Rumours

A friend of mine called 'Mike the Bike' put me on to 'Rumours' an age ago. As his name suggests, Mike was a wretched 'macho' biker, (a contradiction to start with - a man who wears leather and goes out to meet...other men!) who used to shoot razorbacks when he lived in Australia. That sounds impressive, til' you consider your average razorback is about the size of a cairn terrier, but Mike apparently loved every blood-spilling minute of it.
Anyway, in normal life I'd rather sleep with a razorback than take a musical recommendation from Mike. He's firmly in the 'metal' enclave, he and his road-tearing associates live in a jelly outside time and listen to Queens of the Stone Age and Kings of Leon when they're not burning rubber on the (real) Queens highways and byways.
While 'Rumours' was Mike's guilty pleasure, it didn't take your raving correspondent long to recognize it for what it really is - a true great.
To bear the burden of greatness for 30 odd years is a task in itself, but the Fleetwoods easily carry it off. In truth, 'Rumours' is that good it probably doesn't deserve to be reviewed on these pages. It's certainly too good for me in a false modesty sense, so why bother, why waste all the words and sleep-hours in pursuit of descriptions of it's profundity and glory?
Prattish vanity, rockist bravado and pride are my motives for creativity (and it's not going un-noticed, I've already been offered a column in 'Cow Breeders International' magazine. I was tempted, but it's not really my field.(!) ), and it does give one a perverse thrill of challenge, to 'review' one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, albums of all time.
'Rumours' has everything. It rawks; ('Go Your Own Way') it's sexy; ('Dreams', You Make Lovin' Fun) it has GORGEOUS ballads;('Songbird' in particular. I've racked my brain and I can't come up with a better one.) It is a complete, criticism defying, reviewer-proof package.
And speaking of sexy, as I usually am, what about that sensuous siren Stevie Nicks, I hear you all cry out as one voice in the darkness. Well, I'm not going overboard like I did with Theresa Bazaar, ("Never praise a woman, it will only spoil her" - Vladimir Putin) but I will say, my affectionate regard for her high beauty is in stark contrast to my lurid opinion of her ghastly solo out-pourings, but she's central to 'Rumours'. Her voice is folky, funky and fun, and it soars above the songs, like a junior Sandy Denny, (and that's HUGE praise!). She's smiling sweetly on the cover, but where it matters, in the grooves, she's down and dirty, with all guns blazing, and in a real sense, she's the Annie Oakley spirit of 'Rumours'...
It's a romantic album. It can stir you, soothe you. You can play it when your up, down or anywhere in-between. You can work out to it, do your accounts to it, write reviews to it, (!) and crucially, it's the album you choose when nothing else fit's the bill.
Not much else to say. Reviewing 'Rumours' is a thankless task, is there anybody out there not familiar with it to some degree? Anyone who is just finding it now, I envy you.
When the final gongs are handed out, it'll be up there with 'Blood on the Tracks', 'Astral Weeks and 'Closer', maybe even eclipsing all three..
On the down-side it is rumoured that Stevie Nicks has incredibly ugly toes, information which if true, would have me scuttling back to square one, excising Mike the Bike, and beginning the 'Rumours' review with fresh new perspective and insight.
Thank God I don't believe what I read...
Note: Information on shooting razorbacks and all other bush inhabitants can be found on Discovering [...].

I haven't listen to this album in its entirety in almost 20 years. I did today. This album still rocks! A classic.

this is one of my best sounding dvd-a's. the surround is also very cool.

the addition of silver springs was great and should have been on the original LP.

only 1 gripe

1. never going back again should have been the original way not this drum marching sound with weak guitar bits they added.

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" stands on its own strength. That strength is a continuation of strong tracks from start to finish. There's not a weak song in the house. Reminiscent of "Sgt. Pepper", Rumours captivates the listener from start to finish and is a pleasurable music experience.

One of their best albums remastered by Mick Fleetwood...I heard things on this that I had never heard before and it sounded sweeter on my Home Theater/Multi Channel (5.1 Klipsch Heritage) "stereo."...No Movie or Video on this one just nice music perfectly recorded.