13. Fleetwood Mac, Rumors. Fleetwood Mac is another one of those bands that I liked well enough back in the day, but wasn't apeshit over or anything. Maybe I saw the video for "Hold Me" on MTV too many times back in high school. Christine McVie digging up guitars in the desert: Jesus H. Christ.
But then, something happened a few years ago. I can't even remember what it was. Maybe I heard one fof their songs on the radio again, and thought to myself, "You know, they really were the shit." Or more likely, I read some random story about them somewhere, or even just had a sandwich that reminded me of Stevie Nicks. Well, whatever it was, I finally got a copy of Rumors - and it was like falling in love with your high-school sweetheart all over again. Except not so much! Because I don't think Fleetwood Mac was that big at my high school.
You know, I think I know what it was now: I heard "Never Going Back Again" on the radio. One of the lesser hits from this album, simple and straightforward, and yet a really great song. And there's just something about the way all the Mackers harmonized on the back-up vocals of different songs, all these great voices blending together so beautifully; sometimes, it just fills me with this feeling that there are things in the world more majestic than can ever be fully realized. And there are, like, five all-time rock 'n' roll classics on this album! I'm not even counting "Don't Stop," which a lot of people like but not this guy. "Go Your Own Way," on the other hand - there aren't many better songs than that in the English language.
In their heyday, Fleetwood Mac lived hard and burned out fast. Lots of drugs (which is, FYI, what "Gold Dust Woman" is about, I think), and Stevie Nicks turned from a cute little pixie to a battle-hardened rocker mama almost overnight. They were the quintessential California band. And they accomplished a lot, but could have done even more. All part of their mystique. I'm just grateful they left us with this masterpiece, a reminder that not everything was crap back in the 70's.
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