Very few albums, or artists for that matter, have served as a soundtrack to a generation. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours does exactly 
that. It’s still is a relevant album because it explores in a voyeuristic way, the personal turmoil amongst the band members during the recording of the album. The mix of personal turmoil amongst the band, though it nearly cost them their sanity and was fueled by lots and lots of drugs, make this a beautiful masterpiece.
Best of all, it is easy to relate to lyrically due to its content – which includes jabs at other band members, all of whom were experiencing romantic turmoil: bassist John McVie and his wife Christine’s marriage was in shambles as was the romantic relationship between singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Additionally, Nicks and drummer Mick Fleetwood (who was married at the time) were having an affair.
Songs like Don’t Stop and Songbird which are nothing short of an offer of hope both personally and for the band itself. Perhaps they were thinking in they lyric from The Chain: “I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain.” It is one of the few songs that is written by the ENTIRE band and it is a gem.
Also, one of the other great things is the actual skill of the musicians. One of the best sounding tracks on the album is You Make Lovin’ Fun. Lead vocalist [for this track] and keyboard player Christine McVie is remarkable on all accounts. However, all of the lyrical greatness and great sound come together on Gold Dust Woman - which is both a metaphor for drugs and quite possibly the ending of the relationship of the songs author, Stevie Nicks, and then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham.
For those of you that saw last week’s episode of Glee, this is an album worth buying due to the fact that it is great musicianship under fire, something that happens to us all. It is very relatable if you have ever endured a never-ending breakup. That is what makes this album one of the greatest albums.
Also be sure to check out the special Classic Albums that VH1 Classic and the BBC documentary they did on Rumours, where they go into both the technicality of making the album as well as what the songs are about – including stories and interviews with band members and album personnel.
