Rumours

by

Fleetwood Mac

Edit

This expanded version of the Rumours album features a second set of Roughs and Outtakes, as well as some early demos and jam sessions. The booklet has also been expanded, featuring lyrics, many photographs, and an essay about the making of Rumours.

Below is my review of each disc:

Disc: 1

1. Second Hand News

2. Dreams

3. Never Going Back Again

4. Don't Stop

5. Go Your Own Way

6. Songbird

7. Silver Springs

8. The Chain

9. You Make Loving Fun

10. I Don't Want to Know

11. Oh Daddy

12. Gold Dust Woman

What can be said of disc one that hasn't been said. This is virtually a perfect album. Every song is a classic. The remastering vastly improves the sound quality from the original CD release of Rumours back in the mid 80's.

Some people have an issue with the insertion of "Silver Springs" in the middle of the Rumours track order. I don't share in this, as I think placing the song at the end would be awkward. Positioned at track 7 fits well with the flow of the album. A good decision, in my opinion.

A bad decision, however, was not to include the ORIGINAL single version that we all know and love, and instead use a new remixed version that bring's Stevie Nicks' vocals too far forward and overpowering the beautiful harmonies. The powers be "fixed" something that wasn't broken in the first place! Simply a HORRIBLE decision.

Disc: 2

1. Second Hand News - Doesn't differ significantly from the original Rumours version.

2. Dreams News - Doesn't differ significantly from the original Rumours version. This arrangement is somewhat sparse, with Stevie's voice is somewhat more upfront in the mix, giving the song an somewhat more intimate quality.

3. Brushes (Never Going Back Again) - This is essentially the instrumental track (no vocals), with a different opening. An interesting, slightly different approach to this song

4. Don't Stop - Features a winding organ part towards the end of the song. - Doesn't differ significantly from the original Rumours version.

5. Go Your Own Way - Doesn't differ significantly from the original Rumours version.

6. Songbird - One of my favorites from Rumours, as it's always a delight to hear. However, this version doesn't differ significantly from the original Rumours version. The guitar, mostly in the right channel, strangely drops in suddenly on the left channel at 1:58.

7. Silver Springs - Another remix of this beautiful song.. As stated previously, I wish they would have just included the original single mix on disc one.

8. You Make Loving Fun - Features an interesting funky, false start, as well as some nice alternate background vocals.

9. Gold Dust Woman #1 - Different vocal inflections from Stevie, but the music is essentially the same. Sounds more angry to me. The ending features some haunting vocal work from Nicks.

10. Oh Daddy - Very different vocals - Christine McVie's voice was brought forward in the mix, and Stevie Nicks's background vocals are more pronounced.

11. Think About It - A very stripped down, funky version. I really liked this version.

12. Never Going Back Again - An instrumental version. Nothing that special

13. Planets of the Universe - An early Stevie Nicks song, recently resurrected on her 2001 CD "Trouble In Shangri-La" .

14. Butter Cookie (Keep Me There) - A previously unreleased Christine McVie song. While I loved her songs on Rumours, this song was justifiable left off. The lyrics are unfinished and therefore some bluff vocals are sung instead.

15. Gold Dust Woman - An extremely stripped down version. Consider this "Gold Dust Woman" unplugged. Probably my favorite track on disc 2.

16. Doesn't Anything Last - A previously unreleased Lindsey Buckingham song. I liked this song as well. Because it is a demo, it's also features the sparse unplugged type of feel. This song is incomplete and ends suddenly.

17. Mic the Screecher - Some noodling in the studio while the tape rolled on. Not something that bears repeated listening.

18. For Duster (The Blues) - A 4:26 blues style jam, harkening back to the early style of Fleetwood Mac. An interesting way to close disc 2.

What's amazing is that the rough demos and outtakes of the Rumours songs presented on the second disc don't differ much from the released versions, indicating that the songs were pretty much recorded as originally envisioned. Unfortunately, that also means you're less likely to come back to the second disc, as the originally released versions are for the most part the best version.

So it is worth buying this set? The remastered material sounds great, and it's nice to finally have "Silver Springs" included with the other Rumours tracks. However, the second disc really doesn't present anything all that unique and essential for anyone but the most avid Fleetwood Mac fan, and the screw up with "Silver Springs" is criminal. Given the $20.99 price of the expanded edition vs the 13.99 price of the standard CD, well, the choice is up to you.

Even though this is an absolutely classic album, I am rating it with only four stars due to the "Silver Sprinsg" screw up, as well as the unessential second disc.

One last note - the DVD-Audio version present the Rumours tracks in remastered sound with the ORIGINAL version of "Silver Springs", so for some of you that may be the best way to go.

As a huge Mac fan, I purchased the three remastered Mac albums with great excitement. However, my excitement soon turned to grave disappointment when I listened to them. I should point out that there were two earlier pressings of this CD; the first was dreadful, and this version is clearly better than that one. However, the second version (done as a result of customer complaints about the first, I believe) was vastly superior, both to the first pressing and (to a lesser extent) this remaster.

"Second Hand News" sounds much better on the remaster, but it's all downhill from there. "Dreams" is lineball, but from then on it's clear that the second pressing was significantly crisper and clearer than this remaster (although the remaster has fuller bass). Also, "Silver Springs" sounds infinitely better on "The Chain" box set.

I am frankly astonished that anyone involved could have let such a substandard remaster of such a well-known album be released.