‘Rumours’ has been in the charts for over 1,000 weeks: Why is the Fleetwood Mac classic still thriving?
Every generation has those few albums that will never die. Thriller will forever be a mainstay amongst 1980s kids, and every 1990s alt-rock fan will know where they were when they heard Nirvana’s Nevermind. But how is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac still managing to find new fans as the years go on?
After all, this kind of drama is decades old at this point. The 1970s pop classic did have its fair share of trouble during production, but the fact that the band managed to put their differences aside and make a great album felt almost impossible for them to achieve. And yet, when looking at the raw songs on display here, it’s not like all of them are necessarily en vogue with the modern pop artists of the world.
But, really, is it all that different? I mean, there’s a good chance that no one will hear something like ‘Never Going Back Again’ or ‘The Chain’ on the charts now. They’re simply too weird by today’s standards, but combined with the production style and the drama behind everything, it stands as both rock and roll gold and a goddamn trainwreck depending on how you want to look at it.
For one thing, most people could resonate with this album to gawk at the sheer honesty on display here. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham weren’t getting along, and to hear their swipes at each other in song form would constantly stir the pot for anyone mildly interested in rock and roll tabloid fodder. If they decided to stick around, the hooks kept everyone coming back, whether it was Buckingham’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ or Christine McVie’s ‘Don’t Stop’.
And while Nicks’s songs have become iconic on this album over the years, she may have been ahead of the curve in many respects. Although ‘Dreams’ and ‘Gold Dust Woman’ don’t have the same immediate hooks that you’d find in a traditional 1970s pop song, the atmosphere that they give off feels oddly current, as Nicks takes her time to let the song sprawl out the same way that you might hear on a Lana Del Rey record.
In fact, the beauty of the album comes from hearing both sides of the band’s songwriting. You have Buckingham on one side talking about his pent-up anger, but at the same time, there are more contemplative tunes to offset everything, all while having the best sound quality money could buy. Whereas many records circa 1977 sound stale nowadays, Ken Callait and Richard Dashut outdid themselves behind the scenes, taking every instrument and making them pop out of the mix.
The pop world might look a lot different these days compared to when Fleetwood Mac grew up, but the bones of this record can be found in today’s singer-songwriters. It’s not exactly a mistake that Taylor Swift performed with Stevie Nicks a handful of times, and even in the modern age, people like Sabrina Carpenter are bringing that earthy sound of roots rock into her new music as well.
If you want the short answer, though, the reason why Rumours is still resonating for this long is because it’s honest.
Many people might like the idea of looking at the album the same way people look at car wrecks when they pass them, but everyone still looks because they know what heartache feels like. There isn’t a soul on this Earth that hasn’t had their heart shattered a handful of times, and even if songs like ‘Go Your Own Way’ feel ancient to some fans, dancing along to ‘Second Hand News’ or crying to ‘Songbird’ is by no means a bad thing. If nothing else, it’s a musical reminder that you’re human.
