Number 47: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
Airing out the dirty laundry
Release: February 4th, 1977
Genre: Pop Rock
Favorite Tracks: Songbird, You Make Loving Fun, Gold Dust Woman
Where I heard it:
I've been obsessed with the anatomy of ranking lists ever since I was a kid. Long before the established tier list model, I would regularly consume all-time top 10s and best-selling articles on Wikipedia purely out of curiosity. One page I found myself regularly coming back to (as if it were going to change?) was the list of best-selling albums. It's baffling to revisit this list as an adult; you've got titans of the industry like Michael Jackson and AC/DC right alongside official movie soundtracks for Saturday Night Fever and The Bodyguard. It's worth a peek if you're interested in gaining insight toward the consumption of music during a time where physical media was king. Anyhow, my relationship with Rumours began with routine appearances on these kinds of lists, often touted as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. At my young age, I couldn't quite fathom what gave Rumours that prestige to sell over 40 million copies. My musical spectrum has broadened significantly since then, and I feel I've heard just about everything the classic rock genre has to offer me. When compared to the competition, I understand how Rumours became so universally accepted as an important piece of popular culture.
Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well, who am I to keep you down?
It's only right that you should play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost
~ Dreams
What to expect:
When discussing the activity and longevity of Fleetwood Mac, it's important to note that the band's iconic lineup which included Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie wasn't introduced until their eponymous tenth studio album. In fact, much of Fleetwood Mac's early material is in stark contrast to the music that made the band a household name. Peter Green's original Fleetwood Mac merged blues and psychedelic rock a la Zeppelin for an engrossing experience that sounds unrecognizable from the band's later material. After enduring several personnel changes, founding members John McVie and Mick Fleetwood struggled to find a sound that defined the Fleetwood Mac brand. Their blessing would come in the form of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who joined the band under the condition that his musical and romantic partner Stevie Nicks also be admitted. Nicks was a soulful addition that perfectly complimented the haunting melodies of Christine McVie's vocals. It wasn't much long after Nicks' and Buckingham's recruitment when their romantic relationship became turbulent, raising tensions among the band's members. Ever resilient, Fleetwood Mac remained intact and channeled the resentment and heartbreak of a nasty breakup into one of the greatest albums of all time. Rumours is notorious for its scandalous songwriting that romanticizes and condemns the game of love. Nothing says revenge quite like forcing your former partner to perform a song you wrote about the grievances you have about them post-relationship. The dramatic breakup between Buckingham and Nicks is well documented and cleverly disguised with happy-go-lucky pop tunes like Go Your Own Way and Dreams, each offering a different perspective from both sides of the separation. While this scandalous situation takes center stage on Rumours, Christine McVie maintains an outlook of positivity through her lyrics in songs like Don't Stop and You Make Loving Fun that seemingly challenge the pessimism of Buckingham and Nicks' aforementioned feud. This eclectic mix of material on Rumours integrates surprisingly well, wisely rotating each vocalist on lead between tracks to maintain a freshness throughout the album. Between vocal features, the trio of Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie effortlessly produce angelic harmonization that extracts every ounce of emotion from a phrase. Fleetwood Mac's collective talent filters out any potential filler, ensuring that the quality of every song on Rumours is worthy as a single release. It might be a stretch to call Rumours an immaculate album, but it's pretty damn close.
You make me happy with the things you do
Oh, can it be so?
This feeling follows me wherever I go
I never did believe in miracles
But I've a feeling it's time to try
I never did believe in the ways of magic
But I'm beginning to wonder why
~ You Make Loving Fun
Why it's my favorite:
Perhaps a large reason I initially questioned Fleetwood Mac's legitimacy among music royalty was their constant radio exposure. Not only do radio stations oversaturate their playlists, but the audio compression leads to a much flatter quality than a home speaker system. I didn't see what all the fuss was about until the first time I heard Rumours on vinyl. It was suddenly clear to me how much attention to detail was exhaustingly implanted within every note. Fleetwood Mac doesn't mess around when it comes to their harmonies. Tracks like I Don't Want to Know and The Chain flawlessly execute radiant and resonant tones that define this era of Fleetwood Mac. Personally, I could listen to the three-part harmony at the end of You Make Loving Fun for hours; it just hits the ear right. Luckily, my interest in Fleetwood Mac coincided perfectly with a tour date near me in early 2019. It was incredible to witness the Rumours lineup (sadly without Buckingham, who was nursing an injury) give it everything they got over fifty years after the album's release. While I didn't view that concert as monumental at the time, it's been gaining pertinence to me after the passing of Christine McVie late last year. It was a painful reminder that the musicians we love won't be around forever, but their memory lasts forever in their music. Rumours' storied legacy guarantees Fleetwood Mac will be known for generations to come.
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