Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Fleetwood Mac was a success by any standard by the mid 70s. They’d started as a blues rock band that had gradually shifted to more of a pop rock sound. Then the band, who were used to shifting members, met and eventually absorbed the duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks into the group. There’s a documentary about the Sound City studio that features an extended section about this encounter when both groups were recording there.

I don’t know if Lindsey Buckingham is a mastermind, but he definitely put his stamp on the band in terms of both musicianship and career ambition. Bigger sound, bigger hits, bigger everything.

This is the second Buckingham-driven Fleetwood record, and it became one of the biggest selling albums in history.

Some of this is admittedly FM radio fluff that’s not going to stick in your mind. But Buckingham’s guitar and Mick Fleetwood’s drumming make for some hypnotic, slow-building drama in places, and explosive and joyous celebrations in others. The vocal harmonies set it all at a higher level.

They made something that is definitely a mid-70s pop rock record, but is also timeless in so many ways.