Lindsey Buckingham Describes Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ as a ‘Musical Soap Opera’
Fleetwood Mac detailed much of their personal lives through music ā including the āsoap operaā-esque breakup between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. According to Buckingham, thatās partially why the 1977 album, Rumours, was popular.
Fleetwood Mac released āRumours,ā featuring āDonāt Stop,ā āGo Your Own Way,ā and āDreamsā
Fleetwood Mac is the rock band behind āLandslideā and āGypsy.ā All five members appeared as songwriters and producers for the group, teaming up for the 1977 album Rumours.Ā
Part of this albumās appeal was its emotional connection to the band members. With Buckingham and Nicks going through a breakup, some songs detailed their real-life experiences, including āGo Your Own Way.ā (Although, as noted by Nicks, the āGo Your Own Wayā lyrics werenāt exactly accurate.)Ā
āThere were fights, breakups, drinking, drugsā¦ We all indulged in substances,ā producer Ken Caillat said according to Music Radar. āBut I had to be a therapist and record producer. When everything was insane, I had to be sane. If there was a rule book, nobody gave me one.ā
Tracks from this collection made it to Fleetwood Macās Greatest Hits album, with some trending on social media decades after their release. āDreamsā holds over a billion Spotify plays.Ā
Lindsey Buckingham shared what made Fleetwood Macās āRumoursā so popular among fans
Rumours won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and continues to be a fan-favorite release. Buckingham reflected on the success of the 1977 release, sharing why the songwriting connected with listeners.Ā
āRumours had this subtext, and there was a point where the appeal and the popularity of that album started becoming less about the music and more about the success,ā Buckingham noted during an interview with Louder Sound.Ā
āObviously, there was a great appeal to the fact that we were laying bare our personal lives through the songs,ā he added, ābut also that we were co-existing in a band together having been two couples who broke up. It was a musical soap opera.ā
Lindsey Buckingham added emotional elements to his solo projects, including his 2021 self-titled album
Buckingham linked Rumoursā personal connection via music to his solo work, particularly the 2021 self-titled collection. As a solo artist, that āsubtextā element still emerged, even if he didnāt ānecessarily foreseeā it happening.
Lindsey Buckingham wouldnāt be the first solo project of this songwriter. In 1981, he released Law and Order. In 2017, he partnered with Christine McVie, releasing a self-titled album. He continued to perform with Fleetwood Mac for decades.
Nicks branched out as a solo artist, premiering āEdge of Seventeen,ā āStop Dragginā My Heart Around,ā and āSilver Springs.ā In 2022, she headlined concerts, including Asbury Parkās Sea.Hear.Now Festival and Connecticutās Sound on Sound Music Festival.Ā