Say You Will is the seventeenth and final studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 April 2003. It followed 1995's Time and was their first album since 1970 without vocalist/keyboardist Christine McVie as a full member following her departure in 1998, although she participated in some songs as a guest musician; it would be her last time being involved with the band in a studio capacity before her death in 2022. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks shared keyboard duties throughout the album.

This was the band's last full album with Buckingham before his dismissal from the group in 2018, although he participated in their 2013 extended play and the 2017 Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie album which included Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.

Say You Will was the first studio Fleetwood Mac album to peak in the top three in the US since 1982's Mirage. The album debuted at No. 3 with sales of 218,000, spent two months within the top 40, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in July 2003 for 500,000 copies shipped in the US. In the UK, the album peaked at No. 6 and was certified Gold by the BPI in May 2003 for 100,000 copies shipped.

A limited-edition version of the album was issued at the same time, featuring two live tracks ("Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will"), two additional studio tracks (Nicks' "Not Make Believe" and Buckingham's cover of Bob Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit"), an expanded booklet and poster.

Background

Soon after the release of Time in 1995, Fleetwood Mac decided to disband. Around that time, Lindsey Buckingham was working on a solo album and had invited Mick Fleetwood to play drums on some tracks. As the sessions progressed, John McVie and Christine McVie later became involved with the project. In 1996, Buckingham collaborated with Stevie Nicks on the song "Twisted", which featured drumming from Fleetwood. By 1997, the Rumours lineup agreed to perform again for an MTV Unplugged special. Following the successful reunion album, The Dance, which included a live performance of "Bleed to Love Her", Christine McVie left the group, citing her fear of flying as the primary reason.

In the early 2000s, Buckingham was finishing up a solo album but was encouraged by the band to set the material aside for a Fleetwood Mac record. With the exception of "What's the World Coming To?" and "Peacekeeper", all of Buckingham's Say You Will songs were considered for his aborted solo record. Some of Buckingham's songs on Say You Will were initially developed in the mid-1990s with Fleetwood and Rob Cavallo in Hollywood. Buckingham stated that the music he created during these solo sessions "tapped into some new areas" and were "the best that I've ever done on my own, or with Fleetwood Mac". Some of this material, which according to Buckingham was otherwise finished prior to the Say You Will sessions, later received some bass overdubs from John McVie and vocals from Nicks.

With their surplus of material, the band considered making Say You Will a double album, "Not Make Believe", "Gift of Screws, "Down on Rodeo", "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind", and a Rolling Stones cover of "I Am Waiting" were all considered for the track list. "Not Make Believe" was included on the limited edition of Say You Will, "I Am Waiting", "Down on Rodeo", and "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind" were selected for Buckingham's Under the Skin album in 2006, and "Gift of Screws" appeared on Buckingham's 2008 album of the same name. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Buckingham said that he wrote the song about Nicks "when most our experience together was behind us." He created both "Say Goodbye" and "Red Rover" around the premise of a guitar underpinning the entire composition, which he likened to his approach to live renditions of "Big Love".

"Come" was a song that Buckingham co-wrote with Neale Heywood, who performed with Fleetwood Mac as a touring guitarist beginning in 1997. In an interview with Classic Rock, Mick Fleetwood identified "Come" as one of his favourite songs on the album along with "Illume". Buckingham wrote "Murrow Turning Over in His Grave" during the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. He centered the song's subject matter around the concentration of media ownership and his belief that Edward R. Murrow would be dismayed about the state of mass media. Buckingham based this assumption on a speech from Murrow where he warned about the dangers of television being used to "delude" and "distract" people.

To round out Say You Will, Nicks brought in new material, along with leftovers from previous albums. "Smile at You" was also rehearsed for the Rumours album in 1977, the Tusk album in 1979, and the Mirage album in 1982. "Running Through the Garden" dated back to 1985 and was based on the short story of "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, although Nicks mistakenly thought that the story originated from an episode from The Twilight Zone during the song's composition. Once the song was finished, Nicks considered the title "Rappaccini's Daughter", but decided against it due to anticipated difficulties with securing publishing rights.

Of the 17 tracks that Nicks submitted, between two and three of them were outtakes from Trouble in Shangri-La.

By the time Nicks returned from her Trouble in Shangri-La tour, the band had made considerable progress on her material. Nicks was pleased with what she heard, but felt obligated to write four additional compositions in December 2001 at her home in Phoenix. Two of those songs – "Silver Girl" and the title track – feature Sheryl Crow. Nicks wrote two additional songs about 9/11, namely "Get Back on the Plane," and "The Towers Touched the Sky", but neither were included on the album. Her fourth new contribution was titled "Destiny Rules", which was later used as the name for the VH1 video that documented the creation of the album. Nigel Williamson clarified in Music & Media that the 15 April release date would be for the United States whereas the album would instead be available in Europe two weeks later.

Prior to the release of Say You Will, the band launched a media campaign with NBC to promote the album. A snippet of "Peacekeeper" appeared on the NBC show Third Watch in February. Appearances on the network were also arranged throughout the month of April, including a performance on the Today show and a band profile/interview on Dateline NBC. Say You Will was the first album in the United Kingdom to be simultaneously released on DVD-Audio and CD according to Music Week.

Say You Will was prefaced by the release of "Peacekeeper" as the album's lead single in the United States. It was serviced to AC, Hot AC and Triple A radio stations in March. A documentary titled Destiny Rules was released in March 2004, which featured footage that was filmed during the band's recording sessions at The Bellagio House.

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| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = (Mixed)

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| rev5 = People

| rev5score = (Positive)

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In his book Dark Mirror, Donald Brackett called Say You Will "the best Fleetwood Mac record in years, even with Nicks's shattered voice and monotone nasal renderings." Music Week praised several songs as "really good" and concluded by calling the album "a fine document of a band

who have lost little of their edge." Buckingham believed that the album lacked some cohesion but was still satisfied with the overall album, particularly his own tracks.