Fleetwood Mac: Mirage (Warner Bros. 23607-1)

AFTER THE bold experimentation of Tusk, the seamless pop flow of the new Fleetwood Mac album sounds initially like a studied attempt to recycle the formula that kept Rumours at the top of the charts for an entire year. But listen again: If anything, the music here suggests a valid synthesis of Mac's trimmer pop/rock songwriting with the innovative arrangements that gave Tusk its quirky, controversial identity. Yet where Lindsey Buckingham's work on Tusk boldly diverged from the band's earlier hits, here he integrates his ambitions into the styles of the band's other writers, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks.