35th anniversary of Rumors
Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 12:05 am
Is apparently this week. CNN has made a bit of a hoopla about it, calling it, "the perfect album".
Y'know, there was a time in my life back in the '80s when I would have agreed with that. For all my metalheading, I freaking loved Fleetwood Mac. Now I'm not so sure. I still have a great deal of respect for Lindsey Buckingham, and I think Christine McVie has (arguably) the best female rock voice ever, but the Buckingham/Nicks-era Mac hasn't aged well.
The problem? It's safe. The band took no risks whatsoever. They churned out agreeable pop music with a virtuoso guitar player. Not only isn't Rumors "perfect", it doesn't appreciably stand out from other 1977 albums....
-Pink Floyd's Animals
-Parliament's Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome
-The Clash's The Clash
-The Commodores's The Commodores
-Bob Marley's Exodus
-UFO's Lights Out
-Clapton's Slowhand
-ELO's Out of the Blue
-Rush's A Farewell to Kings
Not to mention other crowd pleasers like Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell and Kansas's Point of Know Return.
And no way does Rumors rival timeless albums like Floyd's DSotM or WYWH, Zeppelin's IV, The White Album, Pet Sounds, London Calling, and so on.
So why the love for Rumors? Yeah, it's a good album full of innocuous songs. But "perfect"? "Timeless"?
I don't see it.
Y'know, there was a time in my life back in the '80s when I would have agreed with that. For all my metalheading, I freaking loved Fleetwood Mac. Now I'm not so sure. I still have a great deal of respect for Lindsey Buckingham, and I think Christine McVie has (arguably) the best female rock voice ever, but the Buckingham/Nicks-era Mac hasn't aged well.
The problem? It's safe. The band took no risks whatsoever. They churned out agreeable pop music with a virtuoso guitar player. Not only isn't Rumors "perfect", it doesn't appreciably stand out from other 1977 albums....
-Pink Floyd's Animals
-Parliament's Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome
-The Clash's The Clash
-The Commodores's The Commodores
-Bob Marley's Exodus
-UFO's Lights Out
-Clapton's Slowhand
-ELO's Out of the Blue
-Rush's A Farewell to Kings
Not to mention other crowd pleasers like Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell and Kansas's Point of Know Return.
And no way does Rumors rival timeless albums like Floyd's DSotM or WYWH, Zeppelin's IV, The White Album, Pet Sounds, London Calling, and so on.
So why the love for Rumors? Yeah, it's a good album full of innocuous songs. But "perfect"? "Timeless"?
I don't see it.