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Over the course of four legs between February 24, 1977 and August 30, 1978, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood traveled across North America, Europe, Oceania, and Japan touring Rumours. Fleetwood Mac released their seminal album on February 4 and would perform most of it on the road. Now, a full concert performance recorded on August 29, 1977 at The “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, California is coming to CD, vinyl and digital platforms. On September 8, Rumours Live will arrive on two discs from Warner Records and Rhino – in stores justs a couple of months before the recently-announced pair of solo reissues from the late, much-missed Christine McVie.
Since its formation in 1967, Fleetwood Mac had endured radical personnel changes, a stylistic shift from blues to rock, and even a challenge from a “fake Mac” claiming to be the band in concert. When guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Bob Welch became the latest member to pass through the Fleetwood Mac revolving door, drummer Mick Fleetwood and husband-and-wife duo John (on bass) and Christine McVie (on vocals and keyboards) invited two young Californians to bolster the line-up. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks first appeared on 1975’s self-titled album, which signified a new start for the identity crisis-stricken band. With “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Over My Head,” and “Say You Love Me,” the all-new Fleetwood Mac launched the group into the stratosphere. Its slow ascent up the charts culminated in a No.1 berth on the Billboard 200 over one year after entering the chart. The stage was set for Rumours, which would handily surpass its predecessor’s great success.
The relationship between Buckingham and Nicks was coming apart at the seams, while the threads of Christine and John McVie’s marriage were also fraying. Not long after the album’s release, Nicks found herself in the arms of Fleetwood, his own marriage having recently crumbled. In other words, all five members of the band were involved in break-ups and other torrid affairs of the heart while crafting one of the best-selling albums of all time. They brought all of the attendant emotions into their songwriting and performances on Rumours. The seeds for dissension were there, especially once the culture of music biz hedonism took its toll, but so were the seeds of great strength. The two-woman, three-man band boasted three strong songwriters, who also happened to be its three vocalists. Buckingham and Nicks were from California; the other three members were from the United Kingdom. Each member’s sensibilities were singular, but when they marshaled their powers, it was clear that the sum of their parts was greater than any one individual’s. The power of Rumours would translate well to the road, in effect transforming Fleetwood Mac into the concert powerhouse it remains today even with further changes to the group’s makeup.
The set, recorded by original album engineer Ken Caillat, is comprised primarily of tracks from the Fleetwood Mac and Rumours albums (with the addition of Peter Green-era favorite “Oh Well”). Only one of the tracks was released before on the expansion of the group’s Live album from 2021. It’ll be available on two CDs and two 180-gram LPs cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering; in America, Walmart will carry a crystal clear vinyl variant as well. Sam Graham has penned liner notes for the package.
Look for Rumours Live on September 8 at the links below!
Rumours Live (Warner/Rhino, 2023)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1
- Say You Love Me
- Monday Morning
- Dreams
- Oh Well
- Rhiannon
- Oh Daddy
- Never Going Back Again
- Landslide
- Over My Head
- Gold Dust Woman *
Disc 2
- You Make Loving Fun
- I’m So Afraid
- Go Your Own Way
- World Turning
- Blue Letter
- The Chain
- Second Hand News
- Songbird
All tracks recorded live at The Forum, Inglewood, CA – 8/29/1977. Previously unreleased except * issued on Live (Deluxe Edition) – Warner/Rhino R2 643445, 2021