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It's 1974 when a British blues/rock band, typical of a pub or a not-so-patriotic gathering, still niche, among the green lands of the north meets the warmth and sun of America. A unique event, I dare say. But maybe there is something truly unusual: if British artists and bands loved to Americanize themselves because that's what record companies whined about, or even to discover the dream of the West, in this case, in the case of the former group of Peter Green, already in the grip of his madness, in that endless tunnel from which he would never emerge, or if we strive, he would emerge, but marked forever (does a certain Syd Barrett ring a bell?), the turning point of success, and thus of the stars and stripes flag, will come in the flesh with two new members, one of whom was Lindsey Buckingham, a true Californian, spotted by a desperate and panicked Mick Fleetwood, who managed to see a certain talent in the all-folk and unplugged (or almost) guitarist, and the other member would be Lindsey Buckingham's partner, Stevie Nicks, collaborator, as well as girlfriend (not for much longer). Mick had to reconsider his initial rejection of the singer immediately after the success of "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" in their "white album," the second self-titled of their career, the first of the new life, started right in that magical 1975. Two years later the situation is decidedly worse, already starting from '76 to be honest.
The couple problems that occurred, and that inspired certain hallway "rumors," rumours, to be precise, are well known, but let's recap them. The magical "California dreaming" couple was going through a nightmare, more than a dream, at least of love. Perhaps it happens when there's a clash between two strong personalities, perhaps when working together for too long, the fact remains that this split also affected the other part of the group, with John McVie, co-founder, grappling with quarrels and separation from Christine Perfect, or McVie, due to some simian custom of taking the husband's surname. Even the tall drummer was not exempt from similar problems. The work on "Rumours" was more than troubled, in the grip of drug and alcohol addiction, it is noticeable in the volume and settings ups and downs, which Warner Records still passed as acceptable, probably because they trusted those 5 there packed in a studio near San Francisco. So what came out will be much more than a collection of songs, but a set of suffered and pathetic (in the etymological sense of the term, of course) passions. Lindsey starts with "Second Hand News," a track of redemption full of anger, precisely towards Stevie, who responds calmly in the next track. "Women, they will come and they will go," she sings with nonchalance, so that "Dreams" becomes the album's hit without much difficulty, once again the goddess of the '70s strikes, and in full. If acoustic guitars prevailed in the first song, in the latter there's a much more "ambient" situation, with electric guitars only serving as background sound and setting. Both surprising. All these 11 pearls are jabs from one side or the other, look, or better yet listen to "Go Your Own Way" with a nearly irate Lindsey, but extremely melodic, and that final guitar solo simply perfect, compact, coherent. A reference point, and the excellent synthesis of Hi-Fi, of Californian pop-rock. The 6 strings become acoustic again in "Never Go Back Again," with a message of wisdom, never go back, have regrets. The chord staccato, the instrumental simplicity but the technical complexity of playing without a pick make this fascinating. Perfect enters with "Don't Stop," another well-known piece, it was also used in an election campaign. Encouragement and hope, the key themes. Highs and lows, as one might expect from such a hard-won work, even for the heat in the recording studio probably, even though it would be released only in a cold February of 1977. "The Chain" is "Go Your Own Way" but angrier, with a chilling intro, the Lindsey/Stevie duet, and John's imposing bass. The only track signed by all five members, despite being inspired by another track of the Buckingham/Nicks duo, precisely, published at the beginning of the decade. The atmosphere becomes less tense in pieces like "I Don't Want to Know" and "You Make Loving Fun"; the former is an acoustic that seems straight out of a teenager college band, quite talented, the latter is a veritable monument of the new Fleetwood Mac's music, a "Say You Love Me" 2.0 (from the previous album). Even though the meaning is different, completely opposite even, conceptually and musically the two tracks are similar, both stunning. Love, and its problems, is the main theme, the concept of one of the best-selling albums in music history, over 40 million copies, which remained at the top of the charts for a long time. A balance between hope and anger, chaos and harmony, also reflected in the beautiful and famous cover. Mick and Stevie pose sinuously, in a sort of acrobatic dance (curious how these two, after all the sentimental vicissitudes, will have a much-discussed relationship). The background is a very light yellow or beige, very elegant, as is the writing. The continuation with the work of two years earlier is evident, a similar scenic setting. The first time I saw the shot I thought it must be a French band, for those so wavy characters a bit in metro style, or maybe an early 2000s band, for that "Mac" which reminded me so much of the computer era. It's strange isn't it, but perhaps even because of this initial confusion, the impression was that of a true love at first listen. Every piece played perfectly, from the more rhythmic ones, already mentioned, to the sweeter and more relaxing ballads, like "Songbird," by Christine, or "Oh Daddy," by the same (note how the group's keyboardist and author loves rather dubious titles, like "Sugar Daddy" or "Honey Hi" as well). It never happened in years of musical listening to have such a grand impression from the very first moment, it may seem obvious, but this can only be a dedication, a standing ovation, to the album of all albums, the most balanced and apt, with its 11 masterpieces, John, Mick, Christine, Lindsey, and Stevie, concluding with the mystical, captivating, and dreamy "Gold Dust Woman," make history. Period.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Second Hand News (02:53)
I know there's nothing to say -
Someone has taken my place.
When times go bad,
When times go rough,
Won't you lay me down in the tall grass
And let me do my stuff?
I know I go nothing on you
I know there's nothing to do.
When times go bad
You can't get enough...
Won't you lay me down in the tall grass
And let me do my stuff?
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam babambabam bababam
do do de do
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam babambabam bababam
One thing I think you should know...
I ain't gonna miss you when you go.
Been down so long,
I've been tossed around enough...
Oh, won't you just let me go down
And do my stuff?
I know you're hoping to find
Someone who's gonna give you peace of mind.
When times go bad,
When times go rough,
Won't you lay me down in the tall grass
And let me do my stuff?
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam babambabam bababam
do do de do
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam babambabam bababam
do it do it do it
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam bam ba bam
Bam bam bam babambabam bababam
I'm just second hand news, I'm just second hand news...
yeah...
I'm just second hand news, I'm just second hand news...
yeah...
I'm just second hand news, I'm just second hand news...
yeah...
I'm just second hand news, I'm just second hand news...
yeah...
02 Dreams (04:17)
Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down?
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
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 ...
And what you had ...
You know what you lost
Oh Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
They say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean you'll know
You'll know
Now Here I go again I see the crystal vision
I keep my visions to myself
It's only me who wants to
Wrap around your dreams and ...
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of Loneliness
Like a heartbeat .. drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost ...
Who says what you had ...
Ooh and what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
They say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean you'll know
Oh thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
They say women they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean you'll know
You'll know ...
You'll know ...
You will know
Ooo you'll know
04 Don't Stop (03:13)
If you wake up and don't want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Don't you look back,
05 Go Your Own Way (03:40)
Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I
Ever change things that I feel
If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up's all you wanna do
If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything's waiting for you
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day (another lonely day)
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
You can go your own way
06 Songbird (03:23)
For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
And I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all, I wish it from myself
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before, like never before,
like never before
07 The Chain (04:31)
Listen to the wind blow...
Watch the sun rise;
Run in the shadows...
Damn your love, damn your lies!
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again;
I can still hear you saying
We would never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again;
I can still hear you saying
We must never break the chain.
Listen to the wind blow...
Down the comes the night.
Run in the shadows...
Damn your love, damn your lies!
Break the silence,
Damn the dark, damn the light!
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again;
I can still hear you saying
We would never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again;
I can still hear you saying
We must never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again;
I can still hear you saying
We must never break the chain.
Chain......keep us together....
(Running in the shadows)
08 You Make Loving Fun (03:33)
Sweet wonderful you
You make me happy with the things you do
Oh, can it be so
This feeling follows me wherever I go
I never did believe in miracles
But I've a feeling it's time to try
I never did believe in the ways of magic
But I'm beginning to wonder why
Don't, don't break the spell
It would be different and you know it will
You, you make loving fun
And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one
You make loving fun
You make loving fun
09 I Don't Want to Know (03:15)
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has come down now
Take a listen to your spirit
It's crying out loud
Try to believe
Oh, you say you love me but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
Oh, yeah
Ah
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has been told
Now you tell me that I'm crazy
It's nothing that I didn't know
Trying to survive
Oh, you say you love me but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
Hey, you know what to do
Oh, yeah
Ah
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, take a little time
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Other reviews
By alcol2
"Fleetwood Mac are a blend of blues roots with the best of English and American pop, sweetened by the soft rock of the 70s."
"Rumours is a 'soap opera in vinyl' — perfectly accomplished and commercially staggering."
By STIPE
"Rumours" has become one of the most sensational 'cases' in the history of rock.
The eleven pearls of "Rumours" assume a unique character, producing special atmospheres that are light yet intense, accessible yet very refined.
