City musicians to perform Fleetwood Mac epic in its entirety on New Year's Eve

[vivfox]

Recreating the glory of Rumours

By Sandra Sperounes, Edmonton JournalDecember 30, 2009

Van Morrison, The Pixies, and Bruce Springsteen aren't the only musicians reliving their own albums onstage.

The trend is starting to take a new twist -- turning high-profile artists into cover bands.

The Flaming Lips, for example, will stage Pink Floyd's 1973 prog-rock masterpiece, Dark Side of the Moon, at a New Year's Eve party in Oklahoma City.

Some of Edmonton's musical luminaries will also get in on the action. Singer-songwriter James Murdoch and his friends will ring in 2010 by staging Fleetwood Mac's Rumours at The Haven Social Club (15120 Stony Plain Rd).

"Doesn't everyone love this album?" asks Murdoch. "It's so easy to take yourself too seriously (as an artist), so I just wanted to have a gig that was 100-per-cent fun. No pressure behind it, just playing all these songs I love."

These songs -- including Dreams, Don't Stop, Go Your Own Way and Gold Dust Woman -- are the linchpins of one of the most successful albums in rock 'n' roll history.

Rumours, released in 1977, sold more than 40 million copies and won a Grammy. Sweet consolation, considering most of the songs on the album were born out of anger and heartache. Not only did the British-American band's frontman Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks break up during the Rumours sessions, vocalist/keyboardist Christine and bassist John McVie were on the verge of divorce.

As fate would have it, there are also two couples in this Rumours redux -- Murdoch and Amber Bissonnette, a.k.a. Buckingham /Nicks; and Ann Vriend, who is singing Christine McVie's parts, and keyboardist Dave Aide.

"We've jokingly said we have to break up to stay in character," laughs Murdoch. "Of course, that won't happen."

Of course -- this isn't a cheesy tribute act. Bissonnette won't be clad in a black dress nor will Murdoch try to impersonate Buckingham note for note.

Yet the local tunesmith and producer -- he's working on the next Captain Tractor disc -- admits his Rumours recreation started as a silly suggestion. He wanted to incorporate one of the album's tunes into his own sets, but couldn't make up his mind.

"All of a sudden, it was like, 'Man, I just want to do all of these songs,' " Murdoch says. "From there, it was like, 'Let's do it! Let's do all these songs.' "

After numerous rehearsals, he still can't pick his favourite. He's even learned to like his least fave, Oh Daddy, Christine McVie's ode to Mick Fleetwood.

"There's just some strangeness about her vocals that bugs me, but after a while, you stop thinking about it. I just love the production values on it -- I love the dry '70s snare. Oh, it's awesome!"

While Murdoch and his friends don't want to turn into a full-time cover band -- they have their own musical careers to pursue -- they're starting to toss around suggestions for the next album to stage.

He likes the idea of taking a stand against the single, which seems to be neutering the album, with the help of iTunes.

"Definitely," says Murdoch. "I listen to albums. I'm a front-to-back person, even if it's a song I don't like. I never, ever skip."

ssperounes@thejournal. canwest.com

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