Washington Post Review of Rumours: Safe

[michelej1]

Washington Post, February 9, 1977

The anglicized spelling of the title of its latest album, "Rumours" (Warner Bros. BSK 3010), is about the only hint we have that Fleetwood Mac's origins are English. Ten years ago, this was a British blues band, and a rather good one. Now, like the pilgrims, Fleetwood Mac has come to the new land, settled comfortably into the new surroundings, even adopted a couple of natives. Their music, as one might expect, has metamophosed too. It has become as much an embodiment of California as the Santa Monica Freeway.

The changes have altered more than the group's sound. Their popularity in the last year and a half has also soared, thanks to their last album (or their "first" if you are inclined to think of this version of Fleetwood Mac as a totally different band from its predecessors), called "Fleetwood Mac," whose success was phenomenal. Released in mid-1975, the record didn't begin to catch on until the end of that year; once it did, sales - which have now reached 4 million copies - kept it in the top 10 for more than a year.

"Fleetwood Mac" was an example of pop packaging at its best. The songs were brief, well-conceived and uniformly infectious; the production was solid, and the performances, especially the singing of Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks, were superb. Gone was the flashy, driving, highly electrified sound of the band's early days, and long gone too were guitarists Peter Greeen and Danny Kirwan, who were responsible - at different times - for most of that sound.

In their place was a leaner, less-demanding sound, highlighted by the vocals of McVie and Nicks, the two women in the band, and the steady rhythms put down by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the only original members of the group. Woven through it was Lindsey Buckingham's guitar work, always tastful and economical.

"Rumous" offers us essentially more of the same. Song for song, it isn't as strong as "Fleetwood Mac," but it isn't likely to disappoint anyone who "discovered" the group through that album, earlier.

There are a few changes, but they re subtle ones: Buckingham and Nicks, the two Americans in the band, are asserting themselves more, instrumentally and vocally; there is greater use of vocal harmony by Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie, and, in several carefully selected spots, some emotive 12-string guitar playing by Buckingham. The effect is distinctly Californian, very much middle-of-the-road and mid-'60s. Echoes of The Mamas and Papas, the Jefferson Airplane, even the Byrds, can be hear throughout.

The album has a formidable selection of possible hit singles. "Go Your Own Way," the Buckingham composition that was released first (and is the best choice for a single on the record) is already getting as much radio airplay as it can bear, and there are at least three others, Christine McVie's "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop," and Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" - her followup to "Rhiannon" on "Fleewood Mac" - that can pick up when "Go Your Own Way" starts to falter.

There is room for criticism here on the grounds that "Rumous" is a "safe" record; the band has found a musical formula, and has opted for staying with it rather than testing itself by stretching out in new directions. Normally I would go along with this, but "Fleetwood Mac" offered a change from the incessant blare of heavy metal and the banal hum of most soft rock that was so refreshing its effects still linger. "Rumours" just gives them a boost.

[michelej1]

Rather funny that they didn't mention Dreams as a possible single.

Michele

[Peestie]

Maybe Lindsey saw this review and that's when he decided Tusk would be a bit more left field.

I've always wondered about all the talk of Tusk being a way to make sure they weren't painted into a corner by following a formula but if it wasn't for the success Rumours enjoyed then it would be little more than (as the reviewer states) the safe follow up to the very successful White Album. I bet at the time of the White Album selling four million copies they were probably thinking "Wow, there's no way we're ever going to top that number of albums sold!" so why not go for the unformulaic approach for their second record together? Maybe that wasn't where their heads were at the time but I guess it doesn't matter because Rumours is well worth having and without that we wouldn't have got the glory of Tusk as it is.

[michelej1]

Newsweek, February 14, 1977

BYLINE: J. M. (JANET MASLIN)

BODY:

Fleetwood Mac's previous effort hit the charts 81 weeks ago, and it's still there. With a runaway hit at hand, it's no wonder that the group is playing it safe: this new release is perhaps catchier than its predecessor but still very much in the same vein. The group continues to combine English folk harmonies with rock instrumentation and to thrive on vocal contrast, especially between the female leads, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks. This time, though, McVie's doleful protestations of love are less a match than ever for Nicks's playful sensuality. The group's reluctance or inability to settle on a composite style gives the album the fragmented feeling of a greatest-hits collection, and the consolidated energy, too.

[David]

The most interesting review of RUMOURS I ever read was the one in Esquire magazine. I believe it was by Albert Goldman. Do you have that one?

It was a very perceptive discussion of the album musically, drawing comparisons between the mix of Appalachian-style instrumentation & Carter Family-influenced Buckingham & Nicks harmony vocals & the "long-forgotten strains of ancient mountain music" the reviewer recalled from his childhood.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

It was a very perceptive discussion of the album musically, drawing comparisons between the mix of Appalachian-style instrumentation & Carter Family-influenced Buckingham & Nicks harmony vocals & the "long-forgotten strains of ancient mountain music" the reviewer recalled from his childhood.

I haven't seen that review. Actually, just from what you've described of it, I don't hear that half as much in Rumours as I might in the White album and Mirage.

Last Sunday, I fell asleep on a documentary I'd tivo'd about Appalachian life. It was hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus. It's two hours long and I fell asleep during the first 1/4, which focused on the moonshine industry. I don't know if there will be a segment on music, but if so, I'll listen for Fleetwood Mac.

Michele

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by michelej1

"Rumous" offers us essentially more of the same. Song for song, it isn't as strong as "Fleetwood Mac," but it isn't likely to disappoint anyone who "discovered" the group through that album, earlier.

I have always loved the White album more than Rumours, but this reviewer's claim is a tad strange, considering that side by side 99.999999999% of reviewers and fans think the reverse is true.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Newsweek, February 14, 1977

BYLINE: J. M. (JANET MASLIN)

The group's reluctance or inability to settle on a composite style gives the album the fragmented feeling of a greatest-hits collection, and the consolidated energy, too.

Is it me or is that a poorly written sentence?

[Madelow]

Hello aleuzzi--- I agree with you. Put a period after collection. Then start a new sentence. The old English major, Madelow.

[David]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

I have always loved the White album more than Rumours, but this reviewer's claim is a tad strange, considering that side by side 99.999999999% of reviewers and fans think the reverse is true.

RUMOURS is definitely the better album in terms of orchestration, audio quality, &c., although the songwriting itself on the earlier album is equally good.

I can remember one other major critic who opined that RUMOURS was inferior to FLEETWOOD MAC -- Steve Simels. Simels said that only GO YOUR OWN WAY stood out on the former.

[michelej1]

Here's a concert review, from July 14, 1977, The Washington Post

HEADLINE: Fleetwood Mac: Lively

BYLINE: By Mark Kernis

BODY:


Household names generally have a hard time keeping their live show from sounding like the local juke box but Fleetwood Mac proved they can deliver in person as well as on record before a jammed Capital Centre Tuesday night.

Kenny Loggins opened the show, fronting a less disciplined but more exuberant band than the old Loggins and Messina troupe. Completely over a hand injury that wiped out his guitar playing on the last Loggins and Messina tour, he began with lively versions of tunes from the recently released "Celebrate Me Home."

But it was the old material, including "Danny's Song" "House At Pooh Corner," and blazing versions of "Angry Eyes" and "Vahevalla," that brought the people out of their seats.

Fleetwood Mac took all but two of it's 20 songs from it's two stellar-selling albums, "Rumours" and "Fleetwood Mac," but superb instrumentation kept the pieces from going stale.

Lindsay Buckingham, one of rock's least indulgent and most tasteful guitarists, blasted off solo after searing solo which almost single-handedly saved the scraggly harmonies on "Go Your Own Way" and made "I'm So Afraid" one of the highlights of the evening.

Throughout, bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood kept up a persistent rhythm section from which Buckingham could soar without losing track of the song's structure.

There were lapses. Only "Landslide" and "Song Bird," the final encore, offered a change of pace from consistent boogie. Stevie Nicks, suffering from a throat ailment which has caused cancellation of some shows during this tour, bent the melody line of "Rhiannon" into a middle range and then took her witch incarnation a bit far, walking zombie like through most of the song but displaying surprising vocal power in the refrain.

[michelej1]

Washington Post, August 8, 1978

HEADLINE: Fleetwood Mac

BYLINE: Geoffrey Himes

BODY:

Reprinted from yesterday's late editions

More than anyone since the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac has managed to satisfy both mass audiences and critics. While the group was setting new records for the most albums ever sold, "Rumours" was being widely hailed for blending female and male perspective as well as rich southern California harmonies and driving British blues.

If anyone has managed to resist their charm, it has been hard-core rocks fans who claim the band lacks the defiance and gritty originality of great rock n' roll.

Any such doubters should have been at the Capital Centre Sunday when the quintet played "The Chain." Guitairst Lindsey Buckingham and drimmer Mick Fleetwood combined on a chillingly ominous introduction. The voices of Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie entered that atmosphere with a three-part harmony waring about the bindings of love. The vocals separated gradually and began echoing with helpless repetition: "If you don't love me now, you'll never love me again."

This was cut off by an instrumental bridge by Buckingham , Fleetwood and bassit John McVie that underlined the desperation of the lyric. The rhythm section pushed hard and Buckingham responded with painfully eloquent high-pitched rock n' roll guitar.

The instrumental crescendo climaxed in renewed vocals: "Chains keep us together" punctuated by Buckingham's short guitar phrases and his screams. The song was only the second of the evening. But it confirmed that Fleetwood Mac stands apart from the other superstars of the '70s, such as ABBA, Peter Framptonand the Eagles.

[michelej1]

Globe and Mail (Canada), July 29, 1978

BYLINE: Alan Niester; GAM

DATELINE: Buffalo NY

A CROWD in excess of 55,000 people jammed Buffalo's Rich Stadium late
yesterday afternoon and evening for the so-called Rock World IV
Celebration Jam which starred major pop acts, Pablo Cruise, Bob Welch,
Foreigner and, the headliners, Fleetwood Mac.

Although there were no major uprisings such as when a group of rowdies
stormed the stage after a Rolling Stones concert here on July 4, security
forces expressed surprise at the number of isolated incidents of drug
overdose and drunkenness. As one security person noted we expected an
older crowd, but we got the whole bag. There's a lot of kids here for an
all-day party.

As they did at the recent Beach Boys concert at Exhibition Stadium,
Pablo Cruise got things off to a powerful start by playing a short (35
minutes) but spunky set made up mostly of slightly extended numbers from
their recent album. They were well received by that portion of the
audience which was already inside the stadium.

Bob Welch, who followed, was also impressive. Any cynics who suggested
that Welch's inclusion on the bill might have been arranged because of
his recent membership in, and current close association with Fleetwood
Mac, would have been at least partially dissuaded by his band's powerful
brand of hard rock. While his recent hits, Sentimental Lady and Ebony
Eyes, might otherwise characterize him as a soft-core popper, Welch
delivered a series of powerful and aggressive numbers well suited to the
holiday atmosphere of the crowd.

Foreigner picked up the tempo even more. The six-piece, half English,
half American power outfit came on as excessively macho from the moment
they jumped on the stage. With vocalist Lou Gramm doing a studied
incarnation of Paul Rogers and lead guitarist Mick Jones spinning off
some long and intricate guitar lines, Foreigner resembled nothing less
than a latter-day Free. Moving through a sizzling bass-heavy set which
included stellar versions of Hot Blooded, Cold as Ice (stretched out into
a superb 20-minute jam) and Feels Like the First Time, Foreigner got the
audience up and boogieing on at least four occasions and were well
deserving of the dynamic encore they received.

But however strong the three opening acts were, Fleetwood Mac's
appearance was a superb climax. Accompanied by a massive light show that
required additional generators to help boost the stadium's capacity, the
band act was nothing short of sensational.

Leading off with solid versions of Monday Morning and The Chain, they
displayed the ability that would carry them through the rest of the set
and which has kept them close to the top of the charts - precision vocal
blends from Chris McVie and Stevie Nicks, a chunky bottom from the rhythm
section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and more than adequate guitar
lines from Lindsey Buckingham.

The set's highlights are almost too numerous to mention, but the
following must be noted: Stevie Nicks' provocative nymphet voice on
Dream, the band's instrumental strength on the classic Oh Well, and
definitely Stevie Nicks' whirling dervish ballet on the band's sultry
Rhiannon.

All told, a rewarding day of music from beginning to end, and an
example of concert packaging that puts recent Toronto concerts far back
in the shade.