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 musicianshipñ-the one constant between the original, late '60s English blues band and its platinum '70s lineup featuring guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicksñ-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."