Fleetwood Mac

Because Fleetwood Mac never really broke up, it isn't entirely correct to call the band's current album and tour a comeback. But with the return of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks -- and a set list that leaned heavily on favorite tunes from the albums "Fleetwood Mac" and "Rumours" -- it was hard not to think of "The Dance" as a reunion album.But unlike most rock reunions, which tend to feel awkward and forced, the second coming of the Buckingham/Nicks Mac sounded even stronger than the first.

Fleetwood MacThe Dance (Reprise 46702)Listening to a favorite band's reunion project is often like running into an old flame -- as much as you may wish for things to be as wonderful as they were, too much time has passed for there to be any magic left. Fortunately, that's not the case with Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance." Culled from a concert shot for MTV, this 17-song collection not only reassembles the band's best-loved line-up -- Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood -- but finds them sounding better than ever.

As far as Lindsey Buckingham is concerned, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" is overrated."I mean, it was a great album," he says, trying to fend off his listener's incredulity. "But it seemed to me that [the public reaction to the album] was more about, well, other things. And I was always uneasy with the sense that, with the 'Rumours' album, people were looking for something -- anything -- meaningful, that had just a little bit of truth to it. Just something to latch on to."It was unnerving to see something that became a real phenomenon, when the music itself didn't necessarily warrant it, I didn't think.

What is it about rock group reunions that so tantalizes fans and so traumatizes stars?When it was announced earlier this month that the members of Fleetwood Mac would reunite to perform for the Clinton inauguration, the official story was that the group's gesture was in response to Clinton's use of "Don't Stop" as a campaign anthem.But for many fans, the prospect of seeing this group together again -- Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, the same five musicians whose 1977 release, "Rumours," spent 31 weeks at the top of the album charts -- is the ultimate in pop music wish-fulfillment, a perfect chance to recapture the past.

Pieces of column too short to use:Bumper sticker of the month . . . "Happiness is yelling BINGO!!"Ecumenical panhandler? . . . We've received reports that a man named Sam -- in his late 40s, with thick glasses, hair in corn rows, dressed in two plaid summer jackets, jeans, boots and TC canvas work gloves -- shouted for money during recent church services in Bolton Hill and Hamden. At Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Sam, who was believed to be homeless, interrupted the homily and pleaded that all who called themselves Christian give cash.

Even shy types with a heart of gold and a tin ear now can serenade their lovers for Valentine's Day.Thanks to the enterprising folks at Send-a-Song in Washington, you can reach out and touch someone with a selection from nearly 200 pop songs.Of course, at $9.95 per 80-second snippet, the service costs more than a song and a dance. On the other hand, it's less than the cost of a voice lesson.So whether "Memories" are lighting the corner of your mind, or you're in the mood for a little "Sexual Healing," you can call (800)

Giving the gift of music is easy -- provided you know what to give. And most of the time, knowing is as easy as keeping track of which artists those on your list most like hearing.But not always. A new album would be just the thing for that receptionist who adores Mariah Carey -- except that he already owns both of her albums, plus the "MTV Unplugged EP." Or say you want to buy something for your lawyer the music fan, but all you know about her taste is that she has every album Frank Sinatra ever made.

Because life on the road can leave a musician with an acute sense of rootlessness, many rock stars insist on certain extras to make their hotel rooms seem a little more like home. For some, it's a matter of freshly cut flowers and organic food; for others, it's video games or a VCR.What Stevie Nicks most wants to see when she walks into her room, however, is a typewriter.It's not quite the accouterment her musical career would suggest. After all, it was Nicks who, during her 15 years in Fleetwood Mac, conjured up the Welsh witch in "Rhiannon" and invoked the lightning flash of "Gypsy," Nicks whose solo recordings have spoken of "Leather and Lace" and the white winged dove at "The Edge of Seventeen."

If there is one thing that Stevie Nicks has learned during her travels as a solo artist and as a member of Fleetwood Mac, it's that the power of the band makes all the difference.Especially, in her case, when she is on stage without as much as a tambourine to lend a hand.So for her latest solo tour, which landed at Merriweather Post Pavilion last night, Nicks outdid herself, employing a crack seven-piece band of hired guns that made even her most lackluster songs come vibrantly to life.Delivering a greatest hits package of 14 songs -- including three dusty Fleetwood Mac killers -- all Nicks needed to bring for success was her wispy, raspy howl and a couple of shawls.

The scariest part of being a fledgling pop musician is the fea of tomorrow.Where is next gig? Will I make enough money to buy food and pay the rent? Will I ever get a record contract?All of these questions and many more have been asked by asuperb pop band from Vermont called The Boyz.The trio has been together for nearly eight years and, as truth would have it, are no longer boys but young men."Sometimes it's hard to be optimistic but we don't let it get to us," guitarist Mark Bowie said of the band's struggle to get a major recording deal.

Few rock 'n' roll bands openly displayed their internal fissures like Fleetwood Mac - or rode them to greater success. But the hurt feelings and emotional turmoil that were poured onto vinyl for 1977's mega-platinum Rumours, still one of the best-selling records of all-time, are decades behind them now. When the band shows up at 1st Mariner Arena tomorrow night, for one of the last stops in the "Greatest Hits Unleashed" North American tour, don't expect...

Colbie Caillat is the queen of MySpace. There was no official coronation. But with more than 12 million views, 267,000 friends and a No. 5 song on Billboard's pop chart, Caillat (rhymes with "ballet") has to be the networking Web site's biggest success story for a newcomer. A year ago, the 22-year-old acoustic-pop-soul singer was working the front desk at a tanning salon and living with her parents in Malibu, Calif. Now, she has a hit album and a headlining tour. It's all because her tune "Bubbly" popped from MySpace to No. 1 on iTunes to adult-pop radio to top-40 radio.

The so-called big break got them nowhere. Kimberly Roads, Karen Fairchild, Jimi Westbrook and Phil Sweet - collectively known as the country-pop quartet Little Big Town - landed a record deal with Sony Music in 2000. The mighty label poured about $1 million into the recording and promotion of the band's self-titled debut, which finally hit stores in 2002. But the album, insincere and polished within an inch of its life, bombed. The foursome and Sony were unhappy, and the company soon dropped the band.

Amy Ralston leaned over the pool table, eyeing the cue and eight balls intently. She set her cue stick on her left hand, lined up her shot, then removed the stick and walked to the far side of the table. Lips pursed, she studied the table again. Then she moved to the head of the table, sliding a coaster along the table's rails as she tried to choose a pocket for the eight ball. Ralston, 37, is a skill level three player; her opponent, 57-year-old Chadha Uttamjeet, is a level seven. But by league rules, she needed to win only two games yesterday before her opponent won six to take the set. And if she sank this shot, she would send her team - Giddy-Up - to Las Vegas.

Avril Lavigne / Patriot Center She was shut out of the Grammys this year, but Avril Lavigne didn't seem too fazed. The bratty punkish pop tart has sold 4 million copies of her debut, Let Go, and she has amassed a devoted following of teen-age girls who also find boys and life in general to be "so complicated." Lavigne plays the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on Monday night. Show starts at 8, and tickets are $35. Call 410-481-SEAT, or visit www.ticket master.com for tickets. Pete Yorn / 9:30 Club Pete Yorn, a handsome alternative pop star, landed a major record deal on the spot when he sang an impromptu version of his song "Life on a Chain."

The playing field began to tilt two years ago. The operators at MTV's popular countdown show TRL were being inundated with requests for Michelle Branch. Problem was, they didn't have any videos from the young Arizona singer. Her debut CD, The Spirit Room, wasn't in stores yet. So MTV called Branch's record label, Maverick, wondering where in the world kids were seeing her clip. The answer was AOL Music. Along with Yahoo's similarly themed Web site, Launch, AOL Music has become a significant player in the music industry.

Fleetwood Mac's array of instruments, mike stands and amplifiers stretches across the vast Los Angeles soundstage like a miniature city, a gleaming monument to a distant era when rock was grand and this band turned its personal soap opera into arena-filling anthems. Lindsey Buckingham, the key architect of that sound, walks past the silent stage, where in a few hours the band will rehearse for its summer tour. "I'm jazzed," he says by way of introduction - not about playing with Fleetwood Mac for the first time since 1997, not about its first album of new songs in 16 years but about being interviewed about it. The musician's inordinate enthusiasm for this duty is a product of the release of that album, Say You Will.

Despite the portentous title of Stevie Nicks' first solo CD in seven years, the Fleetwood Mac singer assures fans her "crystal visions" are clear again. "Trouble in Shangri-La," her collection of relationship-based songs, hits stores this month and the tracks come "pretty much from my life," Nicks says. But the CD's release comes at a time that finds Nicks healthy and seemingly in vogue again. Such wasn't the case when her last album, 1994's problematic "Street Angel," nearly capsized her career.

Sunday's radio auction for Center Stage raised $186,867, the second-highest total in the auction's 23-year history, according to coordinator Sydney Wilner, who called the event "a wonderful success." The top items were travel related. A 10-day Caribbean cruise, donated by Holland America Line Westours and Crestar Bank, fetched $4,100. The inaugural seven-day cruise of the Crown Dynasty from Baltimore to Bermuda fetched $2,300, and a pair of round-trip United Airlines business-class tickets, good for travel anywhere in the world, fetched $3,640.

Because Fleetwood Mac never really broke up, it isn't entirely correct to call the band's current album and tour a comeback. But with the return of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks -- and a set list that leaned heavily on favorite tunes from the albums "Fleetwood Mac" and "Rumours" -- it was hard not to think of "The Dance" as a reunion album.But unlike most rock reunions, which tend to feel awkward and forced, the second coming of the Buckingham/Nicks Mac sounded even stronger than the first.