Mick Fleetwood and the dangerously introverted Stevie Nicks
First and foremost, in the interest of full disclosure, it’s not like I’d never heard any of “Rumours” before. In fact, as I mentioned in my “Exile on Main St.” post, I went through a bit of a Fleetwood Mac phase thanks to my Dad’s Eagles album in high school. But, because of my age, my exposure to the hard-charging drums of Mick Fleetwood and the absolutely bat-shit crazy antics of Stevie Nicks were thanks to their big comeback album “The Dance” in 1997. That means that while I’d become familiar with their hits, I’d never really heard “Rumours” straight through.
A Brief Synopsis of “Rumours”: “Rumours”, the eleventh studio album from Fleetwood Mac is basically the result of all the turmoil that any group of people could feel in such a confined amount of space/time. 100% of the women that I’ve dated have ended up hating me on some level so I can completely relate to the lyrics/tone of the drama filled “Rumours” at any given time. I’m pretty sure that the comments for this post will fill up with former flames agreeing to the tone of this album with no hesitations. It’s all lust and drama before it fades off into disgust and rage. But ignore those John-centric emotions for a bit and focus on the feelings that the actual members of Fleetwood Mac were feeling during the recording of “Rumors.” They were making up, breaking up and trying to deal with life cramped inside a tiny studio in a tiny port town, all while trying to record an album. The album contains some of FM’s biggest hits and even Mick Fleetwood admitted that the commercial success of the album allowed the band to continue for years to come. It’s half sell out and half masterpiece. Or 3/4 masterpiece and 1/4 sellout depending on how you calculate the averages.
Why is it a PCBS? Seriously? You’ve never heard of “Rumours”? Well, to be fair, I hadn’t always known that this was Fleetwood Mac’s definitive album (and one of the best selling albums of all time) until one soul sax playing presidential candidate decided to make track #4 famous during his 1992 campaign. When I first heard “Don’t Stop I was 11, stuck in a middle school that knew me only for my George Bush impersonation and ready for the big move to high school in 1993. But for some reason “Don’t Stop” with it’s pounding drums and call to arms lead guitar spoke to me in a way that apparently En Vogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers were speaking to everyone else my age. Fast forward a few years and Fleetwood Mac’s “The Dance” came out on CD with the “Don’t Stop” track backed by the USC marching band. It was the rousing close to a concert that I realize now meant virtually nothing to me as compared to people my parents’ age but that I still loved. I wore groves in my copy of the CD the summer after my senior year of high school (including the song “Temporary One” that I included on more than one mix tape trying to convince my friends that even though I was going far away for college, the sea that divided us was just a temporary boundary before we would all be together again). But even through all this, I never picked up a copy of “Rumours.” I was in a serious “best of” phase with CD’s covering the “best of” bands like Steve Miller Band, The Eagles and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. For me, the mysterious pull of “Rumours” as an album never kicked in…until now.
How does it look in the rear view mirror? Asking how “Rumours” stands up to the test of time is a bit like asking if the Great Wall of China is still standing (yep, it’s still there). “Rumours” really does feel like a therapy session where five people are talking and no one’s listening. Even though she’s become a bit of a parody of herself (or Steven Tyler) in recent years, Stevie Nicks (it’s funny ’cause she has a boy’s name) belts out songs like “Dreams” in such a way that you really feel just how anguished she is. Lindsay Buckingham (it’s funny ’cause he has a girl’s name) plays his guitar on songs like “Go Your Own Way” in ways that make you believe that he’s absolutely furious with it. I once heard Mick Fleetwood and John McVie described as the best rhythm section in rock and while I can’t agree with that (what up, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen!) I can say that their driving beats do well to represent the heart of a band that seems like it was ready to beat out of their chests. Also, Christie McVie is there (sorry, never been a fan…could totally do without her). For me, listening to “Rumours” for the last month or two has been a walk down the memory lane of all the relationships I’ve had that have gone south in one way or another. It’s musical bourbon…ready to inflame the worst anger in your heart while also making you remember the good times that got you in those situations to begin with.
Final Thoughts: What else is there to say about an album that so many people have called brilliant, timeless or genre defining? How about this: It’s good as an album. Christie McVie included, it’s one of the few albums that I’ve heard that is solid gold from beginning to end. Even “Exile on Main Street” which I reviewed a while back has some songs that could just be considered filler but “Rumours” feels like 11 songs that 5 people fought to get on the final album. In the years since, there have been bonus tracks and “never before heard specials” added to the mix but for me the 11 original songs from “Rumours” represent one of the great albums of our time. Will this be what the aliens listen to when they’re trying to piece together what kind of civilization could have lived on this planet so many years ago? No. But will this be an album that scorned wives and jilted husbands find solace in for years to come? Most definitely.
Everyone should get a few months of studio time instead of therapy at least once in their lives.
