The truth behind the rumours: A list of Fleetwood Mac’s greatest albums
There are five members of Fleetwood Mac who have created a legacy we all now love. A legacy steeped in songwriting drama and harmonic energy, they altered the course of music history with an album that was as emotionally compelling as it was musically accomplished. Rumours was, of course, their lightbulb moment, at the detriment of their personal lives, and established them as leaders of a brand of rock-cum-dream-pop.
But even though the F section of every chain record store in the country only stocks their 1977 album, there is a lot more to sink your teeth into. The band’s namesakes, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, sat in the circle of a line-up merry-go-round throughout the 1960s and ’70s, watching blues icons come and go before finally settling on the names we’ve all come to know.
Peter Green thrust them into a world of gritty blues rock with his enigmatic guitar playing and charismatic vocal style. They were a band who teetered on the edge of threatening the late-night blues scene dominated by a certain Led Zeppelin, but when his contribution to the band dwindled due to extensive drug use, Fleetwood and McVie once again found themselves out of sorts.
A strong-minded Lindsey Buckingham revealed himself as the perfect replacement, but on one and may we say it, unpalatable condition at the time, his girlfriend and songwriting partner Stevie Nicks joined with him. With the heavy misogynistic air of rock and roll weighing on the band, the idea of balancing Nicks’ voice with fellow female singer Christine McVie was pondered on before the band came to their senses and agreed to enlist the iconic songwriter.
The rest they say is history. They became intertwined lovers and collaborative powerhouses all in one, shifting the group’s sound to a more delicate soft rock realm, fuelled by the hardcore lifestyles of ’70s rock hedonism. They were chaotic, calming and charming all in one, becoming one of the most treasured bands in history. But what are truly their best albums?
Fleetwood Mac’s greatest albums list:
Their best blues record: ‘Then Play On’
Release Date: September 1969 | Producer: Fleetwood Mac | Label: Warner Records
I told you there was a band in there before the dramatic days of Rumours. Long before Buckingham and Nicks altered their trajectory, the band were occupying the dusky late-night clubs of London’s blues scene and teetering on the edge of greatness doing so. In Peter Green, they had a truly captivating frontman who could not only charm audiences with his vocals but could transfix blues lovers with his rapturous guitar playing.
A sensual groove existed between the blues riffs that would go on to become somewhat of a conversation signature for the band’s rhythm section moving forward. In fact, there is a strong case to be made on this record that without Green’s acid-induced breakdown, this lineup would have gone on to dominate blues rock realms, for in Green, they had a true visionary leader. His voice on his signature track ‘Oh Well Pt. 1’ is brimming with charisma, and when it broke down into bona fide instrumental segments, we were left with a master guitar player.
Standout track: ‘Oh Well Pt. 1’
The ‘Rumours’ precursor: ‘Future Games’
Release Date: September 1971 | Producer: Fleetwood Mac | Label: Warner Records
Caught between their blues rock emergence and their upcoming psychedelic dream-rock domination, the band found themselves in somewhat of a limbo. But as they swayed back and forth, truly understanding where their future lay, they took solace in the shimmering guitars of Future Games. With Christine McVie holding down the vocals to stunning effect, it becomes clear why the founding members of the band were hesitant to remove her from sole vocal responsibility down the line.
The title track is somewhere between their own track ‘Albatross’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe’, showcasing a band delicately dipping one toe into more psychedelic waters. And with the sultry blues number ‘What A Shame’ hanging its guitar lines just one track before it, they’re growing into the idea of how multiple genres can bleed into one another to make a succinct and compelling record. It’s by no means their most polished work, but it’s the sound of a psychedelic child growing out of its youth and into a more confident self.
Standout track: ‘What a Shame’
Their most experimental album: ‘Tusk'<br>
Release Date: October 1979 | Producer: Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut | Label: Warner Records
High on the supply of fame, Fleetwood Mac decided to take a U-turn after Rumours. Buckingham shaved his beard and cut his hair to visually warn fans that the days of dramatic soft rock were over and the days of compositionally dense experimental music were inbound. Despite the more rhythmic profile of the record, it was the guitarist who seized the throne from Mick Fleetwood and thrust the band into more frenzied realms.
The title track acted as somewhat of a mission statement for the record, enlisting the help of orchestra musicians to break the band away from their own insular environment. While the title track and so many other sprawling hits were Buckingham’s babies, Nicks and McVie had a chance to get in on the act. ‘Sara’ is a gut-wrenching take from Nicks, whose voice is at her gravelly, tender best, while McVie proves she’s always at her most compelling over the top of a mid-tempo rock tune led by a piano. There are undoubted nuggets of greatness in this record, lost in the indulgence.
Standout track: ‘Tusk’
The chart topper: ‘Rumours’
Release Date: February 1977 | Producer: Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut | Label: Warner Records
I’ve never chased a hurricane myself, nor have I been in the eye of the storm. But I’ve watched enough Hollywood movies to know that there is an apparent calm in the chaos, a precision and clarity found amidst the adrenaline of utter turmoil. That’s what this album is. Amidst the incessant drug taking, fractious fallouts occurred in every dark corner of the recording studio before being funnelled into the recording of a song, where, through gritted teeth, each member would play full-heartedly to lay down a classic.
The paradox of the album’s beauty and reality was displayed best by Christine McVie, Nicks and Buckingham, who melded the band’s songs into dream-pop realms with their hypnotic harmonies that contradicted the real-life tension. While founding members McVie and Fleetwood fought tooth and nail to keep the chaos on track, through a coherent rhythm section that allowed the chaos to unfold with mesmerising beauty in the melodies. It’s musically succinct, narratively compelling and compositionally timeless.
Standout track: ‘Dreams’
Their actual best album: ‘Fleetwood Mac’
Release Date: July 1976 | Producer: Keith Olsen and Fleetwood Mac | Label: Warner Records
But, if you removed the internal drama, would Rumours be considered their best? An unanswerable question, of course, given how linked the drama was to the music, but this preceding album helps provide somewhat of an answer. Fresh off the boat, Buckingham and Nicks arrived with a catalogue of classics and a tender hand to deliver them. The band were revitalised by these newfound members and played together with the sort of delicate synergy we would come to expect from them in the future.
‘World Turning’ is without a doubt the finest showcasing of the band’s three-part harmonies, and it’s the sort of track you can picture Fleetwood playing behind with a widened grin, knowing this new group of misfit bandits might just be on to something. Meanwhile, ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Landslide’ immediately proved Nicks’ songwriting impact, especially the latter, which to this day, remains a timeless take on the transient nature of life. It was a record brimming with ideas and showcases the distilled essence of synergy between these five, unburdened by the weight of intra-band politics and instead free to fly on the wings of their masterful melodies.
Standout track: ‘World Turning’
