17 Reasons This 'Rhiannon' Clip Is the Coolest Thing in the Universe
1 This is Fleetwood Mac performing in Philadelphia at the Spectrum on the 21 March 1977, around the 5th concert date. I'll be honest, I don't know how I can pull out 17 good things about it as in this video you almost can't see/hear ****, but it's a rare footage from the start of the Rumours tour and I think it would still be great to see the entirety of the show.
2 Stevie is still at the best of her voice and you can hear her still singing all the high notes and the high part of her harmonies, while later on the tour she switches part with Christine.
3 Fleetwood Mac perform in the dark, I think it would have been awesome to see them at the time with this special atmosphere.
4 We have the first decent close-up at 1:49. Stevie has her signature rumours shaggy hair, apart from here we can see it on video only on the footage from the Paris rehearsals used for the Don't stop and Dreams official video. I'd like to know if more video footage of those rehearsals exists.
5 The scream at 2:52 (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J7__XJU44I#t=172), just like on the White album tour.
6 After that, finally turns on the light, and we can see the rest of the band. At the beginning of the Rumours tour they wore clothes based on a sort of vintage concept, and we can see Lindsey with a Victorian blouse and John wearing a white shirt and a waistcoat. Later on the tour only Stevie and Mick would remain loyal to their stage clothes.
7 At 3:16 we have the first good close-up of Lindsey during his guitar solo in his resplendent shirt.
8 Around 4:25 Stevie reappears from the dark with her arms raised up with her silk wings/sleeves hanging from her hands on her face.
9 After a while it becomes a tiny bit clearer and we can see Stevie's arms covered in her Silver and white stones moving her hair from her face in preparation for the end.
10 We also get to see Christine dressed in white while Stevie passes her for a brief moment during her Rhiannon dance, the only moment of during this part of the song in wich both the ladies are visible.
11 At 5:21 Stevie moves her fingers in an enticing gesture while singing "take me like the wind, baby, take me with the sky"
12 After, Stevie grabs her microphone and the "exorcism" part begins: she screams the same line while looking at the audience all over the place making entice gestures with her arms, one at a time.
13 At 5:48 all the lights are on and Stevie now shouts, glaring in every direction, flapping her silks while moving backwards like preparing for an assault.
14 Now Stevie loses control and wrenches her microphone with her sleeves in every direction and completely throws back her head and hair before finishing the song.
15 After a last pull a the microphone, Stevie closes with a powerful cry: "take me to the sky, dreamer"
16 The song ends with Stevie letting herself fall on her knees with her silk sleeves hanging up her head.
17 The last thing we see is Stevie's nice big thanking smile.