RUMOURS of a new Fleetwood Mac album, featuring the classic late-Seventies line-up, had been circulating for years.

The supergroup consisting of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and crucially Christine McVie hadn’t worked together since 1998. The fact that Christine Mc Vie was tentatively on board fired a frenzy of interest on fan social media.

Christine was the writer of many of the band’s signature songs, such as You Make Loving Fun, Oh Daddy, Little Lies, Everywhere and Songbird. Buckingham, likewise, has a strong back catalogue that includes Go Your Own Way, Family Man, The Chain and the glorious Tusk.

After such a substantial break – 17 years – Christine was understandably wary of returning to the fold. However, she and Buckingham booked time at Studio B at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles, the very same studio employed to record Tusk in 1979. The workshops went so well that Fleetwood and John McVie joined the sessions.

The fruit of the 2014 recordings, such as Carnival Begin, Too Far Gone and Red Sun, feature on this set. Sumptuously overlaid with rich dreamy harmonies this pristine trio could easily have come from the multi-platinum Tango In The Night album.

Then came the bombshell: Stevie Nicks, who had committed to the project, rescinded on her earlier promise to work on a new Fleetwood Mac studio album. Nicks has subsequently released a solo album, 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault and performed a few American concerts.

Hence, in 2016, Buckingham and McVie resurrected the project using their own names in preference to the firm's trademark. Yet the sound is so unmistakably that of Fleetwood Mac. In My World, Feel About You and Sleeping Around The Corner feature a rich tapestry of impeccable harmonies and strong melodic songs so easy to cherish.

Sadly, the album’s artwork is very ordinary, bordering on dreary. Historically, Fleetwood Mac’s album sleeves have been as iconic as their sound. This may have been a deliberate choice as the album Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie will be destined to be known as the Fleetwood Mac Album that isn’t Fleetwood Mac.