In 1977, when Fleetwood Mac released their multi-platinum album Rumours, I was 4 years old and far too young to appreciate music. As I entered my mid-20s, I had acquired a passion for music of the 1970s and fell in love with the Eagles, Rush, Led Zeppelin, but most importantly, Fleetwood Mac. Their music had become a part of me. It had developed into my personal therapeutic outlet and helped to keep me sane during any emotional upheaval that I might have been experiencing. It was then that I realized that the passionate, heartfelt music of Fleetwood Mac captured the very being of my soul and I became entranced. At any point of the day, whether at home or driving in my car, you could catch me listening to any one of their many albums. Fleetwood Mac’s 11th album, Rumours, was the very first album to seize my heart and envelope me within its lyrics. For this reason, along with its immense commercial success, it undoubtedly was the greatest album released by Fleetwood Mac.
Emotional intensity, infectious melodies and passionate lyrics make for extremely compelling music; this album definitely had all three. The album’s melodic and lyrical magic that exuded from Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks left me mesmerized. When these sincere artists combined their vocal harmonies and surreal songwriting with their emotionally driven revelations of love, loss, heartbreak and turmoil, one of the ultimate classic albums emerged.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, three relationships were falling apart during the making of this album. Mick Fleetwood was divorcing his wife; John and Christine McVie were divorcing. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were in the midst of an exhausting, bitter br...
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...ate vocals, John McVie’s groovy bass line, Lindsey’s exhilarating guitar riffs, and Mick’s great drumbeats keep you spellbound. They reach within the depths of your heart and elicit memories of passionate love, broken relationships and the anguish that oftentimes accompanies love. This emotional connection, combined with the proven commercial success of the album, solidifies that it is certainly Fleetwood Mac’s greatest albums ever.
Works Cited
Christgau, Robert. Christgau’s Record Guide. 1981.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
Grammy Rewind: 20th Annual Grammy Awards. Editorial. Grammy.com. January 18, 2011.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
Diamond Awards. Recording Industry Association of America. 2011.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
RIAA: Gold & Platinum. Recording Industry Association of America. January 8, 1999.. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2011.
album contains an amazing combination of poetic lyrics and edgy music that make it an
Jerry Garcia’s life was filled with wonderful things, many of which he never expected in the first place. After an almost fatal heroin overdose in 1986, “ Garcia philosophically stated, ‘ I’m 45 years old, I’m ready for anything, I didn’t even plan on living this long so all this shit is just add-on stuff.’ ” (“Garcia”) This attitude shows why Garcia did all of the things he did and even how some of them came about. Garcia, who “functioned as the preeminent pied piper of the rock era,” led a life of great artistic ability which he used in many ways(“Grateful Dead_ Rockhall”).
Young, D. (2004). The Promotional State and Canada's Juno Awards. Popular Music , 23, 271.
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