New Fleetwood Mac music 'profound,' first album in 30 years

Christine McVie, left, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, from the band Fleetwood Mac, appear on NBC's "Today" show, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014, in New York. (Invision / Charles Sykes)

TORONTO -- Mick Fleetwood says he hopes Stevie Nicks will ultimately find time to contribute to the new music Fleetwood Mac is recording -- which could ultimately form the band's first album in nearly 30 years with its entire principal lineup intact.

The newly reformed rock titans -- who welcomed keyboardist Christine McVie back into the fold for a tour that hits Toronto on Saturday and other Canadian cities in the coming months -- went into the studio "many months ago now" to work on new material, Fleetwood said.

Lindsey Buckingham has called the new material "profound," an adjective that Fleetwood agreed with enthusiastically.

"It is profound. It's great," said the 67-year-old drummer Thursday in an interview in Toronto. "The four of us went in ... and had a lot of fun -- for Chris, just reconnecting, playing music, with no particular thought in mind.

"I hope it becomes part of something that will make sense. But (bassist) John (McVie), Lindsey and me and Chris, we were all participating. So it's exciting."

The band's last album of new material was 2003's "Say You Will," but the last to feature the band's most successful five-piece lineup was 1987's "Tango in the Night."

Asked whether Nicks would eventually be involved in the recording, Fleetwood replied: "We hope so."

"Right now we've got this tour to do and it's very time-consuming so we'll see," he added. "It will come out one way or another."

The time-consuming nature of the tour didn't stop Fleetwood from stopping by an exhibit of his photography in Toronto on Thursday, with a more formal gathering expected to take place Friday.

The tall, lanky Englishman has dabbled in photography since the late 1960s, but took a more dedicated interest in recent years. The 26 photographs on display at the Liss Gallery are primarily concerned with nature -- a fascination for Fleetwood after he moved with his elderly mother to Maui.

There he was inspired by bountiful yellow bushes, majestic trees and the sprawl of lonely country roads. Some photos hold more meaning to Fleetwood than might be immediately obvious; two images of swans, for instance, conjure memories of the children's stories his father used to write.

"Swans, like dolphins, when they become partners they never part. They stay, unlike my marriages, in one piece," quipped Fleetwood, thrice divorced.

The austere photos are decidedly not, he notes, typical rock-star material.

"There are no, like, thigh shots of women and stuff," he pointed out. "(Those) seem to be expected from an old rock and roller like myself. It's a calm feeling that seems to be welcomed."

The works are for sale, most retailing for $2,800 or $7,250. He already found a buyer during Thursday's muted media presentation, with Toronto resident Genevieve Peters scooping up one of the pieces as a gift for her fiance.

"This is a historic moment," beamed Fleetwood as he signed the back.

For Fleetwood, photography has been a creative outlet quite separate from the band -- for which he does not write songs.

Still, he's clearly deriving a deep satisfaction from the band's long-awaited reunion.

"It's a great time for all of us in Fleetwood Mac," he said. "Certainly me, (who) tended to be the gatekeeper -- or my insecurity forced me to keep the band going, who knows really what it might have been.

"We owe it, I think, to get some things right. It's more of a spirited, emotional thing. It's a great time for all of us."