Come, Easy Go,” the only song here penned by Christine and ex-hubby #2 Eddy Quintela. 

A couple more McVie/Perfect songs bring the album full circle in “Sweet Revenge” and “Forgiveness,” finding McVie moving on from what was clearly a disastrous relationship. The album closes with “Givin’ It Back,” a pop ballad that McVie wrote with onetime Mac bandmate Billy Burnette and former Fleetwood cohort George Hawkins. It’s easily the lightest moment on the record and a nice way to finish things off.

In The Meantime is a fantastic groove-laden album that also happens to harbor McVie’s most personal lyrics since the Mac masterpiece Rumours. It also helps to remind us that this woman is easily one of the great singer-songwriters of her times. Anyone who likes their pop music a little funky or is a fan of Fleetwood Mac will find plenty here to satisfy their needs.

Rating: A-

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