Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) (Deluxe Edition - 2 CD) (2004)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) (Deluxe Edition - 2 CD) (2004)

I have owned Rumours before, both in the LP format and the original CD format. Obviously this album has been a favourite of mine for a long time, with a slight more understanding of the tension involved in making it as the years have passed by.What struck me, however, by hearing this new re-mastered version was the immense sound quality. Listening to Dreams the bass becomes so vibrant and alive with Stevie Nick's voice backed up with incredible harmonies with the addition of crisp guitar sounds and thumping drumming. On the next track, Never Going Back Again the guitar is spread in the mix givingmore… the listener a feeling of actually being involved with the playing. Much of the same can be described by most of the other songs on the album, making me for my part re-discovering it again. Never before had I noticed how great the production was, not only in regards of the sound quality but also how it was mixed, both simple but yet innovative.I took my old CD to compare the two versions, the hypothesis being that maybe this great sound had simply eluded me some years ago. The difference was, however, similar to hearing a worn cassette tape and a regular CD. The separation of instruments was not to be heard, a lack of depth was evident and the mix was muffled as if one were listening to a worn LP.There is also added material. Silver Springs, a single not included on the original version, has been tacked between what before was side A and B. A fine song and its odd inclusion actually does keep the flow of the album intact (I believe having it at the end would spoil the fine ending of the original). There is also a bonus disk consisting of demos of the songs. It is interesting hearing these demos, one can hear how good the simple versions are but yet how delicately Fleetwood Mac improved them in the studio. Of particular note is Brushes which is only the guitar playing of what became Never Going Back Again. One must, however, make sure to press the stop button before some jam session at the end of the disc begin, those are only for the most devoted. Thus from the standpoint of sound quality, this re-mastered version of Rumours is in my view a great buy. The bonus CD is a welcome addition and the artwork accompanying this version does this great album justice.

In 1975, a pair of hard-living, hard-rocking British blues rockers went eye-to-eye with a pair of sensitive L.A. singer-songwriter types -- and the rockers blinked. The bluesmen were Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, whose band, Fleetwood Mac, had first recorded in 1967. The Californians were Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, a couple romantically and musically, who'd recorded an album as Buckingham Nicks. The two pairs, along with McVie's wife, Christine (a respected singer and songwriter in her own right who joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970 and then married John), teamed up and produced an album far more California sunshine rock than British blues. Following the grand success of their debut, Fleetwood Mac, the McVies broke up, as did Buckingham and Nicks, and the resulting romantic pressure-cooker -- coupled with Buckingham's flowering production talents -- produced Rumours, a tour de force that became one of the biggest-selling records ever made. "Here you go again," breathed Stevie Nicks near the start of the record, "you say you want your freedom." The emotional weariness captured in that line suffuses the album, notwithstanding the upbeat melodies and pristine, daring production. You also get Christine McVie's hit "Don't Stop" -- later a campaign theme song for Bill Clinton -- and arguably Buckingham's greatest track, a drum-driven cry at the death of love called "Go Your Own Way." Bill Wyman

320 @
242 MB

Tracklist:

CD 1

01 Second Hand News 2:56
02 Dreams 4:17
03 Never Going Back Again 2:14
04 Don't Stop 3:13
05 Go Your Own Way 3:43
06 Songbird 3:20
07 Silver Springs 4:48
08 The Chain 4:30
09 You Make Loving Fun 3:36
10 I Don't Want to Know 3:16
11 Oh Daddy 3:56
12 Gold Dust Woman 4:55

CD 2

01 Second Hand News Bonus 2:47
02 Dreams Bonus 4:21
03 Brushes (Never Going Back Again) Bonus 2:50
04 Don't Stop Bonus 3:33
05 Go Your Own Way Bonus 3:06
06 Songbird Bonus 3:11
07 Silver Springs Bonus 6:07
08 You Make Loving Fun Bonus 4:56
09 Gold Dust Woman #1 Bonus 5:02
10 Oh Daddy Bonus 3:58
11 Think About It Bonus 2:55
12 Never Going Back Again Bonus / Demo Version 1:56
13 Planets of the Universe Bonus / Demo Version 3:18
14 Butter Cookie (Keep Me There) Bonus / Demo Version 2:11
15 Gold Dust Woman Bonus / Demo Version 5:01
16 Doesn't Anything Last Bonus / Demo Version 1:10
17 Mic the Screecher Bonus / Jam Session 0:59
18 For Duster (The Blues) Bonus / Jam Session 4:26