Every song on Rumours ranked worst to best

[FuzzyPlum]

Even as a Christine McVie fan I dont think I'd put Don't Stop at Number 3. It's a pretty impossible album to rank.



Teamrock.com
http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-...-worst-to-best


Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is a perfect album from start to finish, but that doesn't mean we can't rip it up and start again. So here it is, rearranged so it improves the longer you listen

If there’s one lesson you can learn from 1977’s 45-million selling Rumours album, it’s that personal lives going to hell are really, really good for business. As Fleetwood Mac prepared to record their eleventh studio album in 1976, bassist John McVie and his keyboardist wife Christine had divorced and were barely talking, guitarist Lindsay Buckingham and on/off girlfriend vocalist Stevie Nicks were constantly at each other’s throats, and not to be outdone, drummer Mick Fleetwood’s wife Jenny (amazingly, the only partner who wasn’t a member of the band) had been having an affair with his best friend.

As if this wasn’t chaotic enough, the band’s obsession with cocaine was in full swing. Which makes it all the weirder that Rumours sounds so innocent and so much fun. The album’s 11 songs are the ultimate in earworms, and it’s only when you scratch beneath the music and dissect the lyrics that you reach the madness within. Maybe it’s this bizarre dichotomy that makes ‘Rumours’ such an enduring classic. There’s really not a bad song on it, but we’re here to make quality judgments, so here goes…



11. I Don’t Want To Know
An upbeat country rock song from Stevie Nicks that dates from well before the Rumours sessions. Its jaunty acceptance of the vagaries of love masks the nastiness that surrounded the inclusion of the song on the album. The rest of the band preferred it to another Nicks tune, Silver Springs. Nicks disagreed, but eventually relented and – perhaps out of rage – recorded a superb vocal to complement Lindsay Buckingham’s own excellent performance.

10. Gold Dust Woman
A delicate song that deals with subject matter that can reasonably be summed up as ‘the symbiotic relationship between messed up relationships and cocaine.’ As with much of Rumours, the sheer loveliness of the tune hides a much darker kernel.

9. Oh Daddy
Written by Christine McVie, Oh Daddy has a quintessential Englishness about it that the singer sneakily slips into what is an overwhelmingly American record. McVie’s quirky keyboard fills only add to the song’s charm.

8. Never Going Back Again
A lovely acoustic piece from Buckingham that showcases the skills of a player whose own technique has often been underrated in the rush to applaud him as a songwriter. You can’t help but feel that Buckingham’s channelling the spirit of an earlier age during these two minutes and 14 seconds of loveliness. This is what you might call a ditty, but that’s in no way supposed to be disparaging.

7. Songbird
A delicate McVie number – deliberately recorded to give it a “concert hall ambience” – manages to avoid sinking into sentimentality, primarily because of McVie’s clarity of voice and her understated delivery. The tune’s undeniable loveliness may hide a more bitter undercurrent, given that Christine is singing “I love you, I love you, I love you like never before” to someone who isn’t the bass-playing husband she’s just recently divorced.

6. Dreams
A Stevie Nicks composition that the other band members weren’t keen on until Buckingham managed to take the song’s basic chord structure and make three sections that all sounded different. The number moves along on an agreeably soothing bass line from John McVie and a simple Mick Fleetwood drum pattern as Nicks warns Buckingham against the dangers of thinking the grass will be greener without her. A delicate and haunting number beautifully delivered by Nicks.

5. You Make Loving Fun
A groovy little electric piano riff might at first seem out of kilter with McVie’s slightly whimsical pop melody. But this is ultimately a perfect example of why Rumours is so strong, as disparate elements mould into a coherent whole. Buckingham pulls out a number of interesting guitar textures here, which only adds to the tune’s undeniable charm.

4. Second Hand News
Lindsay Buckingham stakes out the album’s emotional territory on the album’s opener. “I know there’s nothing to say/Someone has taken my place,” he says, unflinchingly. Yet while the song acknowledges the guitarist’s sense of loss after another breakup with Stevie Nicks, its feel is entirely valedictory – a jaunty, sparkly army of guitars banishes any traces of maudlin emotion. The scatty vocals sound ridiculously carefree for a song about playing second fiddle in the love stakes.

3. Don’t Stop
Written by Christine McVie as a positive, uplifting, ‘moving on’ song, the jaunty, barrelhouse feel of the piano riff helps to confirm the positive mood at the song’s core. Fleetwood gives the number a certain driving intensity with that quasi-marching beat he does so well, and the shared vocals – one part Buckingham, one part McVie – adds another delightful musical colour.

2. The Chain
It makes sense that this song is in fact a composite of a number of different pieces of music from all the band members, given how it moves from eerie vocal atmospherics to seventies rock workout in the space of four and a half minutes. What’s so good about it is that it does it so seamlessly and convincingly.

1. Go Your Own Way
A bitter and somewhat self-pitying lyric from Buckingham has a very direct pop at Nicks. “Packing up/Shacking up is all you want to do.” Nicks flatly denies this was ever the case and resented the world being told so in a song, presumably even more so in a song that was so perfect for American radio. The drumbeat may have been nicked from the Stones’ Street Fighting Man, but this tune is the very essence of Fleetwood Mac.

[bwboy]

'Ll11. Oh Daddy- the only Rumours song I don't like.
10. Gold Dust Woman
9. Never Going Back Again
8. Don't Stop
7. Dreams
6. You Make Loving Fun
5. Second Hand News
4. Songbird
3. I Don't Want to Know- Nicks and Buckingham sound like pure magic on this song. So damn catchy and a great counterpart to GYOW.
2. Go Your Own Way- again, Lindsey and Stevie, vocally, make this song perfect; throw in those drums by Mick and it's beyond perfect.
1. The Chain- their anthem.

I would put Silver Springs between You Make Loving Fun and Dreams.

[aleuzzi]

This is like an alternate version of those "survivor" games we played a while back on here.

It's hard because I pretty much love everything on the record, but I'll give my ranking a go:

11. Never Going Back Again. (A well-executed song that I have never really enjoyed.)

10. Second Hand News. (I love this song. I just love it slightly less than the following 9).

9. Dreams. (Love it. But as I grow older I'm more drawn to the following Nicks number.)

8. I Don't Wanna Know. (IMO, the band made the RIGHT choice in using this song on the album.)

7. Don't Stop. (It's a killer in the studio. I don't care for it live.)

6. Songbird.

5. Gold Dust Woman. (I have always thought this was Stevie's finest contribution to the album.)

4. You Make Loving Fun. (Hot damn!)

3. Oh Daddy. (I know I'm in the minority here, but, it's an incredible song--and, I think, Christine's finest contribution to the album.)

2. Go Your Own Way. (Never fails: the album version of this song always slays me.)

1. The Chain. (Not only my favorite song on the album but my favorite song in all of rock.)

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

7. Don't Stop. (It's a killer in the studio. I don't care for it live.)

Really? Wow...complete opposite. I could happily skip it every time. I can't imagine a live show without it though.

If we are including Silver Springs, then...

12) Never Going Back Again (if it could be played live like it used to be then my opinion of it would probably change. Unfortunately I have a negative feeling towards the recorded version as a consequence of the silly live version).
11) Don't Stop
10) I Don't Wanna Know
9) Oh Daddy
8) Dreams
7) Songbird
6) Gold Dust Woman
5) Second Hand News
4) You Make Loving Fun
3) Silver Springs
2) Go Your Own Way
1) The Chain

[MovieStarView]

Had I been the person at teamrock.com i would have included silver springs and ranked it at number one. As a concept, as with lyrics, it screams Rumours.

[jbrownsjr]

I don't know how, but I've come to love Don't Stop again.

Maybe it's the tusk live versions. Maybe it's the collaboration of McBuck.

But as a song it's brilliant. even when I got sick of it, it is still an amazing moment in Fleetwood Mac history.

[jbrownsjr]

1. The Chain
2. You Make Lovin Fun
3. Songbird
4. I Don't Wanna Know
5. Don't Stop
6. Gold Dust Woman
7. Oh Daddy
8. Second Hand News
9. Go your Own Way
10. Never Going Back
11. Dreams

[Wdm6789]

You Make Loving Fun, Dreams, Gold Dust Woman are the top three for sure.

[BLY]

1. The Chain
2. I Don't Want to Know
3. Second Hand News
4.Gold Dust Woman
5. You Make Loving Fun
6. Never Going Back Again
7.Dreams
8.Go Your Own Way
9. Don't Stop
10.Songbird
11. Oh Daddy


This is not easy. I do love every song on this album. Oh Daddy was always my least favorite over the years until the reissues came out. I really like the song much more listening to the 5.1 version and with Stevie's vocals more prominent.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by BLY

1. The Chain
2. I Don't Want to Know
3. Second Hand News
4.Gold Dust Woman
5. You Make Loving Fun
6. Never Going Back Again
7.Dreams
8.Go Your Own Way
9. Don't Stop
10.Songbird
11. Oh Daddy


This is not easy. I do love every song on this album. Oh Daddy was always my least favorite over the years until the reissues came out. I really like the song much more listening to the 5.1 version and with Stevie's vocals more prominent.

I love that you list IDWK at number 2. Also, agree on Stevie's vocals on Oh Daddy. The song is haunting. But she adds to it.

[BLY]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I love that you list IDWK at number 2. Also, agree on Stevie's vocals on Oh Daddy. The song is haunting. But she adds to it.

IDWTK is the song that got me hooked when I heard it for the first time in 2/77. When I heard The Chain it became my favorite Mac song. It still is today with Tusk as a close second.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by BLY

IDWTK is the song that got me hooked when I heard it for the first time in 2/77. When I heard The Chain it became my favorite Mac song. It still is today with Tusk as a close second.

I was a kid and for some reason that song is so easy to sing along to. And I love the Christine clapping.. lol...

[On Ice]

Tough to rank songs on a perfect album...

Since the reissues, I think we can safely now say that Silver Springs made the "final cut"

12- Oh Daddy: only because they decided not to use Stevie's absolutely beautiful backing vocals, takes the song into the stratosphere and would have been great on the original, cutting those out, puts the song in last spot for me.
11- Never Going Back Again- great acoustic guitar but as above, when we heard it as a duet, what were they thinking in cutting out Stevie's part-Sheesh already!
10- Second Hand News- great song, but would have benefited from some sort of "bridge"
9- Don't Stop- Not much I would change about it, but hearing Get Like You Used to be it's not hard to find the song's origins. Perhaps not as original as we once thought.
8- Songbird- Great song and who growing up with Rumours wouldn't be moved by it, as a concert staple though, Christine has much better tunes such as Why, and Come a Little Bit Closer.
7- Go Your Own Way- Easily Lindsey's best song by a mile, pure pop perfection
6- You Make Loving Fun- As above, Christine's best pop tune, behind her best tune Over and Over.
5- I Dont Want to Know- Always puzzled why this was not released as the 5th Single, wonderful song, and one of Stevie's best ever structured songs.
4- The Chain- Nothing to change on this song, among the best ever Rock songs on the planet.
3- Dreams- Beautiful vocal and arrangement, never liked it as much live, early days seemed rushed and song looses its allure sans high notes.
2- Gold Dust Woman- Pure welch-witch ear candy- the one song that Stevie has pushed herself with and made a pure delight after all these years, however the song in the studio cannot be matched. Stevie's true moment as a classic rock artist.
1- Silver Springs- Number one with a bullet. The biggest hit Fleetwood Mac never had, the best vocal moment of Stevie's career, her best composition, the best in capturing "Rumours" I could go on and on.... If it wasn't to be on the album, it most certainly should've been a single. Wow, what an amazing song. I'll leave it at that

[Macfan4life]

This is nearly impossible but I never shy away from a tough challenge. BTW, some of you guys cheated big time. Silver Springs is not on Rumours. The challenge is ranking the songs on Rumours not the Rumours era

Note: We have all heard the songs a million times. You have to pretend you have not heard them a million times because the singles from this album are played to death. That should not make anyone treat them any different.

1. Go Your Own Way
Its the perfect pop/rock song with catchy from the heart lyrics with incredible guitar playing. No wonder it was the first single.

2. Dreams
Its played to death and I could care less if I never heard it again. HOWEVER, lets be real. Its an amazing song. They lyrics....the singing...the arrangements, etc.

3. You Make Loving Fun
This is the best love song ever written. Its charming, its romantic, its from the heart, and it ROCKS. Lindsey's guitar licks just take the song to another level. I NEVER get tired of this song. They churning synthesizers just take you back to the 70's greatness.

4. The Chain

5. Oh Daddy - the music alone almost takes it to #1 IMHO. Its so mystical. So 70's it makes you want to run out and buy a mood ring.

6. Don't Stop - Ok don't hate me. I still sing along to it in the car. Its so darn catchy and has brought me back from sadness many times

7. Second Hand News

8. Gold Dust Woman

9. Songbird

10. I don't want to know - Its a great song like all the rest of them. Its a great sing a long. Its pure pop greatness but lacks the depth and mystical intensity of the other songs.

11. Never going back again - Its a cool song but would have scrapped it along with I Don't Want To Know to add the full version of Silver Springs

This was hard. Like picking your favorite child.

[AlexD]

Rumors is obviously amazing, but the live versions they do of all of the songs are better than the studio versions I think. Live versions of The Chain and Never Going Back Again (how he plays it now) are levels ahead of th studio version I think.