Fleetwood Mac
Rumours

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.