The record almost wasn't made. John and Christine McVie were in the process of seperating, the relationship of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks was on the fritz, and the turmoil between the five members was high. These emotions were channeled into the songwriting process in Sausalito, California that became "RUMOURS". Featuring interviews with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks, along with the studio engineers and producers, "Rumours - Classic Album" tells the story of the making of this smash album.

Featuring the smash hits "Dreams", "Don't Stop", "You Make Loving Fun", and "Go Your Own Way", along with oft-heard tracks "Songbird", "The Chain", and "Gold Dust Woman" Fleetwood Mac's "RUMOURS" is a Classic Album.

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.


Just as compelling as the album   March 8, 2005
George Dionne (WWW.ROCK-IS-LIFE.COM)
48 out of 51 found this review helpful

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.




Worth Every Penny!   June 19, 2001
suzette phillips (Burke, Va. United States)
25 out of 28 found this review helpful

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.


GREAT DVD, but NOT the DVD Audio that some have reviewed.   December 4, 2001
George Stevenson (Beverly, NJ USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

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!


Essential   January 4, 2000
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

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.