The Ledge - Tiger Weekly Review of 'Rumours'

I enjoyed the following review of 'Rumours' which I found at http://tigerweekly.com/article/07-29-2009/11935

Quote:

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours
Records Revisited

By Jason Andreasen

When Fleetwood Mac released Rumours in February 1977, it was an immediate hit. It perched itself atop the Billboard charts for a staggering 31 weeks and garnered four top-10 singles. But not everybody loved it. Some dismissed the album - and the band - as nothing more than a practice in pandering to mainstream pop audiences.

But why? The album has all the quintessential rock storylines caged within its 39 minutes including love and betrayal, sex and drugs, hatred and optimism - all delivered with an expertly orchestrated peek-behind-the-curtain touch. How could an album with such groundwork have been seen as just pandering to pop?

Who cares? Does the band's history as a blues-rock outfit mean that one can't appreciate the exquisiteness of Rumours, its 11th studio release? The answer is no. Prior to 1975, Fleetwood Mac was a different band. When the couple of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks joined the band, a new group was formed, one with California-pop influences and a touch of sounds reminiscent of Buffalo Springfield and The Byrds.

The fact of the matter is that Rumours is an intense listen with enough honesty and disclosure to make you feel guilty for eavesdropping just before allowing its musicianship to forgive you of your transgression.

When Rumours was being recorded, Fleetwood Mac was in not one precarious position, but four. Christine (vocals, keyboards) and John McVie (bassist) were embroiled in a divorce - as was the band's patriarch, Mick Fleetwood - while Buckingham and Nicks' long-time romantic relationship was ending. Couple these quarrels with the pressure to follow up the success of the band's 1975 self-titled album and you've got what must have been one of the most emotionally exhausting recording processes in modern music history.

But it paid off. In fact, the hardships faced during the recording of Rumours are not only what helped make the album great, but also what makes it stand up more than 30 years later. The themes touched upon so honestly with Rumours are as universal as they are personal. With former lovers and spouses trading lyrical barbs and exposing their own soap operas with a devastating disregard for secrecy, Rumours is the portrait of five individuals forced into a relationship with one another despite the fact they likely didn't want to be there.

Take the Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks relationship for example. Buckingham penned the album's first single, "Go Your Own Way," as an anger-saturated insinuation of Nicks' infidelity (though she claimed to have never been unfaithful). Nicks' response comes in the enchanting and layered warning of "Dreams": "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..."

Meanwhile, Christine McVie offers up one of the album's most deceptive tracks: "You Make Loving Fun." To most, the song is simply a run-of-the-mill love song that all but borders cliché. Yet upon learning the song was actually written about an affair had with the band's lighting director - and that the song was aimed at McVie's husband - a new appreciation for the song is achieved and more perspective is given regarding the album as a whole.

The interesting thing about these songs which served as arrows shot at one another is that they all made it into the band's catalogue, meaning they'd have to take to the stage and play them again and again with the accuser and suspect standing side-by-side. The band as a whole made a conscious decision to include these tracks despite any personal pain they might cause because they recognized their strength.

But make no mistake - the album's worth is not merely tied to the bitterness of such jabs. Other tracks delve into self-inflicted pain (Nicks deals with her own substance abuse on "Gold Dust Woman") while "Oh Daddy" was penned by Christine McVie in honor of Mick Fleetwood's role as the rock of the band during this tumultuous time.

Rumours is as noteworthy for its musical achievement as it is for its lyrical intensity. From Fleetwood's unique work on the drums to Buckingham's incredible acoustic plucking on "Never Going Back Again," there's plenty to get lost in on the album. Vocally, the triumvirate of Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie offer the album a multitude of ranges and give it added complexity.

While most may know tracks like "Don't Stop" and "The Chain" - and they deserve every listen they're granted - the album really is a front-to-back pop masterpiece. Admittedly, this isn't the most cutting-edge release ever, and it didn't tread any ground that hadn't been well-worn before 1977. However, that wasn't its intention.

Rumours couples beautiful arrangements with heartfelt heartache and an emotional maturity that make it a record truly worth revisiting.

Originally Published: Issue 811 - July 29, 2009