Everything about Rumours totally explained
Rumours is the thirteenth album by
rock band
Fleetwood Mac, released in 1977. It was the second album recorded with this lineup, following the successful self-titled
Fleetwood Mac album. In December 1976, prior to the release of the album, Reprise released the single "
Go Your Own Way". In 1978, it won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
As of 2007 the album has sold more than 30 million copies, and is on the
list of best-selling albums of all time.
History
In the two years since the previous album, things had become rather difficult within the group.
Mick Fleetwood separated from his wife Jenny.
Lindsey Buckingham and
Stevie Nicks, who were in a relationship when they joined the group, were separated, and
John McVie and
Christine McVie also separated, although all five remained in the band. This meant that, as Stevie Nicks later pointed out, long hours were spent and some very awkward times were had between people who would otherwise not be in each others' lives. Christine McVie later remarked that they were all writing about each other, hence the title of the album. They didn't realize this immediately, but finally realizing that they'd created such a good album together lifted them out of their misery.
"
Go Your Own Way" was believed by Nicks to be a gloomy reference to the break-up of their relationship, and she and Buckingham argued about it. "
Dreams" was her attempt to be more optimistic. The song was the only U.S. number one hit for the group, and remains one of their best-known songs. "
You Make Loving Fun" referred to an affair between Christine McVie and the group's lighting director. "
Gold Dust Woman" was a reference to Stevie Nicks's own struggle with drugs, "Don't Stop" was written by Christine McVie after her
divorce with John McVie, and it provided an optimistic outlook on their newly-separated lives.
"Oh Daddy" was almost certainly a reference to Mick Fleetwood, the spiritual father of the group who largely held it together, and the only member who was a parent at the time. "Songbird" Christine McVie described as "a little anthem" and said it was for "all of us". It took a long time to record because it had to be one continuous take. "
The Chain" was an oddity. The final section, the last minute and a quarter or so, was written first, but at that point there wasn't a song for it to be the end of. Stevie Nicks had written that quite separately, and as she put it "gave it to them". Lindsey Buckingham then had an idea about how it should begin and the first section was re-recorded.
Rumours won a
Grammy award in 1978 for Album of the Year for 1977, and spent 31 weeks at the top of the
Billboard Music Charts, in spite of some critical panning for perceived pandering to mainstream tastes. By 2003, the album had sold more than 19 million copies in the
United States alone and was certified by the
RIAA.
In the 1990s, the Rumours song "Songbird" was covered by the late
Eva Cassidy, an American singer popular in Britain. Her version became very popular in the
United Kingdom.
In 2001, the
TV network VH1 placed it at number 16 on the list of the greatest albums of all time. . In 2006,
Q magazine readers voted
Rumours the 68th greatest album of all time.
The DVD-Audio release adds "Silver Springs" (as track 6) after "Go Your Own Way", and moves "Songbird" to the end (track 12); all the other songs retain their original numbering.
This version features 96 kHz/24 bit
surround sound and
stereo mixes as well as a photo gallery, exclusive to DVD-Audio players;
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, exclusive to DVD video players; and "The Making of 'Rumours'," a 37-minute set of behind-the-scenes audio interviews detailing the writing and recording of each song in order, available on all players.
2004 re-issue
On
March 23,
2004,
Warner Bros. released a remastered album, with a bonus disc of rough mixes, outtakes, early demos, and session jams, with "Silver Springs" inserted between "Songbird" and "The Chain", but with no other reordering of tracks.
Track listing
Original Release
Side one
"Second Hand News" (Lindsey Buckingham) – 2:43
"Dreams" (Stevie Nicks) – 4:14
"Never Going Back Again" (Buckingham) – 2:14
"Don't Stop" (Christine McVie) – 3:11
"Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham) – 3:38
"Songbird" (C. McVie) – 3:20
Side two
"The Chain" (Nicks, Buckingham, C. McVie, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood) – 4:28
"You Make Loving Fun" (C. McVie) – 3:31
"I Don't Want to Know" (Nicks) – 3:11
"Oh Daddy" (C. McVie) – 3:54
"Gold Dust Woman" (Nicks) – 4:51
2004 reissue
"Second Hand News" (Buckingham) – 2:43
"Dreams" (Nicks) – 4:14
"Never Going Back Again" (Buckingham) – 2:02
"Don't Stop" (C. McVie) – 3:11
"Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham) – 3:38
"Songbird" (C. McVie) – 3:20
"Silver Springs" (Nicks) – 4:33
"The Chain" (Buckingham, Fleetwood, J. McVie, C. McVie, Nicks) – 4:28
"You Make Loving Fun" (C. McVie) – 3:31
"I Don't Want to Know" (Nicks) – 3:11
"Oh Daddy" (C. McVie) – 3:54
"Gold Dust Woman" (Nicks) – 4:51
The track "Silver Springs" was released as the B-side of "Go Your Own Way". The song, originally intended for release on the LP, wasn't included because of its length. The shorter Nicks song "I Don't Want to Know" was its replacement. The standard version of Rumours now includes "Silver Springs".
Bonus disc
"Second Hand News" (Buckingham) – 2:47
"Dreams" (Nicks) – 4:21
"Brushes (Never Going Back Again)" (instrumental) (Buckingham) – 2:50
"Don't Stop" (C. McVie) – 3:33
"Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham) – 3:06
"Songbird" (C. McVie) – 3:11
"Silver Springs" (Nicks) – 6:07
"You Make Loving Fun" (C. McVie) – 4:56
"Gold Dust Woman #1" (Nicks) – 5:02
"Oh Daddy" (C. McVie) – 3:58
"Think About It" (Nicks) – 2:55
- Re-recorded later for Nicks' first solo album Bella Donna.
"Never Going Back Again" (Buckingham) – 1:56
"Planets of the Universe" (Nicks) – 3:18
"Butter Cookie (Keep Me There)" (C. McVie) – 2:11
- Chord progression was used in "The Chain".
"Gold Dust Woman" (Nicks) – 5:01
"Doesn't Anything Last" (Buckingham) – 1:10
"Mic the Screecher" (jam) (Fleetwood) – 0:59
"For Duster (The Blues)" (jam) (Buckingham, J. McVie, C. McVie, Fleetwood) – 4:26
Personnel
Stevie Nicks – vocals
Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, vocals
John McVie – bass
Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals
Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Production
Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut – producers
Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut – engineers
Ken Caillat, Ken Perry, Charlie Watts – mastering
Fleetwood Mac – concept
Desmond Strobel – design
Larry Vigon – hand lettering
Charts
Album
Single
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1977 |
"Go Your Own Way" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
10 |
| 1977 |
"Go Your Own Way" |
Billboard Adult Contemporary |
45 |
| 1977 |
"Dreams" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
1 |
| 1977 |
"Dreams" |
Billboard Adult Contemporary |
11 |
| 1977 |
"Don't Stop" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
3 |
| 1977 |
"Don't Stop" |
Billboard Adult Contemporary |
22 |
| 1977 |
"You Make Loving Fun" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
9 |
| 1977 |
"You Make Loving Fun" |
Billboard Adult Contemporary |
28 |
Awards
| Year |
Organization |
Category |
Winner |
| 1978 |
Grammy Award |
Album of the Year |
Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut |
Certifications
| Organization |
Level |
Date |
| RIAA – USA |
Gold |
February 15, 1977 |
| RIAA – USA |
Platinum |
March 9, 1977 |
| BPI – UK |
Gold |
May 23, 1977 |
| BPI – UK |
Platinum |
November 9, 1977 |
| RIAA – USA |
12X Platinum |
October 22, 1984 |
| BPI – UK |
Double Platinum |
April 10, 1985 |
| BPI – UK |
Triple Platinum |
April 10, 1985 |
| BPI – UK |
4X Platinum |
March 10, 1987 |
| BPI – UK |
5X Platinum |
August 1, 1998 |
| BPI – UK |
6X Platinum |
August 1, 1998 |
| BPI – UK |
7X Platinum |
August 1, 1998 |
| RIAA – USA |
13X Platinum |
March 1, 1989 |
| RIAA – USA |
14X Platinum |
December 9, 1993 |
| RIAA – USA |
17X Platinum |
January 31, 1995 |
| RIAA – USA |
18X Platinum |
April 6, 1998 |
| BPI – UK |
8X Platinum |
January 28, 2000 |
| BPI – UK |
9X Platinum |
January 28, 2000 |
| BPI – UK |
10X Platinum |
January 28, 2000 |
| RIAA – USA |
19X Platinum |
March 24, 2003 |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rumours'.
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