In 1977, when Fleetwood Mac released their multi-platinum album Rumours, I was 4 years old and far too young to appreciate music. As I entered my mid-20s, I had acquired a passion for music of the 1970s and fell in love with the Eagles, Rush, Led Zeppelin, but most importantly, Fleetwood Mac. Their music had become a part of me. It had developed into my personal therapeutic outlet and helped to keep me sane during any emotional upheaval that I might have been experiencing. It was then that I realized that the passionate, heartfelt music of Fleetwood Mac captured the very being of my soul and I became entranced. At any point of the day, whether at home or driving in my car, you could catch me listening to any one of their many albums. Fleetwood Mac’s 11th album, Rumours, was the very first album to seize my heart and envelope me within its lyrics. For this reason, along with its immense commercial success, it undoubtedly was the greatest album released by Fleetwood Mac.
Emotional intensity, infectious melodies and passionate lyrics make for extremely compelling music; this album definitely had all three. The album’s melodic and lyrical magic that exuded from Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks left me mesmerized. When these sincere artists combined their vocal harmonies and surreal songwriting with their emotionally driven revelations of love, loss, heartbreak and turmoil, one of the ultimate classic albums emerged.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, three relationships were falling apart during the making of this album. Mick Fleetwood was divorcing his wife; John and Christine McVie were divorcing. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were in the midst of an exhausting, bitter br...
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...ate vocals, John McVie’s groovy bass line, Lindsey’s exhilarating guitar riffs, and Mick’s great drumbeats keep you spellbound. They reach within the depths of your heart and elicit memories of passionate love, broken relationships and the anguish that oftentimes accompanies love. This emotional connection, combined with the proven commercial success of the album, solidifies that it is certainly Fleetwood Mac’s greatest albums ever.
Works Cited
Christgau, Robert. Christgau’s Record Guide. 1981.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
Grammy Rewind: 20th Annual Grammy Awards. Editorial. Grammy.com. January 18, 2011.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
Diamond Awards. Recording Industry Association of America. 2011.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
RIAA: Gold & Platinum. Recording Industry Association of America. January 8, 1999.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
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Now the band had an idea, we had the backbone for our future, but we were still missing our guitar player; whose absence haunted us for the fourth week straight. We had to begin regardless of the scenario, and we began picking out songs, one by one. The most obvious ch...
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