Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, 1977
1977; what a legendary and beautiful year for music. Not only did disco music become a very popularized genre during that time, but it was also the year when many sub-genres of rock (such as soft rock) began to rise. Four decades on and ‘Rumours’ is still considered to be one of the best selling and highest acclaimed albums of all time, selling over 45 million copies. I personally believe It is one of Mac’s finest works and in the following, I will tell you exactly why. I will also include the reason for its huge impact.
Let’s begin with the complicated background story: We all know by now that the album is mainly based on the troubled relationships between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham as well as John and Christine McVie. Mick Fleetwood was also struggling with his marriage. The members had no time to grief or come to terms with the separations as they were already working on their follow-up to ‘Fleetwood Mac’, the first album which included the Buckingham Nicks duo for the first time and spawned commercial success. Additionally, each member developed a serious drug problem. Everyone was battling their own demons yet somehow they ended up creating a masterpiece of an album that built an entire legacy.
The album starts with Second Hand News, which I at first found to be nothing but a mindless tune, only to realize later that none of the songs on this album are mindless. During the chorus, you can hear Lindsey imitating some guitar riffs. However, once I thought more into the lyrics I found the song rather amusingly ironic. The song simply means being not relevant in one former partner’s life, yet still ’laying him down in tall grass and letting him do his stuff’. As Stevie is used for the background vocals, you can hear her frustration. Which will become more evident in the next track; Dreams. Not only did this song end up being Fleetwood Mac’s highest charting hit song in the US, but this song was specifically directed towards Lindsey. For Stevie, this song was a way of an invitation for Lindsey to leave their relationship as she wanted to leave likewise. Lindsey later on commented on this by saying:
Whatever Stevie’s music was, somehow I was the soulmate that just knew exactly what to do with it and that never went away. It just became bittersweet in terms of wanting to do it. There were times where I had the urge not wanting to help her, and that’s a weird thing to admit but these were the challenging things. – Lindsey Buckingham
In my opinion, this is truly one of the most memorable songs on this album. Not only does the guitar compliment the song so wonderfully, but the melodic vibe you get from Stevie is unforgettable. In contrast to Lindsey’s rather bitter-sweet lyrics, Stevie tried to be condescending and delicate yet honest in this song. Additionally, it becomes evident how each song in this album is a dialogue between the songwriters. Because the members had not the time to take a break from each other, they could let their anger and frustration out towards their former partners in their songs, which Lindsey clearly did. Despite the anger he expresses for Stevie in the song Never Going Back Again, his main statement for this song is rather hopeful and positive. Lindsey sings about how Stevie left him feeling miserable and alone because of the break-up, but once he became involved with another woman, she made him finally realize his life after Stevie can be just as fulfilling and sweet. I would like to praise the simple yet beautiful and uplifting acoustic guitar playing of Lindsey as it compliments the main message of the song very well. Don’t Stop, the infamous song which would later be used for Bill Clinton’s 1993 campaign theme song, is another gem with a powerfully positive message written by Christine McVie. In this song, you can feel the magical chemistry Christine and Lindsey have when it comes to working together on music. Because of the personal problems everyone was dealing at that time, Christine felt obligated to address the issues by making a clear statement that no matter what you are going through right now, it will get better; you just have to be more optimistic.
Another retaliation to Stevie’s Dreams is Go Your Own Way, the band’s biggest radio hit single to date.This was the first Fleetwood Mac song I have ever heard, which is why this song will always have a special place in my heart. The lyrics are yet very similar to those of Dreams, but expressed in a more blunt and bitter way. Stevie was incredibly offended by this song, specifically the line “Packing up, shacking up is all you want to do” as it makes her seem like she wanted to “shack up with other guys”, which she contradicted. Even when you look at the live performances of this song, you can always observe Stevie’s annoyance she has towards this song through her facial expression. This is one of the many reasons why this song is considered to be the greatest, most melodically and rhythmic bitter-breakup rock song to date. In Addition, John’s bass playing is out of this world and blends with Mick’s drums and Lindsey’ guitar playing perfectly.
Songbird is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated songs on the album, which justifies my point that Christine is truly under appreciated when it comes to her songwriting ability. The general public always seems to give attention mostly to Stevie’s and Lindsey’s relationship, which is why Christine tends to be the shadow of the songwriters in the band. However, in my opinion, Christine is the backbone, who holds the band together. Of course, every member is equally important, but when you think of the great songs that Christine has contributed to this album, I ask myself why she never gets the full credit she deserves. The mesmerizing piano playing alone left me stunned, as it is one of the most beautiful melodies I have ever heard. It gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed, as it is a very lovely and moving song. Subsequently, It is a great transition to one of the world’s greatest rock songs called The Chain. I will NEVER stop stressing the fact that this is the signature song of Fleetwood Mac. To think that this song would have not been what it is, a timeless gem, if Stevie Nicks hadn’t added the lyrics which she had written during the Buckingham Nicks days, is astonishing. It all started with John McVie’s famous bass line which he had created out of nothing, the rest is history. To me, this is a song about the tensed and broken relationships of the members at that time, which was on the verge of collapsing. Understandably, everyone was sick of each other and strongly believed that this would have been the last Fleetwood Mac album to be ever released, yet somehow the chain kept them together for all these years. No matter how exhausted they were from each other, they managed to put their problems aside and work together as a group. Everyone contributed something to this song and unlike the other tracks on Rumours, the members could finally put all their creative differences aside and record a song in such a perfect harmony. On the contrary, when you listen to the live performances of this song, especially in the earlier years, you can practically cut the tension with a knife since it seems to me like Stevie and Lindsey are having a screaming match.
Christine McVie is probably the only member of the band who wrote somehow optimistic love songs, as the next track You Make Loving Fun proves that. To me, this song felt kind of out of place when I compared it with the other tracks on the album. Nonetheless, it is a wonderfully dreamy and well-written song. Considering the fact that she was dating someone at the time, Christine tends to look things on the brighter side and distributes hopeful and buoyant songs on this album. Nevertheless, Christine dedicates one specific song to the father figure of this band - Mick Fleetwood. On the track Oh Daddy, Christine tries to sympathize with Mick, as he was the only member who did not get involved with any drama in the band, unlike the others who were constantly battling with relationship problems and arguing with each other. Furthermore, Mick was the only member with children, which is why he developed the role of a father in the group. To this day, Oh Daddy is Mick’s all-time favorite Christine-written song. I Don’t Want To Know is the song I truly did not care about after finding out that this was the song that replaced Silver Springs. If you are a Fleetwood Mac fan, you are probably aware of the infamous song Silver Springs and the endless battle Stevie had to go through because none of the members wanted to include the song on Rumours, as it allegedly did not fit on the album. Lindsey would end up re-record the vocals on I Don’t Want To Know, an uptempo breakup song that was written by Stevie during the Buckingham Nicks days. Meanwhile, Stevie had to find out about the devastating news through Mick, who suggested her to re-record the vocals as well. Stevie wouldn’t have contributed anything to this song if it hadn’t been for the fact that she would only have two songs on the album. Consequently, Stevie would establish a solo career years later, since she could never fully express herself artistically. The album ends with what I find to be one of the many highlights of this legendary record; Gold Dust Woman. Stevie’s voice adds a beautifully haunting sound to this excellent song. My favorite part of this masterpiece is probably the outro, in which you can hear a type of wailing sound in the background. I could not find any reasons behind that sound other than Lindsey saying ‘I’d say we were under duress’. This is the only song on the album that indirectly discusses Stevie’s drug addiction, as she ‘’digs her grave’’. Stevie battled her cocaine addiction at that time, which lead to several injuries in her later years. It is evident that she could’ve easily died while living this self-destructive lifestyle. It didn’t help that Stevie constantly worked with her fellow members who were struggling with their own drug problems as well. It is shocking when you think about the excessive drug consumption the members went through, yet they still managed to survive. As we all know this could have ended up in the complete opposite direction, to the road of demise that unfortunately many artists went to in the 1970′s.
All in all, this record is the main basis behind this band’s success. This is why their music has been in our lives for over 40 years. Rumours personify all the emotions that someone goes through after a break-up. Imagine having to work with the person you shared your most intimate moments with and now even though you have broken up, you spend every single second together for the sake of making music. Some people could not imagine doing that and yet many bands, in this case, Fleetwood Mac, had to cope with this dilemma. To leave the band or to continue making music despite feeling uncomfortable at first?This album documents one of the most difficult and painful times in the members’ lives; the heartbreak, the sadness, the anger but as well as the sense of hope. Every single track on this album shares a story, a piece of mind that the songwriter felt like opening up to. This album truly has no layers, it is blunt and it is honest yet somehow it sounds like a soundtrack to a drama movie, which is why many people adore it so much. Even if you find the album not to be musically impressive (which is a shame), you should be able to appreciate not only its historical significance but also the lyrical composition. Being in your worst state you could ever be yet still being able to create a masterpiece that would be the blueprint to pop rock music is motivating for all the listeners who are currently going through emotional issues. Remember: no matter what you are going through right now, it will eventually get better.
