Customer Reviews

Classic Albums - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

First off, let me say that several people have reviewed this item incorrectly. The item above is NOT the AUDIO DVD of the Rumours album (DVD-A). The Audio DVD is a completely different experience than the item you are looking at. This item is a regular "movie" visual-type DVD that includes interviews with the band and that breaks down the music peice by peice. It's been on TV before...and, it's been available on VHS for quite a long time. With that said...

Being a huge FM and Stevie fan, I purchased this on DVD hoping that it might have additional footage or features that were not on the VHS (which, of course I have already). Well sadly, there is nothing additional on the DVD. However, this is still such a GREAT thing to have. It's absolutely amazing to listen to Stevie, alone at her candlelit piano, singing "Dreams". It makes me cry because it's so beautiful. That 30 seconds of video ALONE is worth the purchase price. It's incredible to hear the music "taken apart" at the soundboard, instrument by instrument, sound by sound, voice by voice. It really helps you understand and appreciate the painstaking process this was for all of them. If you've never seen it, you really should buy it - on either format - DVD or VHS - it really makes no difference.

The Good
Ahh, turmoil makes for good albums, but who didn't know that's what Rumours was all about. It's still quite interesting to hear Fleetwood Mac tell the stories themselves of how the songs that made up their landmark album came together. Why "Rhiannon" is included here is beyond me, it wasn't even on that album. The song was released when Buckingham and Nicks joint the group one album prior, so there's some significance. It was Christine that came up with the chunky riff that dominates "You Make Loving Fun", but together with Lindsey they made a masterpiece. Between a classic live performance of the song, John and Christine discuss their troubled relationship during the recording. Stevie Nicks reveals that she wrote "Dreams" in Sly Stones bed, and how Lindsey always had a way to make her songs sound great, when he was happy with her. The Scottish/Irish folk influenced "Second Hand News" was a Buckingham contribution. He reveals that he was listening to the Bee Gee's "Jive Talking" at the time he wrote it. Mick Fleetwood offers an interesting little tidbit here; he wasn't the odd man out when it came to dysfunctional relationship. Not only were Lindsey and Stevie & John and Christine on the skid, he was dealing with his best friend sleeping with his wife. They're still friends today though.

Mick breaks down the little pieces that make up "Go Your Own Way" in the studio to show how it all comes together. Lindsey demonstrates on an acoustic guitar how important the background riff to the song was. Some great stories come out of the discussion of "Never Going Back Again". Stevie and Christine always had each other to turn to, John emphasizes how drug use was common place back then, but realizes how bad they were, and the producers tell a hilarious story of mishandled drugs. You've gotta love Lindsey's afro in the video for "Don't Stop". The band goes into how the song is connected to President Clinton. The producer states that he felt "Songbird" sounded like a concert hall type song, so they booked a concert hall to record it. They set up a piano with flowers and champagne for Christine to play away. They include performance footage in which I can't tell if it's Christine back then or Christine today. She really hasn't aged a bit. The DVD covers the song "Silver Springs" which didn't actually appear on the album. The producers said they had to cut it due to time space. There's a live performance of "The Chain" from the eighties, circa Lindsey's funny hat days. The group reveals that the song was changed at the last minute to make it work.

The Bad
The group does their interviews separate from each other.

The Verdict
The stories are just as compelling as the album.

I've read several reviews of this DVD and have some advice. Learn how to operate your DVD player! I've heard people say they were expecting a documentary,and people expecting the Rumours album uninterrupted. This DVD contains both and is an excellent investment for any Fleetwood Mac or music fan in general.

For Fleetwood Mac fans, the opportunity to hear Go Your Own Way, followed by Silver Springs is priceless and the way that these songs were meant to be heard--point/counterpoint. For those of us out there who have been listening to this album since 1977, you will be astounded by the harmonies, the instrumentals, and vocals that have never been heard before, even on the highest quality CD.

For the general music fan, Fleetwood Mac fan or not, this DVD is pure musical craftsmanship! The sound quality, vocals, etc. are top notch and can be enjoyed by anyone with a love and/or knowledge of music that stands the test of time. The music on Rumours is not dated in any way. The theme of love lost, covered in Dreams, Go Your Own Way, and Silver Springs, to name a few, along side the theme of love found, covered by You Make Loving Fun, Don't Stop, and Songbird are as timely today as they were in 1977. In other words, something for everyone, and a cut above the rest.

This was easily the most enlightening of the various Mac documentaries made around the time of the "Dance" reunion. The band members all provide insightful commentary on their contributions to "Rumours," and each of the writers (Stevie, Lindsey and Christine) performs a solo version of one of their songs from the album. Best of all, though, are the in-studio breakdowns of the eleven tracks. We get to hear the bone-chilling screams at the end of "Gold Dust Woman" and the beautiful acoustic guitar work on "Silver Springs," for example, stripped of all accompaniment. These segments of the video make the intricate craftmanship of the album more obvious--and breathtaking--than ever before.

How would you like it if you were breaking up with a spouse or lover, but while you were doing it, you were forced to spend fifteen hours a day with that person for a solid year? Oh and by the way... your former love would be writing publicly about the whole experience! That's pretty much the dilemma the members of the music group, Fleetwood Mac experienced, while making one of the biggest selling rock albums to come out of the 1970s. The history of this album's creation is explored in this episode of Rhino's Classic Albums series documentary, "Fleetwood Mac Rumors". This is an episode of a series, where performers, writers and producers analyze and talk about a classic album they helped create. In this case we get imput from producer Keith Olsen and all the members of the 'Rumors era' Fleetwood Mac.The documentary is excellent in giving us access to vintage film clips and beautiful stills of the band from the mid to late '70s.More importantly the members of the band give detailed stories and explanations of the real life 'soap opera' behind the album's songs. Some of them were funny (the band diving for a huge bag of fake cocaine, that was droped to the floor) or sad (how Christine McVie could barely talk to her former husband, while making the album).The viewer also gets to follow Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and Producer, Ken Olsen into the original studio and listen to the recordings being broken down by their musical and vocal tracks. We get to hear the intricacies of Mick Fleetwood's expansive drumming style and how John McVie's bass led each song. The tracks also show what an underated guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham really is and the beauty in the stand alone harmonies of Stevie Knicks & Christine McVie. But my favorite part of the documentary is Christine McVie's live performance of the tune "Songbird" at the very same auditorium she used to record it over twenty five years ago. Watching her perform this lovely, but heartbreaking song still sends shivers down my spine! If you are fan of Fleetwood Mac or just plain old rock n' roll in general, then this DVD is not to to be missed! Highly recommended!

I have purchased this DVD, and love it. I have been a Fleetwood Mac fan for over 25 years (yes, the Stevie/Lindsey lineup). Yes, like some have said, the audio and video aren't the best that are out there on the market, but it's good and entertaining to hear from the band members and the producers what went into it - emotionally and technically. But, this is NOT the DVD-Audio of Rumours that has recently been released. This DVD is a video DVD, not the audio of the original recordings put into a digitalized 5.1/surround sound format. I purchased this video DVD about one year ago, and the Rumours DVD-A was just released this past spring of 2001. Some people have reviewed the DVD-A here in error. As much as I enjoy watching this DVD (over and over again), the DVD-A is awesome - when played on a surround-sound system, or on a DVD Audio player. So, for all of us real fans, buy this DVD, watch it to find out what the recording was really like, then buy the DVD-A to hear what it was actually like. Makes you feel like you were in the studio with them!

If you are a Fleetwood Mac fan then this should be in your collection ASAP. The sound quality is excellent for DVD. If you're a recording engineering type you'll love how Richard Dashut and Ken Calliat (and sometimes Lindsey Buckingham) break down each song to understand the core of a song. Christine McVie's "Songbird" is extremely powerful.

If the archival video footage of the songs had been shown in their entirety, I would rate this DVD a 10+. That stuff is out there, these clips are teasers. In fact, I own some old FM concert VHS tapes which I purchased when new (Tusk documentary, Mirage tour, etc). I look at the vaults on The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac cd and wonder why not DVD? Frustrating, they would look and sound great. Still, I never saw the Rumours photo session footage which is included on this DVD and that was an unexpected treat even if it was too short. I knew at the time of Rumours release that there was a lot of turmoil going on in the band but had no idea to what extent until I watched these interviews. All's well now apparently since they have a new cd due out in April. I sure will miss Christine, though. I recommend this DVD to any old diehard Fleetwood Mac fans who crave anything from those good old days and also to the new ones so that you can learn about their history.

A spectactular review of Rumours and of the group itself, this "Classic Albums" DVD adds to the already sizeable reputation of Fleetwood Mac. The original album alone speaks for itself (certainly one of the top 5 albums of all time) but to now hear all members dissect each song with memories and anecdotes on this DVD made these songs an extremely joyful experience all over again for me.

Listening to the group discuss these classic songs now (these are 1997 interviews), one can still see some of the intense emotions that constituted the making of the album. Whether it's Lindsey Buckingham reminiscing about the making of "Gold Dust Woman" or Stevie Nicks talking about her emotions during the recording of "Go Your Own Way", the viewer gets a true feeling for the emotional committment that each member made during this period. Candid, intense and informal and also with the benefit of 20 years perspective, the producers have added another cornerstone in the ongoing drama that makes this group so popular.

All song selections are also looked at from a sound engineers perspective using the original tapes and a multi track sound board. We see how the vocals were broken down and how the instrumentation fit in...basically how each song was built and what influences were used (i.e. Lindsey Buckingham admitting that he "borrowed" some "textures" from the Bee Gees song "Jive Talking"). Context of the times during these original recordings is a big part of each song's discussion and the mix of interviews with just the right amount of music makes this DVD a pleasure to watch over and over again.

With Fleetwood Mac back out on the road again (for their 2003 Tour minus Christine McVie), the group will undoubtedly get another popularity injection...this DVD shows the group in relatively recent interviews and should show a different generation the "power" of Fleetwood Mac. Highest recommendation!!

For any Fleetwood Mac fans this DVD is excellent. It is a documentary on the making of Fleetwood Mac's finest album "RUMORS". The video and audio quality is great. Also, the interviews with each bad member on their impressions, emotions and artistic review of each song really makes one appreciate Rumors more!