Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, 1977
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Before last week, the only Fleetwood Mac song I'd ever heard was Go Your Own Way, and now I think Rumours might be one of my favorite albums ever!
I love this whole album, but if I had to pick, my top three favorite songs would be:
1. I Don't Want to Know
I Don't Want to Know is a fun, uptempo tune that slots into place perfectly in the album. One of my favorite parts of this song is the peppy bass line that peeps through the guitars and vocals; it's bright and fun, yet grounding at the same time.
I also love the variety of textures and embellishments used throughout, and would say simply switching to an open hi-hat instead of a closed one constitutes a genius musical move in this song—it makes me feel like it's always moving, and that every new section is unique. I find that each part is reminiscent of the last without being a boring carbon-copy, and that's musical talent!
2. Don't Stop
Lindsey Buckingham’s voice in Don't Stop sounds like he was always meant to sing it; it fits in so well. The groove of the rhythm section is tight and simple, yet provides the perfect bed for Buckingham’s vocals.
And the piano ostinato merits talking about: the band could've removed the piano and only kept in the bass and guitar for the groove, but the piano adds spiciness to the song; it feels familiar and breaks up the monotony that would have been too many guitars all at once without detracting from the overall feel of the track.
The short guitar solo in the middle gets an A+ from me; it isn't overly complicated and confusing, and isn't Buckingham simply trying hard to show off. Someone could've played a much more technically challenging solo that would've sounded great, sure, but his solo is exactly what the song calls for and it plays off his prior interludes masterfully.
3. Dreams
Dreams is my number three here! The harmonies in the chorus are sublime, and the effects on the guitar throughout are terrific. The entire song feels haunting, effortless, and natural—like every subsequent note is deliberate and logical.
As I listen through it many times in a row, I parse the complex instrumentation and minutiae of the song, and I've found that it's the band's fantastic melding of vocals and instruments, particularly how the rhythm guitar and drums interact, that gives me that feeling of effortlessness.
In the end...
Rumours has turned out to be one of my favorite albums of all-time, and I certainly see why it's one of the most best-selling. I also think it's quite interesting to be listening to this today, having listened to all of the music that I have; for instance, I very much felt that a few of the tracks were reminiscent of Foreigner or Eagles songs, and that's cool.
The album's song order is also important, and it takes one on a profound trip through the very distraught minds of the band in the mid-70's. The eleven songs on the record show how something beautiful and amazing can be borne from strife and struggle.
