Voices 4 Examining Fleetwood Mac's Magnum Opus 40 Years Later

February 27, 2017 4 Voices www.aggiecentral.com ending an on-and-off United States. It acts a direct Spreading relationship and causing counter to the fifth track various arguments when the of the album, the anthemic pair were not talking music. “Go Your Own Way.” Both Misleading press coverage songs act as two sides of the only compounded the same story, with Buckingham dysfunction, with even more and Nicks using “Go Your rumors flying about changes Own Way” and “Dreams” ‘Rumours’Examining Fleetwood Mac’s in the band’s lineup. (respectively) to put in their The strife, real or final words in sonic succession fabricated, only added to the to effectively chronicle the magnum opus 40 years later mythic air surrounding the end their relationship. album. Nicks said she will tell It was risky, making a By Jacob Jardel the full story eventually, but track that broadcast an noted that the truth will be intimate vulberability and mindblowing. hurt – and, simultaneously, a “The story is deep, dark defensiveness and spite – let “I know there’s nothing to not privy to the emotional and heavy,” she said in a 2009 alone a whole album of them. say. \ Someone has taken my journey that surrounded its Daily Mail interview. “But it’s But Fleetwood Mac did so place.” production. also beautiful, sexy and more in a way that was equal parts The opening lines to Now, 40 years later, this romantic than you could ever musically fantastic and utterly Fleetwood Mac’s “Second multifaceted amalgamation of imagine.” relateable. Hand News” perfectly heartbreak stories still makes Indeed, “Rumours” touches And that is the real encompass the sonic journey an already fantastic album all these bases, even without beauty behind “Rumours,” that listeners embark upon leave an indelible mark on the full story open for public the group’s ability to take the when diving into the album the landscape of music and dissection. heartache and make it into a “Rumours.” popular culture. But, more importantly, it work of art worthy of award But when the album Despite the album’s shows just how much a part nominations and decades of originally released in 1977, smooth sounds, Fleetwood vulnerability plays in some of praise – even if they already the band’s audience were Mac was experiencing a rough the greatest works of our time, lived the art firsthand. patch worthy of daytime no matter the generation. Yet, something relatable television. Consequence of Sound’s shone through something Drummer Mick Jon Hadusek wrote about unreal: unbearable heartache. Fleetwood’s wife cheated on the album’s multifaceted Many have experienced it him with his best friend. sound in a 2013 review. He firsthand, the angst associated Band stalwarts Christine explained how it has endured with an unclean ending to and John McVie ended their throughout the decades. a relationship and the want six year-long marriage. “I can play this album and to express feelings of anger, Leads Stevie Nicks and feel and emote and project sadness, disappointment and Lindsey Buckingham split my own sappy thoughts onto sullied hope. up before recording, those of Buckingham, Nicks For those who hold and McVie,” he said. “Or I can romantic feelings toward play it when I have a girl over others, it’s an almost and let it set the mood.” guaranteed part of the Truly, the album creates process, regardless of whether a beautifully-composed they grew up with the album’s dissonance throughout first release or one of its many that permeates every anniversary editions. track. The ironic It’s a concept that has been juxtaposition omnipresent in literature and between music, the strife of no-longer- consistent requited love. Regardless of instrumental where you look, lovelorn angst ambrosia is a staple of storytelling. and hellishly But what sets “Rumours” rough lyrical apart from other forms of content made highly-publicized emotional the album journaling is that the objects stick out to music of derision weren’t some critics and fans alike. unspoken or implied entity No other album before or – they were the people with since has been able to convey whom the artists made their such conflicting tones so art. And instead of keeping seamlessly. the stories to themselves, Take, for example, Fleetwood Mac spread their “Dreams,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” in an album as only No. 1 single in the seminal as it is ageless. Pick up the pieces and go home: Lindsey Buckingham (left) and Stevie Nicks pose for the iconic art for the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours,” which turns 40 this year. The two were key contributors to the album’s songwriting and vocal sound, contributing tracks about their rocky on-and-off relationship that later became mainstays on classic rock radio. Their relationship was one of the various sordid ones addressed throughout “Rumours,” which fans and critics consistently cite as Fleetwood Mac’s quintessential album. Photo courtesy of Tribune News Service. Graphic by Jacob Jardel About Us THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY Letters Policy The official student newspaper of Cameron University, The Cameron COLLEGIAN Letters to the editor will be printed in the order in which they are received Collegian is available each Monday during the year. It is printed by the and on a space available basis. Founded in 1926 Lawton Constitution. 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