Wednesday 24 April 2019

Classic albums: Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus


Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus  (1970)

Right on the cusp of the Seventies if you were into underground or progressive music (the term then was used for any music that was attempting to progress on from basic electric blues, so would embrace Cream, Led Zeppelin, as well as the early "progressive rock" bands such as Genesis) you'd have been aware of Spirit. They were a band that were respected rather more than enjoyed. They seemed to have potential to do good, though their music lacked identity or energy or fun or well just whatever it was that made music exciting. In essence Spirit were Worthy but Dull.

My first knowledge of them was from the sampler album The Rock Machine Turns You On, which contained "Fresh Garbage". To this day I retain a fondness for that song, and that sampler album - and I'm not alone in that. The track shows the band's West Coast origins with a laid back jazz and blues and country feel. combined with echoes of LoveGrateful Dead, and the Doors.  Mentioning those bands indicates why Spirit didn't become better known - they were playing on a very crowded stage, and they never really produced songs that captured the hearts and minds of critics or the general public. The band are probably better known these days for the court case over the similarities between "Taurus" and "Stairway to Heaven".

Wikipedia article on Spirit 


Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is the band's most acclaimed album. It is seen as their highpoint - the band fell apart shortly after recording it, and though they did release other albums, they are not highly regarded, even among Spirit fans.  It was their fourth album.

Their debut album Spirit (1968) contains "Fresh Garbage". "Uncle Jack" is a piece of blues based psychedelia with some jazz drumming and trippy electric guitar, "Girl In Your Eye" has some Beatles sitar sounds - other than "Fresh Garbage", there's nothing distinctive or memorable. Most tracks were written by the singer and keyboard player Jay Ferguson.

The follow up was The Family That Plays Together (1968), which was a little tighter and rockier.  Song-writing was split between Ferguson and the lead guitarist Randy California. They rarely wrote together - preferring to write their own songs.  "I Got A Line On You" was a modest hit single - it's a modest late 60's rock song with nothing original about it. The lead guitar is particularly full of cliches.

The next released album was "Clear" (1969), though the band recorded the soundtrack to the film Model Shop. The soundtrack was released in 2005.

None of these albums is particularly interesting. They sound like the albums of a B-List band. They are on the whole competent, but there's nothing really to get your teeth into. They sound like a band that's perpetually caught up in the leaf swirl of a vehicle moving fast in a positive direction. They are not rocky enough or jazzy enough or psychedelic enough. They don't have flashy or interesting musicians or lead singer. They plod along in a quiet and worthy and unimaginative way.

So we come to their acclaimed album, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. Over the years people have made mention of this album. I've read the name several times. I can't say for certain if I heard it back in the early 70s. I may have owned it - I got through a lot of albums back then. Acquiring them and swapping them at speed. Always willing to try out new stuff, and always willing to swap out the crap for something potentially better. But if I did hear it or even own it, I don't recall it, and playing it now doesn't bring back any memories. Anyway....

The first track reminds me of Traffic - it has a good driving mix of jazz and rock, and the song has a more developed structure than heard previously from them.  But the comparison with Traffic is not right - Traffic had more accomplished musicians, so the sound is richer, lighter, more skilled and complex. Spirit are tighter and more direct. Though, tighter and more direct is more suited to straight rock. It doesn't quite work when the intention is to be musically varied and interesting, especially when dealing with jazz. Spirit's drummer is good, and can bring in interesting drum rhythms, but the rest of the band can't quite match him, so that is where Spirit are let down. They are, on the whole, not able to match their musical ambitions.

Jazz rock albums released in the 12 months before Twelve Dreams include  Traffic's John Barleycorn Must Die,  Blood Sweat & Tears 3.  Frank Zappa's Hot Rats, Soft Machine's Third, Colosseum's Those About To Die Salute You,  and Chicago III.  Those albums are rather more obviously jazz than Spirit. Perhaps Caravan's If I Could It Again, I'd Do It All Over You is a nearer match.

Tracks like "Animal Zoo" reveal the country influence, so comparisons with Kinks, Grateful Dead, CSN&Y, the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and the Band may be more revealing. Country rock albums released in the 12 months before Twelve Dreams include the Band's The Band, the Kinks' Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), the Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead, CSN&Y's Deja Vu,  the Flying Burrito Bros' The Gilded Palace Of Sin, and Poco's Poco.  But those albums are more clear in their country or folk aspects, and don't have any near the jazz feel of Twelve Dreams, though often the lead guitar is pretty much the same.  I think the Doors with their combination of styles, pop, rock, jazz and country are a closer match - Soft Parade has a similar feel to Spirit.



Wikipedia
Head Heritage
53and3
ProgArchives
SuperSeventies
Christgau
AllMusic
Mojo
The Independent obituary for Randy California
Spirit fanpage
Randy California fanpage



Tracklist (links to Spotify)

Side One
Side Two

Bonus tracks on 1996 remaster:
13. Rougher Road (3:17) *
14. Animal Zoo (Single version) (3:10)
15. Morning Will Come (Alternate mix) (2:50) *
16. Red Light Roll On (B-side) (5:41)

* Previously unreleased



Monday 22 April 2019

Janis Joplin album by album




Janis Joplin was a complete phenomenon  - with a life as raw, painful, emotional, and fascinating as her singing. For many years I was a Joplin refusenik, thinking that she had a powerful voice, but it was simply too raw and unstructured to be worth serious consideration. I felt that if she had gained some of the control of Aretha Franklin  she would  have been a significant artist, and that part of her story was that she died before she really learned how to use her voice. Over the years I found myself listening and responding instinctively and at some deep emotional level to more and more of her songs. Over time I have come round to thinking that her voice sounds great exactly how it was. She is what she is. And what she is is something very special that only comes along once in a very long while.


1. Early recordings
2. The moment
3. The albums
4. Compilation albums
5. Summary
6. Conclusion
7. Websites

Early recordings


"What Good Can Drinking Do"  (1962)

A home recording done at a friend's house when Joplin was 19 and covered in acne. This is believed to be the earliest recording of her singing. It's her own song, and is a fairly authentic sounding blues song. The primitive recording makes it sound like a field recording from the 1930s or something! Fascinating.

Assorted recordings  (1963)

An assortment of live recordings from 1963.

The Typewriter Tape (1964)

A home recording with Jorma Kaukonen on guitar, and his wife Margareta occasionally tapping on a typewriter to provide some percussion (though some sources suggest the noises are incidental, as she was genuinely typing in the background).  The recording was released as a bootleg with the title The Typewriter Tape. Kaukonen would later play guitar with Jefferson Airplane. It's basic, uninspired blues material, and Joplin is not using her voice to its full potential at this stage.

* "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"
* "Trouble In Mind"
* "Hesitation Blues"
* "Long Black Train Blues"


This is Janis (1965)




From what I can pick up at the moment this is a seven track demo Joplin recorded in 1965 with just her on acoustic guitar. This wasn't released in her lifetime. In 1995 some musicians were dubbed  onto the original tape, and an album released with the title This is Janis. I understand that the original undubbed recordings were released on a comprehensive 9 disc set Blow All My Blues Away in 2012.







Love Pageant Rally (Oct 1966)   This is the earliest filmed footage I have found of Janis Joplin performing, albeit without sound. Big Brother played at the Love Pageant Rally in San Francisco in  October 1966. It's a silent home movie (which unfortunately someone has dubbed Muzak onto), but it's a fascinating moment in time, and we see Joplin playing to an informal crowd before the success of Monterey.


The Moment




Monterey was set up to introduce unknown and lesser known acts alongside better known acts. At the time Janis Joplin was unknown, and the local band she joined, Big Brother, hadn't even released their first album which they had recorded earlier for a local label (as a result of Monterey, the band were signed to a major label, and the album was re-released).  Monterey records her first significant public appearance. A particularly acclaimed shot in the film is of Mama Cass' response during Joplin's astonishing performance of  "Ball and Chain". Also noteworthy is the audience's indifferent response to her name when the band are introduced, and the difference to their reaction when she finishes "Ball and Chain". That's the exact moment a star is born. And it's captured on film. That rarely happens.

Monterey Pop Festival (1967)  The complete concert, in audio only.

I was curious as to why in the clip of Joplin at Monterey the band are filmed performing at dusk, with the audience in shade, while Mama Cass is shown in an audience flooded in afternoon sunlight. After doing a bit more research, I find that the band's manager had refused permission for the band to be filmed, so when they performed on the Saturday afternoon only the audience were filmed - which is why we get Mama Cass' reaction. Joplin's performance of "Ball and Chain" was so stunning that the film makers wanted the band to perform again so they could film it. The band's manager still refused, but the band over-ruled him. There are different versions as to who convinced the band to perform - some sources say it was Bob Dylan's manager, others say it was the band themselves, and one person thinks it was Joplin herself who persuaded the band. Whoever it was, the band performed again on the Sunday evening, and Joplin did it again. I've heard other live performances of "Ball and Chain", including the one included on Cheap Thrills, and none of them quite match her Monterey performance. That is probably Joplin's finest moment.

"Ball and Chain" The last song of the concert, reperformed and filmed for the Monterey Pop film

The albums


Big Brother & The Holding Company  (1967)

The band's debut album was recorded for the Chicago label Mainstream Records in Los Angeles over three days in December 1966. The band had signed with the label when they ended up stranded in Chicago, with no money to get home. They were in Chicago to do a series of concerts, but the promoter went bust after two weeks as the expected audience for Big Brother did not turn up. They did try recording in Chicago, but the results were unsatisfactory, so the label allowed them to go home to San Francisco. They recorded two tracks in Los Angeles,  , which were released unsuccessfully as a single, then returned to the Los Angeles studio on 12th December, laying down ten tracks, two of which were released separately as another unsuccessful single. The tracks from the previous single were added to the album, and it was released shortly after the band's success at Monterey. When Columbia took over the band's contract, the album was reissued with the two tracks from the second single, making the album 12 tracks long, and adding the words "Featuring Janis Joplin" on the front cover.




Difference in track listing between the Columbia release and the original Mainstream release


The main comments on this album complain about the production, saying it was rushed. I'm not hearing that, and the evidence doesn't bear it out. The tracks on the album were recorded in two different sessions during December 1966, the second session lasted three days. And this was done after a previous attempt in Chicago in September 1966. So the recordings don't appear by dates to be rushed, and don't sound rushed. The Beatles recorded 10 tracks for their first album in 13 hours over one day, so 10 tracks in four days doesn't seem particularly rushed, particularly as the recording process started three months earlier. The production to my ears sounds crisp and clean and quite professional, and this would be appropriate given the producer was Bob Shad, who had been producing since the 1940s, including musicians such as Dizzie Gillespie, Dinah Washington, and The Platters. It sounds typical of the period, and is probably one of the best aspects of the album, given the weakness of the material, and the inadequate use of Joplin's voice. On some songs she is used simply as a backing singer. This is not a Joplin album, this is a band album, and the band are playing around with the psychedelic sound as explored by Jefferson Airplane, who appear to be a significant influence.

I like the album as an example of early American psychedelia and the San Francisco Sound, and it indicates the direction the band might have taken had the focus not shifted so strongly to Joplin during and after Monterey.  It's not so good as an example of Joplin's singing because she is somewhat muted. And I think it is mainly because of that aspect that the album is largely ignored.

"Bye, Bye Baby" is a typical Joplin blues cover, with the raspy vocals we associate from her, and the loose, warm, casual backing from Big Brother. "Easy Rider" is a shambolic country pop Big Brother piece with Joplin only on backing vocals. "Intruder" is a Joplin song that sounds very Jefferson Airplane. "Light is Faster Than Sound"  is another Big Brother song in a psychedelic pop style - the emphasis is on the band, with Joplin only on backing vocals. "Call On Me"  is a Beatlesesque song with Joplin double tracked and supported in close harmony, which doesn't suit her voice or style. "Women is Losers" is another Joplin song, this one with a crude jug hop backing - she delivers the song well, but its a poor song. "Blindman"  is a group composition with Joplin as a backing singer.  "Down On Me" is a classic - a traditional song arranged by Joplin, and delivered with strength. "Caterpillar" is a nonsense song with Joplin only on backing group harmony. "All is Loneliness"  is a Moondog song - it's more Big Brother than Joplin, with her voice double tracked, and she is one of the voices, albeit the main one. "Coo Coo" and "The Last Time" were added to the album by Columbia; they both sound like Jefferson Airplane, with "The Last Time" being closest to Joplin's typical blues style delivery.

Wikipedia
Alan's blog;
AllMusic: 6
Score: 3

Cheap Thrills  (1968)

The band's second album, recorded by a major label, and taking advantage of the interest and acclaim Joplin gained after the Monterey appearances. The label, Columbia, wanted to capture the strength and excitement of Joplin's live performances, but the recordings did not work, and the live sound of the first track is apparently added to a studio recording, though the last track, "Ball and Chain", is live, which is what the buyers would want, as it is Joplin's live version of that song at Monterey which people were interested in. The two stand out tracks are famous, "Piece Of My Heart", which was released as a single, and the gentle cover of Gershwin's "Summertime" in which the inappropriately derided Big Brother explore very early use of twin lead guitars.  Joplin's own composition "Turtle Blues" is interesting as an authentic blues pastiche, but is not in itself a great song or that well performed (it's rather ragged and amateurish). The rest of the album is OK, but not quite up to the standard of the two famous songs. "Oh, Sweet Mary" is a dreadful track, and is clearly the weakest on the album. The live recording of  "Ball and Chain" is good, but does not come close to the Monterey performance. 

The album was generally well received by critics, was a commercial hit, and consolidated Joplin's reputation. As with most material involving Joplin, it's very patchy and sloppy. It's far from the album you want it to be. The contemporary review by Rolling Stone perhaps best sums it up. The album cover information says the first two tracks and "Ball and Chain" were recorded at the Fillmore, but "Ball and Chain" is note for note the same as the Winterland performance.

Wikipedia
Blogcritics
UltimateClassicRock
BestEverAlbums
Rolling Stone (1968)
AllMusic:  10
Score: 5


I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
(1969)
Advised to leave Big Brother, Joplin formed her own band, the Kozmic Blues Band, with a focus on soul which was a format that would be suited to her voice. The band is widely seen as being unsuccessful, and not able to adequately support her, so they were short lived. This is a short album that did not sell as sell as Cheap Thrills, and is not as highly regarded, but does contain "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)", which was a hit single, and is seen as one of her best tracks, and on the whole the album is attractive, and shows Joplin attempting to control the raw power of her voice. I find this a more successful and listenable album than Cheap Thrills.  "Little Girl Blue" is a lovely song, unjustifiably neglected in Joplin's canon.

Wikipedia
AllMusic:  6
Score: 6

Pearl  (1971)
Recorded with Joplin's third band, the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She died of an overdose before it was completed, but there was enough material to release it posthumously, with "Buried Alive in the Blues" included (rather pointlessly) as an instrumental because Joplin died before doing her vocals on it. It's a patchy album, as with all things Joplin, but does contain nearly all of her best studio recordings - including "Cry Baby"  and "Me and Bobby McGee". Quite possibly, after the Monterey "Ball and Chain", Joplin's finest performance, and an indication of the direction she was headed, to become a sensitive singer rather than a belter out of raw emotion. The emotional subtly and delicacy of her singing on that track is quite sublime.  Regarded by most as her best album.

Wikipedia
AllMusic:  10
Score: 7


Compilation albums

In Concert (1972)
Because there isn't much studio material, and also because there is both a lot of concert material and a strong interest in Joplin live, a number of the posthumous releases are live recordings. This is the first official release after her death which collects together recordings from the Big Brother and Full Tilt bands.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 5 1/2

Greatest Hits (1973)
This is the album I had. It's a useful summary of her best known and most likeable songs. For most people this is all you need. It misses out on some songs I think are particularly fine, but I think that will be true for any collection. It has the advantage, also, of not being overlong. Pearl is her best studio album, this is her best album overall.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 9
Score: 8

Janis (1975)
 A soundtrack album that was released to coincide with the 1974 documentary Janis (see below). It combines album tracks with live performances and TV appearances.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 4
Score: 4

Farewell Song  (1982)
Contains tracks from various periods in her career not found on previous official releases; some outtakes, some live performances. The tracks were (slightly controversially) digitally enhanced and in one case the original bass was over dubbed. Its value was decreased by the release of Janis in 1993.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 4

Janis (1993)
A fairly comprehensive 3 disc collection of her recordings

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 9
Score:

Live at Winterland '68  (1998)
Janis with Big Brother on their last tour.

Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score:

The Woodstock Experience - Janis Joplin
 (2009)
Joplin's complete performance at Woodstock - not one of her finest moments, she sounds tired and distracted. The recording quality is also poor.

AllMusic: 7
Score: 3

Films

Janis (1974)  - not really a documentary, this is a collection of film clips of interviews, stage and tv performances.

Janis Joplin - Biography Channel documentary

Janis: Little Girl Blue (2015) - an excellent documentary which combines an understanding of the music with an understanding of the person.

Summary


Voice
This is the extraordinary aspect of Janis Joplin - this and her image. Her voice is quite exceptional. It is a little uncontrolled, and she was working towards gaining some control of it, though much of her appeal rests on the raw energy and passion of her uncontrolled voice.
9/10

Image
Her image as a emotionally disturbed and slightly out of control individual matches her passionate out of control singing style. She seems to epitomise the image of a blues singer, and her life style and clothes style epitomises the wild Sixties, when everything seemed possible, and young musicians were pushing the boundaries of everything.
9/10

Lyrics
She didn't write much - only four of the songs on her four albums were written by her, though she did contribute to another four. She was, however, a good interpreter of the lyrics of others, and her version of  "Me and Bobby McGee"  is very sympathetic and moving, while her version of  "Ball and Chain" at Monterey is inspired.
5/10

Music
She started out copying the style of Blues singers, and did this very well, then got involved in early psychedelia with Big Brother, before starting to move more into soul. The musicianship is not high but is adequate and in keeping with the time. There is much discussion about how weak her supporting musicians were, but it seems to match her own casual style. With Pearl she had more professional musicians, and there was a more professional approach to the singing, but the best of Pearl doesn't quite match the excitement of her singing at Monterey.
4/10

Impact/Influence
She blasted onto the pop scene and made a huge global impact in a short space of time. She was one of the voices of the new generation, and was the most prominent female. In the pop/rock field there was no one to match her for impact until Joni Mitchell, and for many she is still better known than Mitchell.  Indeed, it probably isn't until Madonna that we get another female to be as well known. Her influence on other singers at the time, and since is hard to see, though this article asserts (without backing it up with evidence) that she did encourage other female singers into the rock world.
6/10

Importance
She died before she could really get her act together, so her singing style was still emerging. She had started off copying blues singers, was somewhat in limbo with Big Brother, and then began to get into her stride and find her style with Pearl. Where she would have gone after that is anyone's guess, but as a symbol of a young woman with great vocal power and promise who died early, she is fairly unmatched.
7/10

Popularity
She was the first female star of the rock era, and her name and some of her songs are well known and well liked, though her albums are not among the great all time top sellers.
6/10

Star quality
She was a star. There was a lot of interest in her at the time, and that continues to this day.
8/10

Emotional appeal
Top. Her singing is as raw and emotional as you can get. Her very life was laid bare, and it is painfully emotional.  Really, it doesn't get more emotional than Janis Joplin.
10/10

Legacy
I think as long as people listen to music there will be a place for Joplin. Her singing is so exceptionally strong and raw, and is so matched to her life and life-style, that there will be an enduring appeal.
7/10

Total 71/100


Summary 

Voice/Musicianship (15) 
[14]

Image/Star quality (5)
[5]

Lyrics/Music (20)
[10]

Impact/Influence (10) 
[7]

Popularity (5)
[4]

Emotional appeal (5)
[5]

[14]

Art (5)
[2]

Classic albums/songs (5)
[3]

Originality/Innovation (5)
[2]

Legacy (10)
[6]

Total: 72/100


Conclusion

Even though I knew her career was short lived, and she didn't release much, I am surprised at how little she recorded, and how little of that is any good. There really isn't one decent album she made, and to fully enjoy Joplin it is best to listen to a decent compilation album. And even though over the years I have come round to enjoying her ragged raw singing style, I do regret she didn't get the control over her voice that the truly great singers have, such as Aretha Franklin. I suppose this performance by Franklin in 2015 gives some indication of what Joplin might have achieved if she had lived, though it is an empty debate as to if she would  have matched or succeeded Franklin as a truly great singer.


Websites

Janisjoplin.com
Wikipedia
AllMusic
Starling
Sfloman



Kitchen Table Music Blogs
Best Of The Best

Sunday 21 April 2019

Classic Albums: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours




1) Intro
2) The band members
3) The studio
4) The songs 
5) Track listing & lyrics
6) Songs played on tours
7) Links

Intro

Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967 and are still performing. They have undergone numerous line-up changes, though Mick Fleetwood has been with the band from the start, and has been the band leader since 1970 when founder Peter Green left. John McVie joined the band shortly after they started, and, with Mick Fleetwood, is the stable heart of the band. The band was named after the pair by Peter Green.

The band has had two periods of success linked by four years of unremarkable performance. The first success was in the late sixties as a British blues band under Peter Green. The second was as a transatlantic rock band who became for a while the best selling and most successful rock band on the planet. The band's most creative period was from 1975 to 1979 when they released Fleetwood MacRumoursand Tusk.

The Rumours album was for many years the number one best selling rock album of all time, and though now outsold by albums by Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson, it is still in the top ten. The popular and critical acclaim for the album has grown since its release, and it is now widely regarded as not only a classic album, but as a significant artistic and cultural phenomenon. The story behind the making of the album - the broken relationships which are exposed in the songs, and the unity of the band despite the emotional turmoil - is a major factor in an appreciation of the album. The blend of the older, steady British blues with the more emotionally cutting, edgy, American country rock, formed a musical sound that was appreciated by the two major musical audiences - Britain and America, and spread across the globe. This was an album that combined experience with ambition, reflection with raw emotion, strength with passion, and harmonised it all through three distinct singing voices. At a time when young musicians and audiences were turning to Punk, the more mature, "adult", audience were retreating into the familiar yet mature and reflective world of Rumours, the first adult oriented rock album.

Rumours isn't a concept album. nor does it have a deliberate theme, but the songs do focus on or hint at relationships breaking down and building up. Relationships within the band, between individuals, and in general. When making the album the band members were not always fully aware of the origins of the lyrics, but made guesses or assumptions, and sometimes talked about it in pairs; when deciding on a title for the album they felt that "Rumours" was fitting, as that is how they themselves had come to realise what the lyrics were about.

The album explores relationships, and communication, and the shifting understandings of how we approach the world and each other; it unites the musical sensibilities of an older Sixties British generation who admired the rootsy American music, with the musical sensibilities of a younger mid Seventies American generation who admired the British folk influenced country rock. The unions, connections and relationships, musically, culturally, personally and emotionally, that make up Rumours are a major part of its enduring attraction.

Band members

John McVie
John McVie, born 1945 in Ealing, London,  educated at the local grammar school, was bass player with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from when the band was formed in 1963, until he left to join Fleetwood Mac in 1967. Their first recording was the single "Crawling Up A Hill", released in 1964. After a couple of line up changes, Eric Clapton joined the band, and they released "I'm Your Witchdoctor" in 1965, produced by Jimmy Page. The band's most important album was Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966), which opened with "All Your Love"The Bluesbreakers development of British blues, and in particular the guitar playing of Clapton, is considered to be particularly significant and influentialClapton left in 1966 to be replaced by Peter Green, and the band recorded A Hard Roadwhich was released in 1967, and included the instrumental "The Supernatural". Mick Fleetwood joined the band for a short period, but was sacked; Peter Green left shortly after to form Fleetwood Mac with Mick, and hoped that McVie would join them. But McVie stayed to make another Bluesbreakers album, Crusade with Mick Taylor on guitar, before joining Fleetwood Mac at the end of 1967.

Mick Fleetwood, born 1947 in Cornwall to an RAF pilot father who moved his family to various parts of the world where he was stationed, was mainly educated in boarding schools until he dropped out and moved to London in 1963. His first professional band was The Cheynes with Peter Bardens, who released three singles: "Respectable" in 1963,  "Going to the River" in 1964, and  "Down and Out" in 1965. He then drummed for the Bo Street Runners on their 1965 single "Baby Never Say Goodbye", before teaming up again with Bardens in Peter B's Looners to release the instrumental "If You Wanna Be Happy" with Peter Green on guitar. The band added Beryl Marsden and Rod Stewart as singers, changed their name to The Shotgun Express, and - after Peter Green left to join Mayall's Bluesbreakers, released two singles - "I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round" in 1966 and "Funny 'Cos Neither Could I" in 1976. When Shotgun Express broke up,  Fleetwood briefly joined Green in the Bluesbreakers before they both left to form Fleetwood Mac.

Christine McVie was born Christine Perfect in 1947 in the Lake District and brought up in Birmingham where her father was a concert violinist and music lecturer. She had classical piano training as a child, and after attending Birmingham art college for five years, during which time she played bass in local band Shades of Blue, she qualified as an art teacher. After briefly working as a window dresser in a London department store,  in 1967 she re-joined Shades of Blue, who were now called Chicken Shack, as a pianist. Their first single was "It's Okay With Me Baby", written by Perfect, and she made two albums with the band, having a hit with the Etta James song "I'd Rather Go Blind" in 1969, and being voted Best Female Vocalist by the Melody Maker for two years running. She left the band after marrying John McVie. Though she played piano on Fleetwood Mac's second album and backing vocals on the third, she was not a member of the band, until after her solo album, Christine Perfect,  was finished in 1970Her solo album included "No Road Is the Right Road", which has a sound that will be found in later Fleetwood albums.



Stevie Nicks was born 1948 in Phoenix, Arizona; her father was a corporate executive who moved around the South West region of North America a lot. She had her senior education in California where she met Lindsey Buckingham, and with whom she formed the band Fritz in 1966, and for whom she wrote and performed some of her early songs. The band played on the same bill as some notable acts including Janis Joplin who was an early influence on Nicks, but broke up in 1971, with Nicks and Buckingham going on to release Buckingham Nicks in 1973, which included "Don't Let Me Down Again", "Don't Let Me Down Again", "Crying in the Night",  "Stephanie", and "Frozen Love" - the track that Fleetwood heard and decided to hire Buckingham for his guitar playing.

Lindsey Buckingham was born in 1949 in California, and formed the band  Fritz with Stevie Nicks in 1966. His musical history is the same as that of Nicks.

The studio

Large, wooden building with a brown door (showing woodland animals play musical instruments) located in the bottom, centre left, and the large numbers "2200" painted in white above the door, centre-right. Asymmetrical trees with hanging foliage frame the building on all sides, while on the asphalt in the foreground, there are parking spaces and a disabled person sign.The album was recorded at the Record Plant in California. The Record Plant studios were designed with the indulgent 1970s in mind. The aim was to provide both top level equipment, and a creative atmosphere, with all the facilities that a successful and rich rock band might desire - including laughing gas on tap, limousines, Rolls Royces and a speedboat in the harbour, a jacuzzi and waterbed, and chefs who specialised in organic food. The studios were designed with "dead" acoustics - which meant that, unlike earlier studios and live venues, the sound was absorbed by the walls and did not reverberate back into the microphones. While reverberation creates an attractive "live" sound, which is desired in some situations, such as a concert hall or where a studio recording is done in one take, it makes modern multi-tracking more difficult. The engineers, Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut, spent some days setting up the microphones to try to create more ambiance from the dead studio, before realising the could do that in the mix.

The songs

Side One

"Second Hand News" (YouTube)   "Second Hand News" (Spotify)

The album opens with "Second Hand News", Buckingham's comment on the break up of his relationship with Nicks. While bitter, reflecting that he is second best, and has been though a rough time, it holds out some hope or at least desire that he be allowed to move on and do his stuff - which is, presumably, making music. It's a fast driven acoustic piece with an electric guitar break at the end. The chorus punches with "pow pow pows", suggestive of Buckingham's desire to fight his way through the situation. It's a fairly popular song - but I'm not keen on it, though a recent live version, with compelling drumming, stronger singing, and a more expansive guitar solo, shows what the song is capable of, and the theme of getting through tough times - such as a relationship breakdown, by being allowed to do one's thing - such as make a record, makes it a fitting opening track.
*Song score: 4/10


"Dreams" (YouTube)    "Dreams" (Spotify)

The next track is awesome. "Dreams" is what the album is centred on. It was the most successful single that Fleetwood Mac ever released, and is the reason for the album's popularity and acclaim. Nicks and Buckingham were breaking up as the band starting recording the album, and Nicks went off by herself into the studio room called The Pit, which had been created for Sly Stone. It had a lowered floor with a double bed. And Nicks sat on the bed by herself and composed an early version of the song. Her initial version, however, was not received well by the rest of the band, who felt it was simplistic and dull. Ironically, given that it's about the break up of their relationship, it was Buckingham who took the song and developed it, adding melodic guitar, and structuring the song into three repeating sections, giving it a chant like hypnotic quality which suits both the dream imagery and Nick's ethereal voice. The rhythm section of Fleetwood and McVie both ground the song and drive it forward - the sound they create is familiar Fleetwood Mac, which can be heard in Albatross, and forward from there throughout the band's history - a legacy of Peter Green, and, before that, of John Mayall. It is a great base for Nicks and Buckingham to perform. Fleetwood's drumming is solid and responsive, bringing in a heart beat sound just at the line: "Like a heartbeat drives you mad" and then returns to the regular beat. The lyrics are the best the band have produced - a moment of inspiration for Nicks, and through the lyrics she also produces her best vocal performance - complex, shifting, beautiful and very moving. The story is the breakup of the relationship; of the other partner wanting freedom from the relationship; and the singer not wanting to stand in the way of that desire. It's never stated in the lyrics if the singer is still in love, or even wants the relationship to continue - nothing is quite pinned down. There's the sense in which the singer is suggesting that the partner will regret the breakup, and the singer may even be taking some pleasure in that regret, though that is never stated, merely hinted at in mentions of rejection - "Players only love you when they're playing", and in the hope that the partner will recognise that rejection - "When the rain washes you clean... you'll know". The rain imagery is repeated with the line "thunder only happens when it's raining" - the idea that arguments happen when a relationship is breaking up. The rain, the playing, the dreaming imagery all intertwine to create a song that is bigger than itself - the imagery feeding on itself and growing. Nothing is quite pinned down, and each person will take something different, something new from the song - and that is the mark of a truly great lyric - the way it feeds the imagination.*Song score: 9/10


"Never Going Back Again"

For the third track we return to a Buckingham song. It's a minor song consisting of some jaunty country-folk acoustic guitar picking with Buckingham's thin and strained voice working its way through some cryptic lyrics which appear to refer to the relationship breakdown, but are ambiguous enough to be as much about the beginning of a relationship as the end. The link goes to a live version in which Nicks joins Buckingham to sing the song in a moment of tender awkwardness.
*Song score: 4/10


"Don't Stop"

After that trivial pause we come to Christine McVie's first song on the album, and the second strong song. The lyrics are very positive, saying look forward to what's to come, and forget the past. Though not expressly written about the breakup of her relationship with McVie, it has been read that way, and Christine McVie acknowledges in interviews that she might have had John in mind while writing it. The song is very pleasant, though quite simple. It works mainly through a very effective arrangement by Buckingham who starts the song with some soaring strings added to the simple repeated piano chords, and some rat-a-tat drumming from Fleetwood who goes on to give the song the distinctive Fleetwood Mac blues rhythm. Buckingham and McVie share the singing, sometimes alternating verses, sometimes duetting. It was the second successful single released from the album proving to be enduringly popular with its infectious happy beat and sunny optimism. The link is to a live version with the Trojans Marching Band who played on "Tusk". It's an appropriately good fun upbeat addition to the song. There's another interesting live version where the band reformed after 10 years specially at Bill Clinton's request and did the one song for his 1993 Inaugural Ball. The band look and sound awful - but it's an intensely emotional moment, Buckingham sounds as if he's on the verge of tears; meanwhile everyone is smiling broadly and Clinton is clapping along happily. Technically it's not a great performance, but the optimism of the song captures the optimism of that moment, of that Inaugural Ball, and the warmth and vulnerability of the five performers who seem so unlike major pop stars, more like familiar friends, is a key to the  popularity of the band. The emotional lives of all five members has been explored in song and documented through interviews and articles down the years that audiences do feel almost intimate with these musicians.
*Song score: 7/10


"Go Your Own Way"

The album now comes to Buckingham's third and last song. It's the best song he's written, and is another of the album's strong points. It was the first single released from the album, and paved the way for the album's success. The song was written after Buckingham had heard Nicks' "Dreams"; it is a response to that song, and in an earlier version the line "Another lonely day" was "Another rainy day" - a direct reference to "Thunder only happens when it's raining". As is typical of Buckingham's songs, there's a lot of bitterness in among the potential tenderness, and Nicks has said in interviews she was particularly hurt by the line "Shacking up is all you wanna do". There's a pleasant Everly Brothers country-pop feel to the song, with ghosts of "When Will I Be Loved", which is coupled again with the Fleetwood Mac British Blues rhythm, and then a smooth FM radio guitar solo which Buckingham clearly picked up from The Eagles, perhaps from "One of These Nights". The marriage of the different musical styles, coupled with the tender aggression of the lyrics makes it a compelling and attractive song. 
*Song score: 6/10


"Songbird"

Side One of the album closes with the second of McVie's four songs. It's a traditional sounding folky song and feels like it could have been written at any stage in McVie's career - it would not be out of place on any of the previous Fleetwood Mac post-Peter Green albums. It consists of McVie singing solo with the piano. It's a charming and sweet love song, a pleasant come down after the edgy "Go Your Own Way". Until 1997 it was a regular encore piece in live sets - usually the final song, sung by Mcvie at the piano alone, as in the link to a 1977 show in Japan.
*Song score: 6/10

Side Two

"The Chain"

Side Two opens with the most ambitious and musically interesting song. This is the only song credited to all the members of the band, and the lyrics give a feel of holding together a relationship, holding together a band, and building an album of songs about broken relationships. The song was created from separate parts that the band then worked together. The first part was an instrumental that evolved from a song called "Keep Me There", in which John McVie added the distinctive fretless bass riff. Stevie Nicks added some lines from a song she was working on, called "The Chain", with McVie adding further lines in the studio. Buckingham added in the opening parts from "Lola (MyLove)", a song from the Buckingham Nicks album. And the rest is history!
*Song score: 8/10


"You Make Loving Fun"

"You Make Loving Fun" is a typical McVie song - pleasant, optimistic, charming, but unadventurous. It is what it is - a cheerful song about how nice her new relationship is. What makes the song more interesting is that it is part of the mix of songs about relationships recorded by a band that were going through relationship changes. Divorced from the album, the song is fairly ordinary. Nice, but ordinary.
*Song score: 5/10


"I Don't Want To Know"

"I Don't Want To Know" is a brisk Stevie Nicks song which both Nicks and Buckingham sing, and which has odd clapping moments. It is not a popular song, and has not been included in live shows since the original Rumours tour. It feels like an undeveloped song, and while the lyrics do again concern the break up of the Nicks-Buckingham relationship, the track feels like an album filler.*Song score: 3/10


"Oh Daddy"

"Oh Daddy" is the last McVie song. It's about Mick Fleetwood, known as the Big Daddy, and his wife, Jenny Boyd, who had just got back together again after being apart for two years since Fleetwood had caught her having an affair with the band's former guitarist Bob Weston. The lyrics loosely pull together notions McVie had about Fleetwood - that he was in charge of the band, that he was the only parent in the band, that - even though they had just got back together, Boyd was having an affair with Fleetwood's best friend. It's a confused, complex song, that despite - or because of - its lack of definition, creates allusions that tap into the album's other relationship themes.
*Song score: 3/10


"Gold Dust Woman"

The final song on the album is a Nicks' song that blends some of her familiar country-rock style with a brooding earthy blues feel. The lyrics hint at drug use, and both the theme and the scary voodoo feel don't sit comfortably with the rest of the album. It's proved to be a popular song though, due to the intensity of the mood created.
*Song score: 4/10

Comment

While the album has two great songs, and a handful of very good songs, the bulk is decent or weak. Though combining British Blues with Country Rock, the music on the album lacks drive and ambition, mostly following a safe, predictable and pleasant path. The singing is mostly pleasant and competent rather than outstanding, though the three voices are used well. The musicianship is very professional, with some very solid (though sadly often uninspired) rhythms from McVie and Fleetwood, and some highly competent and sometimes impressive guitar playing from Buckingham. Christine McVie's keyboard playing does not stand out at all. The two great songs, "Dreams" and "The Chain", do cast their spell over the rest of the album, making it sound and feel stronger than what it is. The story of the relationship breakups drive the greater impact of the album, and touch each song with fairy dust, making them sparkle and vibrate to an extent they never could without that background story. The album made a significant impact at a time when musically the world's attention was turned to New Wave, Punk, and the emerging Indie, Synthpop and New World musics - Rumours was music for a new audience: the older generation who had grown up with British Blues, Folk, and Country Rock, and who felt a little alienated by the newer musics. Rumours was Adult Orientated Rock, and it was the first AOR album to have a significant and lasting impact. However, while the format was important, it's difficult to trace any discernible musical or lyrical influence, and its impact on the marketing importance of AOR may be more to do with the audience selecting the album rather than the album creating an audience. The audience were already there, and they picked this album to buy. However, the sum of all these parts makes for a fascinating album, and the continuing cultural attention paid to the album makes it stronger and stronger as each year goes by. It's an album it would be foolish to ignore or disregard. It's not on the same level as genuinely great works of art, such as Starry Night, Macbeth, or The Waste Land,  but it is compelling, entertaining, genuinely moving in places, and certainly a classic.


The complete album

Total songs score: 27/50 (59 / 11 = 5.4 x 5 = 27)
Sum of the parts score: 7/10
Impact score: 9/10
Influence score: 5/10
Package score: 3/5
Extra: 12/15

Complete score: 63/100

Track listing & lyrics


Side One

"Second Hand News" - Buckingham
I know there's nothing to say
Someone has taken my place
When times go bad
When times go rough
Won't you lay me down in tall grass
And let me do my stuff
I know I got nothin' on you
I know there's nothing to do
When times go bad
And you can't get enough
Won't you lay me down in the tall grass
And let me do my stuff
One thing I think you should know
I ain't gonna miss you when you go
Been down so long
I've been tossed around enough
Couldn't you just
Let me go down and do my stuff
I know you're hopin' to find
Someone who's gonna give you piece of mind
When times go bad
when times go rough
Won't you lay me down in tall grass
And let me do my stuff
I'm just second hand news


"Dreams" - Nicks
Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat.. drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost...
And what you had...
And what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say... Women... they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean... you'll know
Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself
It's only me
Who wants to wrap around your dreams and...
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness...
Like a heartbeat... drives you mad...
In the stillness of remembering what you had...
And what you lost...
And what you had...
And what you lost
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
Say... Women... they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean... you'll know


"Never Going Back Again"  - Buckingham
She broke down and let me in
Made me see where I've been
Been down one time
Been down two times
I'm never going back again
You don't know what it means to win
Come down and see me again
Been down one time
Been down two times
I'm never going back again 


"Don't Stop" - McVie
If you wake up and don't want to smile,
If it takes just a little while,
Open your eyes and look at the day,
You'll see things in a different way.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Why not think about times to come,
And not about the things that you've done,
If your life was bad to you,
Just think what tomorrow will do.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.
Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Don't you look back,
Don't you look back. 


"Go Your Own Way" - Buckingham
Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel
If I could
Maybe I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you wanna do
If I could
Baby I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything's waiting for you
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
go your own way 


"Songbird" - McVie
For you, there'll be no more crying,
For you, the sun will be shining,
And I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right
To you, I'll give the world
to you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.
And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before.
And I wish you all the love in the world,
But most of all, I wish it from myself.
And the songbirds keep singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before, like never before.


Side Two

"The Chain" - Fleetwood Mac
 Listen to the wind blow
Watch the sun rise
Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies
And if
You don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.
List to the wind blow
Down comes the night
Run in the shadows
Damn your love
Damn your lies
Break the silence
Damn the dark
Damn the light
And if
You don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.


"You Make Loving Fun" - McVie
 Sweet wonderful you,
You make me happy with the things you do,
Oh, can it be so,
This feeling follows me wherever I go.
I never did believe in miracles,
But I've a feeling it's time to try.
I never did believe in the ways of magic,
But I'm beginning to wonder why.
Don't, don't break the spell,
It would be different and you know it will,
You, you make loving fun,
And I don't have to tell you you're the only one.
You make loving fun.
You make loving fun.


"I Don't Want To Know" - Nicks
 I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has come down now
Take a listen to your spirit
It's crying out loud.
Try to believe
You say you love me, but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
Oh
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has been told
Now you tell me that I'm crazy
That's nothing that I didn't know
Trying to survive
You say you love me, but you don't know
You got me rocking and a-reeling
I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, take a little time.


"Oh Daddy" - McVie
 Oh Daddy,
You know you make me cry,
How can you love me,
I don't understand why.
Oh Daddy,
If I can make you see,
If there's been a fool around,
It's got to be me.
Oh Daddy,
You soothe me with your smile,
You're letting me know,
You're the best thing in my life.
Oh Daddy,
If I can make you see,
If there's been a fool around,
It's got to be me.
Why are you right when I'm so wrong,
I'm so weak but you're so strong,
Everything you do is just alright,
And I can't walk away from you, baby
If I tried.


"Gold Dust Woman" - Nicks
Rock on, gold dust woman
Take your silver spoon
And dig your grave
Heartless challenge
Pick your path and I'll pray
Wake up in the morning
See your sunrise,loves, to go down
Lousy lovers, pick their prey
But they never cry out loud
Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now, do you know how
Pick up the pieces and go home.
Rock on, ancient woman
Follow those who pale
In your shadow
Rulers make bad lovers
You better put your kingdom up for sale
Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now, do you know how
Pickup the pieces and go home.



Songs played on tours

"Second Hand News"

1977 (Frequent - usually encore) 
1982 (Frequent - usually opener)

"Dreams

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Frequent) 

"Never Going Back Again"  

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Frequent) 

"Don't Stop"  

1977 (Infrequent - sometimes encore, sometimes opener, sometimes absent)
1982 (Frequent)

"Go Your Own Way"  

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Frequent - usually last main song)

"Songbird"  

1977 (Frequent - usually final encore song)
1982 (Frequent - usually final encore song)

"The Chain"  

1977 (Frequent - various places in set)
1982 (Frequent - usually 2nd song)

"You Make Loving Fun

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Frequent)

"I Don't Want to Know"  

1977 (Not seen)
1982 (Not seen)

"Oh Daddy" 

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Usually)

"Gold Dust Woman

1977 (Frequent)
1982 (Not seen)

Links:

BBC Documentary: Don't Stop - 2009

Classic Albums