My Top 20 albums from 1977 No 1

Rumours Fleetwood Mac
Track listing: 1) Second Hand News; 2) Dreams; 3) Never Going Back Again; 4) Don't Stop; 5) Go Your Own Way; 6) Songbird; 7) The Chain; 8) You Make Loving Fun; 9) I Don't Want To Know; 10) Oh Daddy; 11) Gold Dust Woman.

I'm perfectly aware that everybody is sick to death of this album due to its best-selling status and state of overplayedness on the radio. But me, I wouldn't know, and furthermore, the argument 'this song is crappy because it's overplayed' is totally invalid. Real works of art don't lose any of their objective value because of overexposure. Neither do Rumours, certainly the peak of Fleetwood Mac's career, both commercially and artistically. Just like the Beatles a decade and a half before them, they suddenly discovered a way of writing really exciting pieces of music evoking the word 'genius', on one hand, and making them easily adaptable, on the other. In this respect, Fleetwood Mac created a real revolution, and together with the Sex Pistols, they might be called the most groundbreaking groups of 1977. Of course, both of them weren't true revolutionaries at all, merely re-creating some earlier breakthroughs on a new spiral level - if Fleetwood Mac were the Beatles of 1977, then the Sex Pistols were its Who. The revolution was also shortlived, because most of the 'power pop' bands inspired by Mac turned out to be cheap imitators, and even Mac themselves couldn't hold the same level for very long - unlike the Beatles, they couldn't do any better than Rumours. Nevertheless, the album deservedly remains a milestone in classic rock and might be one of the last minor masterpieces ever...
Where do I really begin with this album? As usual, the songwriting is split between the three main 'graphomaniacs' (no, no, just a little humour here), so let's discuss the ladies first. Whatever complaints I may hold against Christine McVie, there is no doubt that her contributions to Rumours are among her most miraculous creations ever. 'Don't Stop' (which you all probably know as that Clinton ditty, but I don't vote for Clinton, dammit! I voted for Yeltsin!) takes the long forgotten speedy, 'Europop' line of 'Dissatisfied' from Penguin and pushes it even farther into the joys of fast, joyful, optimistic pop (the only thing I can't understand is why the song was given to Buckingham - I think Christine would have done a far better work by taking the lead vocal). And her three love ballads sound nothing like the boggy, all-too-identic kind of sentimental slush that marred so many of her earlier compositions. 'Songbird', recorded live, is a simple piano-driven ditty without pompous arrangements or artificially sweetened-up vocals. 'You Make Loving Fun', on the other hand, mostly distinguishes itself by possessing some beautifully constructed vocal lines. It also has a steady, disco-ish beat (a very rare thing for Christine) and features a nice rock solo from Lindsey. Finally, 'Oh Daddy' is a genuine love complaint with one of the most beautifully sung refrains ever. Apparently, Christine had gained quite a lot of skills from Lindsey and Stevie, and her divorce with John added a faint streak of sincerity to her work, just as the same thing happened to Stevie and Lindsey themselves (they broke up almost as soon as they joined the band. Verily and truly, Fleetwood Mac must have been a bane for all lovers!)

Nicks? She mainly secures her 'Rhiannon' style: 'Dreams' is even weirder, with her slightly hoarse, 'magic' voice doing wonders to the song, and 'Gold Dust Woman' is certainly the record's 'groovy' number, with Stevie croaking out totally incomprehensible lyrics over a breaking and stuttering swampy melody - and, strange enough, it works, even though I'm often left wondering why the song evokes visions of medieval cemeteries in my mind. Hope that's not the case with you. Anyway, good songs. Maybe as good or even better than Buckingham's 'Second Hand News', which sounds very close to 'Monday Morning' but which is actually better because it has some tremendous acoustic playing and a lot of silly happy noises. Tremendous acoustic playing? Not as tremendous as on 'Never Going Back Again', a little bluegrass excursion with a little tricky riff that amply demonstrates Lindsey's talents as a guitarist. If you ever thought Fleetwood Mac were nothing but a well-oiled commercial machine churning out lifeless, faceless bubblegum, take a listen to this one and you'll be cured instantly. I bet it's the only song from the album that's never broadcast on the radio (although I admit I'm really taking a wild guess here).

In fact, the entire album's so strong that it's very hard to pick out one favourite tune. I guess I'm going to take the band anthem 'The Chain', for several reasons, I guess. First of all, it's one of the most unhappy songs on here, and who needs a happy song as a favourite? Second, it's angry and menacing, and this brings it closer to 'rock'. Third (and most important), it's simply beautifully constructed, and the harmonies on the refrain ('you would never break the chain...') have never been topped. But that's just me talking. I might change my mind tomorrow. Enough of that. I hate talking about great albums. An album is only worth reviewing when it has some bad sides and some good ones. A great album is like a smooth rock - there's just nothing to put your foot into. In compensation, I might only say that, great or not, I don't listen to Rumours that much - after all, it's nothing but a power pop album. It might have 'a little bit of real emotion', but there's too few real substance in it for me to induce it into my Top 20 or something. In other words: if I can't cry over a record, it ain't worth it.

It sure is worth a listen, dammit! Maybe worth A HUNDRED listens! Have you listened to Rumours a hundred times already? No? What are you waiting for? Go and get your money's worth!