18 million listeners can't be wrong... ()

With each member of the band embroiled in some kind of romantic controversy--mainly with other band members--"Rumours" sprouted up raw from inner-dissent and disenchantment. Stevie was once quoted: "It was the coolest thing in the world that we got through it--that one of us didn't just get up and walk out the door, never to return." They still play these songs on the radio today (2010), and they neither sound dated from time-passed nor fatigued through overplay. Nearly every song is a highlight: the passionate arena rock of "Go Your Own Way", the celebratory banner-waver "Don't Stop", the intimate "Dreams" (no.#1 on the singles charts), the groovy "You Make Loving Fun", the dissolute "Oh Daddy", the giddy but internally conflicted "I Don't Want To Know", the very pure and bright "Songbird", the randy opener "Second Hand News", the introspective "Never Going Back Again", and the gloriously funky "Gold Dust Woman". That leaves us with "The Chain", which was patched together piece by piece in the studio and never quite lifts off. "Silver Springs" was left off for lack of room and first appeared as the B-side to the first single "Go Your Own Way" (which should have hit #1 but surprisingly did not). A fabulous achievement in rock music, deserving of its praise then as now.

The Very Best Album EVER in the History Of Rock ()

This is an essential part of any true rock music collection. It is a jewel. I actually got into this album when I was 29 years old, having loved Tango much more when it came out (I was a teen at the time)

This album however is sublime. Every song is meaningful, keeping in mind what the band was going through at the time it was made. EVERY time I hear Songbird I choke up.

It is difficult to decide which is my favourite song on the album OR which is my least favourite, which is what makes it so brilliant.
30 years on it is is still as fresh and inspiring as it ever was.
For a more on this album you must check out Classic Albums - Rumours on dvd. It'll make you love the album AND the band all the more.

AWESOME!!! ()

Go FM!!! Definitely one of the best albums ever made!!! And it was such a struggle for the band to make! At some points they had no idea they were going to have to remake masters of some of the songs. I have the version that includes Stevie's "Silver Springs", which is absolutely wonderful. The album flows very well and all the songs can get stuck in your head at any time. I love "I Don't Want To Know", "Songbird","Oh Daddy" and "The Chain" is one of my all time favorite songs. They are all wonderful, but I have become quite fond of some of the songs that were not released as singles. "Gold Dust Woman" is a great song to end the album, with its rocking outro and Stevie's wails. Just fantastic.

The Height Of All Fame ()

To begin with, Rumours is one of the most legendary Rock/Pop Albums of all time. How can you go wrong? This album is such a great choice to buy because it is Fleetwood Mac at their best! The only 2 other F.M. records to even come close to Rumours are Tusk (1979) and (The Dance (1997) a mere 20 years after Rumours was released. The album is so cleverly crafted that no one can really tell that this record of 11 songs all are very surreal and intense. The LP starts with a fitting introduction the rock classic opener "Second Hand News". The album then shifts directions to the very well crafted and very well played "Dreams" a Stevie Nicks slow rocker with lot of good vibes and a nice flow to kick it in gear. The words of this song are very personal and very surreal but the words really don't matter, In this case its the bluesy cords and the drums that carry the tune and a Good vocal by Stevie also.
The fingerpicken good all around nature of "Never Going Back Again". Lindsey sings a good vocal here and to me he sounds like a very good singer songwriter and guitar pickin man. The Lyrics tell the story of a lost love affair and a man who will never look back on what's behind him> The next track really kicks the album into gear it's Christine McVie's anthem rocker "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow) on this track the up tempo beat is so well played it seams the band was having a good time at the session that day. "Go Your Own Way" the album's fifth track is that of a hard rocking momentum pumping all out jammer. Mick plays those skins with perfection and he never missies a beat. The bluesy bass played by john McVie also add flavor to this very colorful track. On top of all this you got Mr. Guitar Lindsey Buckingham the guitar genius who plays such a mean driving guitar and sings a very perfectos vocal. Lindsey is the Glue that keeps this song ad full throttle. The only sad thing this good natured song is that the lyrics are of a different tune all together for this song is about a love affair that has gone wrong and the listener must listen very carefully to tell the difference. Side one closes with the slower down tune. The perfect ballad "Songbird". the vocal Christine offers here is one of her finest she's ever done. The ballad is so sweet and the piano is played so well there is nothing this song lacks it is one of the bands all time greats. Such a way to end the opening side. Here we see the very soft and beautiful side of Fleetwood Mac’s history. The only good thing about being raised on tapes is that you know that the second side of this LP is going to be a joyess adventure. The second side kicks off with the double timed classic rock staple "The Chain" The side opens up so well that you'd think this song should have been a single. It was the core and inspiration of the album. Everything the band needs to express about loss of love is all right here. The up temple stomping march beat kick the song off quite well. But it's the middle eight that the song really gets going. the drums take off to a faster waltz beat and the chorus signals the end of the biggest songs on earth. The song in the #2 position on side two is "You make loving fun" This uptempo all out rocker in my book should have gone all the way to #1 and the reason I say this is because the song is so commercial sounding with lots of hooks. The tune is so catchy that by the time the song is done you'll have your feet tapping to the rhythms of Fleetwood Mac at it's best The next song the definition of Rumours balled "Silver Springs" the all too true meaning the song was dropped off the final sequencing of Rumours. many people even Stevie herself admitted that "Silver Springs" should have been left alone instead of being the B SIDE to "Go Your Own Way" "Silver Springs" Truly needed to be left on the album because in this song. FM Fans like myself would have known the trueness of Rumours" and that wound have maid the Album Complete So instead of "Silver Springs you get the Albums only throw away filler "I Don't Want To Know' I feel that this song should have been saved for a later date. It would have went great on "Tusk" the second to last song on Rumours is the softer balled "Oh Daddy" this song sounds great in Vinyl but better On CD format. The song is well crafted and really letting us fans know the LP is nearly over.
The last and final track on "Rumours" is one of the truest of all songs Stevie Nicks ever wrote. This song is a story song! Telling a tale of the truest forms in which Fleetwood Mac ever made. The chorus is the best bit of advice I've ever heard in my life when it says
"did she make you cry"
"Make you break down"
"Shatter your illusions of love"
"is it over no"
"do you know how to pick up the peaces and go on"
That in it self tells us the fans that this LP was worth the $14.99 we spent on this fine peace of all that it was all worth the time anyway.

Oh yeah, I've heard about this album... ;) ()

Top Three Moments

The scorching solo and outro to Go Your Own Way
The manic second half of Gold Dust Woman
"Don't.....Don't break the spell, it will be different and you know it will
Yooo-oo-oou....You make lovin fun...."
Can Do Without...
Second Hand News
I Don't Wanna Know (Both good but too chirpy for my liking)
Oh Daddy
The Album

What's better than a multi-platinum debut (Fleetwood Mac)? A follow-up that becomes the best-selling album of all time (Rumours).

Magical in songsmanship and production, these eleven tracks set a new worldwide standard in platinum pop. The drumming is tight, and there is a multitude of parts to each arrangement, unlike future sparse arrangements with Lindsey at the helm.

Dreams proved to be not just a great song, but the Mac's greatest ever, if US Billboard Top 100 charts are anything to go by. Never Going Back Again picks up where Landslide left off, showcasing the beautiful, raw intricacies of Lindsey's acoustic guitar work under a pretty song. His dobro work on The Chain is another signature element, along with the last minute acoustic guitar addition to Go Your Own Way.

Rumours is Christine's best Fleetwood Mac work until TITN comes around. Songbird is an intimate "lullaby" that endears the listener to the singer's soothing soul voice, as well as her understated keyboard talents. Don't Stop is the one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs from the Buckingham era that relies on strings, or string synths. It's somewhat against Lindsey's modus operandi to use strings in arrangements I think. But here they pay dividends, proved again and again by the test of time as radio listeners and US voters alike are taken smitten by Don't Stop's dancy shuffle, honky tonk piano, and androgenous vocal lead mix of Lindsey and Christine.

You Make Lovin Fun is the song that got me interested in Fleetwood Mac - 'miracles', 'magic', and that tinkly bell thing. This song was arranged masterfully, but the vocal arrangment and performance by Christine is the real gold.

The group kisses goodbye the mainstream gloss of Rumours and embraces Tusk's edge of insanity with the two-part enduring classic Gold Dust Woman. The saga at first highlights that magic Rumours vocal chorus sound, then gives way to furious devilry of aggressive acoustic guitar parts, violent percussion, and banshee-like wailing. Sublime!

One Great Recording ()

Aside from Skynyrds one more from/for the road this was the best album of the 70's! This is Stevie at her best. I knew she would go on making great music, and she sure proved me right Go girl!

A Soundtrack To Life ()

It's a warm, lazy Sunday afternoon in 70's suburbia. The tangy scent of freshly mown grass lingers in the air. You can just see your best buddy's legs sticking out from under the beat-up old Ford he's fixing in your driveway. Rumours is playing on the car stereo, and all is good in the world. You take a sip of your cold beer, sit back and soak up the rich harmonies of "I Don't Wanna Know". As Lindsey rips into the exit solo in "Go Your Own Way", you're reminded of the fun you had at yesterday's beach party. Stevie's unmistakable vocal stylings on "Dreams" serve as a soothing backdrop as you plan next weekend's camp-out in the old Ford. Suddenly you feel a sharp impact as a wrench collides with your left shin. "I said PASS ME THE OIL RAG!". Your mate is looking somewhat impatient at your lack of attention, but that's okay... This is Rumours!

Rock N Roll At Its Best ()

Clearly one of the best albums of all time, Rumours explores pain, brutal honesty, heart break, loss and drug use to the fullest. As always Buckingham comes through. "Second Hand News" is a great folk rock song with some great melodic harmonizing with Nicks. "Go Your Own Way" is a classic rocker with masterful guitar work and drum beats by Fleetwood. McVie does a nice job as well. "Don't Stop" was a top five smash and "Song Bird" is a lovely ballad. Her masterpiece is the folky "Oh Daddy." Nicks clearly comes into her own on this one. "Gold Dust Woman" is a spooky drug song that serves as a sort of counterpart to Bob Dylan's "Tamborine Man." "Dreams" the Billboard 1 sensation, is a great song about love and loss. "I Don't Want To Know" shows off Nicks' and Buckingham's one of a kind harmonizing. The album is terrific. Because it was so successful (third best selling album in history) Fleetwood Mac unfairly earned comparrisons to weaker bands like The Eagles. However, unlike other California rock groups they focused their work with surging passion and touched upon important issues. The album is a vital generation definer that should be in everyone's cd collection.

The absolute epitomy of American seventies rock music ()

This album just IS mid seventies Coastal music. Be that coast California or Croatia, Clearwater or Rio de Janeiro. The sixties had the Beach Boys, they made you feel the palm trees and the warm sun, the tanned girls and the freedom just by the songs they created and the way they sang them. Fleetwood Mac - in Rumours - were the seventies Beach Boys. The whole feel of the freedom, love and honesty the band managed to encapsulate on the vinyl made our lives better. I dare you to stay depressed when listening to something like Don't Stop! It's Up'ness is so totally infectious. You can very easily imagine yourself at the wheel of some sports car spinning along in the sun without a care in the world while you listen to song after song of sheer happiness.

The billboard and poster advertising in the UK for the album had pictures of very staid looking establishment types with - apparently despite themselves - beatific smiles as they listened to the album on headphones. The caption was Everyone listens to Rumours'. Everyone did! It's still an outstanding collection of classic absolutely CLASSIC rock songs. This is what FM radio was invented for. Rumours did for the seventies music scene what MTV - and via it Dire Straights - did for the eighties, it gave a definition, a shape to the culture. When years afterwards I read of how the band had been fracturing at the time into it's constituent pieces of Fleetwood and McVie, (a single unit), and the rest of the personnel it almost makes me believe that there must be a divine being whos one purpose was to ensure the time was punctuated by musical brilliance.
This album should be made compulsory listening. Its a defining, seminal moment in modern musical culture.

The most beautiful album of the 70's, period! ()

Rumours is incredibly beautiful - it represents the best of the 70's. Also, a perfect extension of their debut album in the U.S., Fleetwood Mac, which also contains wonderful music (e.g., Say You Love Me; Crystal, Warm Ways). A perfect gift for someone you love.

- orange

One of the best rock albums of all time ()

This album defines 70's rock. Stevie is at her best with "Dreams" a wavery tune that really shows off a lot of character in her voice. "I Don't Want to Know" is a great folk rock romp--something that could have been a knockout in concert. She steals the show with "Gold Dust Woman." That wailing at the end of the song could give anyone chills. Lindsey counters Stevie with the forceful "Go Your Own Way" and a great folk rock song "Second Hand News." He really comes into his own on "Rumours." My favorite song of all time is "The Chain." It is incredible to hear those guitars and the two voices of Stevie and Lindsey. Christine is at her best with "Songbird" and "Oh Daddy." She should have done more songs like these. A truly remarkable masterpiece.

The almost perfect record of all-time ()

This album, simply put, is wonderful. It's rare that 11 tracks flow together so easily on an album nowadays. If you're happy or depressed...or angry even, chances are you'll find that range of emotions in this record. Lindsey Buckingham's guitar work is underrated and perfect. "The Chain" is THE band song of all time. I can't say enough about it...the only thing I would change is that they should've included Silver Springs on it.

A classic! ()

It's no doubt that Rumours sold as many copies as it did! Rumours is wonderful. I'm sure all of you know that by now. Every song is worth listening to. My favorite song? Um...uh...all of them!!! What else can you say about Rumours??

Rumours of the greatest album of all time! ()

This is the second Fleetwood Mac album I ever bought. I was into teeny-boppy music back then but Fleetwood Mac changed all that. It wasn't until I listened to 'Rumours' I learnt and appreciated what real pop music was all about. Fleetwood Mac is the greatest rock band of all time and this is a piece of irrefutable evidence to prove just that.The irrepressible five at their best!

The dynamic rhythm section of the band - Fleetwood and J Mcvie- deliver some excellent work on tracks such as Don't stop - the blues-oriented, country-tinged shuffle, Go your own way - the harmonious rock ballad and the haunting, mysterious "Dreams" and the funky, r'n'b flavoured "You make loving fun."

"Dreams" is undoubtedly one of the strongest track on this album. John Mcvie's bass guitar playing is impeccable. He adds an eerieness to the song with his excellent bass playing. In fact the fab five struck a chord with this song as it would be the band's first ever US number one single.

"The Chain" poses the Mac's ability to work as a songwriting team which was never to be repeated again in the history of their recordings. "The Chain" was originally a Chrsitine Mcvie compostion titled "Keep me there". It was an instrumental. Essentially there was no melody or lyrics for the track. Mcvie would hand over the track to Buckingham as she got stuck and could not complete it. Subsequently Nicks would be involved in the evolution of the song by providing the melody and lyrics to the track. Buckingham would come up with the idea of playing dobro on the track which Christine was really keen on and then the "haunting" Chain would be born. John Mcvie would provide his indispensible bass skills to create the eerie mood at the end of the song. The Chain was to be disposed with but the band injected their creative juices to come up with an unforgettable gem that would become a concert favourite for fans all across the globe.

"Oh daddy!" was a Chrisitne Mcvie's tribute to Mick Fleetwood. A very sensitive and personal song which was inspired by Fleetwood's relationship with his wife at the time- Jenny Boyd.

The naked, raw, unrefined but pretty "Songbird" is one of the most memorable tracks on the album. Referred to as Christine's prayer by Fleetwood, this track creates a mood of solitude and possesses purity and unrefiness that is lacking in music today. The track sounds fresh and new and deviates from the sterility of slick production that can destroy the true soulful nature of a song.

While "Rumours" can be described as an album with country-pop tunes such as "Second Hand News", "I don't want to know" and "Gold dust woman" Rumours can also be described as a folk rock album which is evident in tracks such as "Never going back again". Regardless the "Mac" were creating a distinctive sound of their own.

"Go your own way" was Lindsey's prespective on his relationship on Stevie while "Dreams" and "Silver Springs" were her perspective on her relationship with Lindsey. Mcvie's "Don't stop" dueting vocally with Buckingham was her words of consolation and optimism for hubby John Mcvie. As you can see Rumours is a diary as each track on the album represents a diary entry from each band member offerring their own perspective of what was going on in their lives.

The sad thing about this album is that one of the greatest songs ever written by Stevie Nicks would not appear on this album. The beautiful "Silver Springs" would be confined to a side B which would understandably infuriate Stevie. This beautiful country-tinged folk-rockish ballad posed some of Stevie's best vocals and Buckigham's best guitar playing which really remains a mystery to me as to why it was treated the way it was. This song should have been a single. It would have been a big hit. I thought I would mention this song because as far as I am concerned this song is on the Rumours album and it belongs there. The twelfth "Rumours" track if you like.

"Rumours" was titled so because the band had created such an affect on the music scene that everyone was talking about them. Not just musically and profesionally but also personally. Fans, the critics and the media became obsessed with their personal traumas and problems people would speculate and try and figure out what was going on. The lyrical content of their songs would provide some insight into what was going on with the band member's personal lives. This would only make the listener of the album feel more closer to the band members.

Overwhelmed by loss and personal trauma and heartache this would inevitably reveal itself in the lyrical content of their songs. The songwriters could not escape their own reality, it was too painful and the only therapy or remedy for their pain was probably to share it with the world. This purity, innocence and sincerity would only make the world love the band even more to the extent that the Mac would become spoilt, successful millionaires - which is not necessarily a bad thing.

They were writing songs that were detailing what was happenning to them at the present time. For this reason the Mac will never record another album like this one ever again. They tried to do it with Mirage and it didn't work. This is probably because the Mac would hesitate to create such an autobiographical and personal piece of work that expose them to the world through a magnifying glass.

So the rumours must be true, this must be great ()

Their biggest album I believe is not their greatest. I prefer some earlier albums. I do think this is their best with the Stevie-Lindsey-Christine-John-Mick lineup. Almost every song is heard on the radio off this album and most of these songs are quite pleasant to listen to. I was never a fan of "Go Your Own Way" and I still am not. "Oh Daddy" puts me to sleep, sorry Christine but you've had better songs. "I Don't Want To Know" gets on my nerves too. Now with the good!!! Lindsey doesn't go overboard with his melodies and he shines with "Never Going Back Again" and with Christine on "Don't Stop". The "downs" in "Second Hand News" are kind of intense but they don't take away from the song. "Songbird" is a great song by Christine, one of her best. "You Make Loving Fun" is a good song with groovy music. Stevie hits a grand slam. "Dreams" and "Gold Dust Woman" are stellar. And lastly, "The Chain" is one of their best. Definitely put this on your Christmas list if you don't own it.

TRULY DESERVES ITS STATUS AS A LEGENDARY ALBUM... ()

LINDSEY HAS ALWAYS SAID THAT THIS ALBUM WAS IGNORED IN FAVOUR OF RUMOURS:THE RECORD SALES,WELL SORRY LINDSEY BUT 30 MILLION PROBABLY WOULD'NT CARE ABOUT HOW MANY COPIES SOLD.THIS ALBUM CONSOLIDATED THE NEW LINE UP & TOGETHER MADE A TRULY TIMELESS LP.