Nicks has openly admitted that she has no idea what Rumours‘ mystical closing track is even about, which is probably one of the reasons it’s played such a large part in building the frontwoman’s own gypsy-woman mythology.
“Been down one time/ Been down two times/ Never going back again” is a rare statement of resolve on an album full of emotional incapacitation, and as much of an affirmation as it makes from Lindsey’s delivered perspective, it’s just as devastating when considered from Stevie’s received viewpoint. The shortest song on Rumours but also one of the most complete, a masterfully finger-picked Buckingham solo piece that only features the rest of the band in ghostly backing vocals. And with all the gorgeously frayed vocals of betrayal and broken promise, “The Chain” might still be most memorable for Mick Fleetwood’s heartbeat-like bass drum, and the slithering John McVie low-end that introduces the song’s inspired, not-getting-away-that-easy coda. Not Rumours‘ best song but arguably its most definitive, and certainly the greatest team effort - it’s the album’s only track in which all five members receive writing credits, and also the only one in which McVie, Buckingham and Nicks all contribute to the lead vocal. Buckingham and co-lead Stevie Nicks sound almost breathless just trying to keep up, but still manage to bring the necessary anxiousness to point-of-no-return lyrics like “Finally baby/ The truth has been told/ Now you tell me that I’m crazy/ It’s nothing that I didn’t know.” Still, the folk jam sneaks in some bitterness among the knee-slapping - “I know there’s nothing to say/ Someone has taken my place” are the set’s telling opening lines - and “Won’t you lay me down in tall grass and let me do my stuff” is pantheon-worthy euphemising.Īnother of the set’s folkier numbers, propelled ever forward by some antsy handclaps and a tempo that feels set about 10 bpm faster than it should, creating a nervous energy that would set the tone for much of the album’s controversial follow-up, 1979’s Tusk.
But Fleetwood Mac only have one truly timeless, unforgettable acoustic anthem, and this isn’t it.įor one of classic rock’s definitive albums, it remains a little jarring what a red-herring the set opens with: Lindsey Bukcingham’s rollicking “Second Hand News,” a sort of “Monday Morning” redux that points towards little of the intrigue and brutality of the rest of the album. If there’s one song you forget about trying to count off the 11 tracks on Rumours, it’s probably Christine McVie’s penultimate creeper “Oh Daddy,” a Neil Young-paced heartache testimony with perilously low self-esteem (“Why are you right when I’m so wrong/ I’m so weak but you’re so strong?”) It’s not the most striking lyric or melody, but the song’s gorgeously windswept production makes for some chilling moments, and also allows for a brilliant lead-in to the album’s significantly more memorable closer.Īpologies to Christine McVie, who ends up with the three lowest-ranked songs on the album - she makes up for it with her fourth song on the set, which we’ll get to much higher up - and no hate meant for “Songbird,” an entirely lovely piano-and-guitar ballad that makes an exquisite end to the album’s A-side. Bill Clinton didn’t help, of course, but the fact that the song was co-optable for sloganeering purposes in the first place simply means that it was a cut more basic than the rest of Rumours to begin with.
3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1977 - that time and overplay have been somewhat unforgiving towards, its shimmering stomp feeling more pushy than empowering in its forward-march insistence. The only one of the album’s original megahits - peaking at No. 4 or 5 for classic B-side “Silver Springs,” whose exclusion from the album is basically all you need to know about what a self-destructive hot streak Fleetwood Mac were on at the time.)
Here are the album’s 11 tracks, ranked from worst to best. Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' Turns 40: 11 of the Best 'Go Your Own Way' Covers