Customer Reviews

Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

In a way, the remastering seems like a marketing ploy to make more money, to promote the second leg of their national tour (it amazes me that they could still be touring- it's like trying to imagine my parents running around the country from city to city playing rock music every night. I can't.).
Yet, I think it's also an effort to present the music to their fans on CD as it was originally recorded. The pre-existing CD versions are definitely sub-optimal- the transfer from the analog recording is flat and smoothed over. When I heard Rumours remastered, I almost started crying- in fact, I might have. It was clear and vibrant, the vocals had so much more depth, and the instruments stand out from one other- and the singing rises from the music rather than being plastered to it. This is the way it was meant to be listened to. This is the reason Fleetwood Mac is a blues/folk/*rock*- and not pop- band. I can hear vocals and sounds that I never ever heard before- it's just so intense. Definitely worth it

I have been wondering when they might get around to remastering the Fleetwood Mac catalog, particularly after hearing the criminal butchery inflicted upon the Tusk CD, my personal favorite. Oddly Enough, I have been listening to the new Mac album and was inspired to pick up Rumours, so I happened to discover this remaster by accident. I have to generally agree with the other reviewer in that the bonus material is interesting, if inessential. Also, the liner notes inside the cd booklet could have been much, much more comprehensive for such a landmark album. They decided to stick 'Silver Springs' back into the original sequence (directly between what used to be sides one and two of the LP, I do believe), but there is nary a mention as to why it was left off of the orignal LP or why the decision was made to put it back. Music geeks live for this kind of information! They did, at least, restore the original gatefold collage of photos that seem to show the band having a pretty great time, despite all the emotional pain they were apparently inflicting upon each other.

Still and all, the reason to pick up this album is the sound. The drum and bass are filled out considerably and brought forward in the mix, the keyboards and vocal harmonies are given space to breathe and the guitar parts shimmer and shine like never before. In fact, for a Lindsey Buckingham fan like myself, this is a real treat to hear the intricate picking of this underrated Guitar Hero with such clarity. As a long time music fan, it is a tremendous treat to see the digital age finally catching up with the Monsters of Classic Rock & Pop. Rumours is as good as it gets. Now I need to go buy Tusk!!!

Just a quick note to clear up some confusion in regards to "Gold Dust Woman."
The version included here on Disc 1 (with the faded intro and outro) is the one which was originally included on 'Rumours' when it was released on vinyl in 1977.

When 'Rumours' was released on CD in the late-'80s, an alternate version of "Gold Dust Woman" was used on the second-pressing, and that version is the one which didn't fade-in and had a cold-stop ending. That mix also included the sound of glass shattering during the coda... which was not used on the original vinyl mix.

I was at the store practically the minute it opened to get the three three Fleetwood Mac re-issues (Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk). The second i got back out to my car i ripped the plastic off and started listening to the extra disc on Rumours and i was thrilled. The roughs, outtakes, and demos are a dream come true for a major fan like myself! There are two different versions of Gold Dust Woman on the bonus disc, and one of the versions is actually upbeat; totally different from the finished product. Plus, many of Lindsey's songs are void of vocals so that you can really hear his guitar genius. Never Going Back Again (one of my absolute favorites of the band) sounds just awesome and is further proof that Lindsey is a guitar GOD! There are also some demos of songs that didn't make it on the album, like Planets of the Universe (which actually made it onto Stevie's latest solo release), Doesn't Anything Last, Butter Cookie, and Think About It.
The booklet is also stunning. There is an essay with tons of info and insight into the band's history. There are also tons of pictures and even a two page collage of the band. All of the lyrics are also included.
Buy this even if you already have the old copy of Rumours, the Bonus disc alone is MORE than worth the purchase price of the cd!

After their breakthrough success with their self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac should have been on top of the world. Instead, success led to tensions in the band that would result in the two couples, Buckingham-Nicks & the McVie's, dissolving their relationships. There was tremendous friction when the band entered the studio to record the follow up album. It was those frictions and breakups that fueled the album and turned it into one of the classic albums of the 70's and in rock history. Rumours contains 11 songs in which many deal with the breakups. To hear Lindsay Buckingham & Stevie Nicks sing the searing "Go Your Own Way" together when you know that the song was written about their situation adds an extra edge to the song that can't be created if the song was about someone else. "The Chain" has a dark and ironic urgency to it and the bouncy beats of "Second Hand News" mask angry and bitter lyrics. "Dreams" is a bittersweet song that captures the essence of Stevie Nicks. It has a mystical, ethereal sound with deep lyrics and it has the witchy feel that made Ms. Nicks the high priestess of rock. The song became the album's and the band's only number one single. Ms. Nicks also shines on the eerie "Gold Dust Woman" that is a thinly veiled song about her cocaine abuse. The song dips and dives with stinging guitars and dirge like Hammond organ. Not every song is downcast; "Don't Stop" is a classic anthem of optimism and hope in which Christine McVie & Mr. Buckingham's vocals intertwine perfectly to capture the feeling that tomorrow will soon be here. "You Make Loving Fun" is a bouncy song that must have burned John McVie as Christine McVie wrote it about her new lover. "Songbird" is an elegantly beautiful song that is just Ms. McVie on vocals and piano and its position right in the middle of the album provides a respite from the album's high tensions. Rumours not only capitalized on the success of their prior album, but it was so big that it became a cultural touchstone. The album spent a staggering 31 weeks at number one in 1977, became the first album to spawn four top ten hits and ranks as one of the five biggest selling albums in history with over 20 million in sales and won the 1977 Grammy for Album of the Year. The original album is altered to include "Silver Springs" which was originally a b-side to "Go Your Own Way", but was revived in popularity with its inclusion on their comeback album, "The Dance". It is placed between "Songbird" and "The Chain" the songs that end side one and start side two respectively on the original album. Disk two is full of demo takes of the album's songs as well as jam sessions and other miscellaneous tracks.

... Not that the original version of Rumours wasn't good enough in it's self, the WB people finally decided they needed to remaster this great artwork of an album into digital quality, and give Fleetwood Mac's loyal fans a bonus disc of roughs/outtakes/early demos/and jam sessions from the recording sessions.

This is definetely one album that can NEVER be duplicated and the reissue of it proves that. It stands the test of time, no doubt. The bonus material is the best part. You get to hear Nicks sing an early version of "Dreams" and hear her in the background say "alright second verse" before she sings. "Oh Daddy" from the outtakes on Disc 2 should've been the version they put on the album, Nicks' vocals are so loud and haunting, it almost becomes a duet with Christine McVie.
Also, "Silver Springs" the long lost (until 1997's reunion tour/CD) makes it's deserving spot not only on Disc 1 in the mix with the original remastered album cuts, but in rare outtake form on Disc 2 as well.
Just when you thought Lindsey's guitar work couldn't get better, wait till you hear this. It is especially evident on the instrumental version of Never Goin Back Again (Brushes) on Disc 2. Now we all get to hear all the little parts that went into every song (without having DVD Audio 5.1 Surround)...things you never knew where even there.

Thank You Fleetwood Mac and Warner Bros. for giving fans this great piece of history in digital form.

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 one hears the bass becoming 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 giving 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 sessions 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.

When "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" was released, my friend Rebecca said, "Isn't that 'Rumours'?" It was funny...and not altogether untrue. I like much of their other music, but all but two songs of "Rumours" appear on the 'best of' collection.

Quality went into the making of the music and the original album release, but not the original compact disk version. Originally this album was rushed out for cd release w/out any regard to sound quality. Almost 20 yrs later the sound has finally been upgraded w/the release of this remaster.

As pop/rock music goes, there is little that matches, let alone surpasses "Rumours'. It is almost perfect in its conception through execution. Three songwriters w/varying styles that blend together in almost every song. And one great production team. It's still a classic disk - and almost 30 years old!!

The harmonies are great ("The Chain" and the completely underrated "I Don't Want to Know") and the simplicity of "Oh Daddy" really add to the hits of the disk. Musically they hit all their marks (except for the fact that I constantly skip over "Don't Stop").

Disk two of outtakes, demos and unreleased stuff is an ok addition - but nothing I'll be going back to time and again, if ever. Nicks, for supposedly being a 'prolific' songwriter, is still using material to this day she wrote/demo'd 30 yrs ago ("Planets of the Universe").

Hindsight is 20/20 - and the versions of the songs they didn't use ("Gold Dust Woman") shows how on the mark they were w/the choices the band did make. (Though the demo version of the same song shows what a force an acoustic show could have been.). The stripped down versions of "Dreams", "Silver Springs" and "Go Your Own Way" show how much additional work went into making them classics. Also, it shows what a good producer Jimmy Iovine turned out to be - making Nicks' almost unlistenable demo of "Think About It" tolerable on 'Bella Donna'.

The five star rating I'm giving is for disk one.