So why is Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For reasons that might seem odd perhaps, the vibe of Rumours reminds me of a 2011 movie called Cinema Verite. It’s a fictionalized account of the making of a 1973 TV show called An American Family, which is arguably the first reality television-style show ever to air on TV in the United States.*
* Cinema Verite is a good-but-not-great movie that was made for HBO. The cast includes Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, and James Gandolfini, all of whom do much to elevate the production.
The backdrop of sun-drenched yet washed-out California – idyllic family life on the surface, deep tensions simmering underneath – mirrors what was happening within Fleetwood Mac during the making of Rumours.
There’s a lot to learn about what was going on with the band’s romantic entanglements… and other entanglements that you can spend some Internet rabbit hole time getting into if you’d like.
If you had to pick one song to represent the 1970s, you could do worse than selecting “Go Your Own Way.” It’s a good mix of rock and pop. It’s got a great hook and a great chorus, which soars in a way that you can imagine it lighting up arenas and perhaps enthralling the (slightly baked) masses. But it’s got a delicacy to it too that elevates it beyond most standard-issue rock songs.
As a politics nerd, I automatically associate “Don’t Stop” with Bill Clinton’s presidential campaigns in the ‘90s. Bill’s legacy as a politician (pretty sterling) and personally (much more complex) kind of tie together with his famous ability to “compartmentalize” and the song’s message… don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.
I really dig how dark the vibe of “Gold Dust Woman” is. It’s probably my favorite song on the album.
And I enjoy the alt rocked up Courtney Love cover version even more.
Some stats & info about Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Soft Rock, Album Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #7
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Rumours released? 1977
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #657 out of 1,000
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.