Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Live (Live at the Fabulous Forum, Inglewood, CA, 08/29/77) 2023

Исполнитель: Fleetwood Mac
Альбом: Rumours Live (Live at the Fabulous Forum, Inglewood, CA, 08/29/77)
Жанр: Rock, Pop Rock, Soft Rock
Год: 2023
Страна: UK
Лейбл: Rhino - Warner Records
Формат: FLAC (tracks)
Official DR value: DR11
Разрядность: 24bit / 96kHz Stereo
Размер: 2,05 GB
Источник: qobuz
Залито на: XFile (tracks)

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For all the slings and arrows retrospectively cast at the titans of '70s rock, the notion that these bands were somehow callow opportunists who'd sacrifice their authenticity and musical spirit to climb a few more slots on the chart is one that never applied to Fleetwood Mac. Although the band was one of the dominant rock-adjacent musical forces in the late '70s, Fleetwood Mac was also always one of the quirkiest "big" bands around, due both to their long and varied history and the intensely weird interpersonal dynamics. Today, they only seem like a mainstream band because their unique approach became so popular that it defined the mainstream sound of the era. And while that sound found its purest representation on this lineup's three '70s studio albums, Fleetwood Mac was also a singular and powerful live presence, delivering generous and rewarding sets during their imperial period. While they certainly weren't the Grateful Dead, and they largely stuck to the same set list throughout their tours, there were a few shows in the band's history that have become somewhat legendary, among them their August 1977 three-show run at the Forum in Los Angeles.

Rumours Live documents the first of the sold-out shows, which finds the band returning to their hometown during the height of their powers, in the middle of the tour. To be fair, the material doesn't diverge too much from the set list that the band relied on during the tour but the energy of this performance is electric. Of course, Stevie Nicks is the focal point throughout, and the nonchalant way she introduces "Rhiannon"—"This is a song about a witch"—is absolute peak Stevie, but this recording also demonstrates how strong of a performer she was during this era, whether it's the vocals that waver between clear harmonies and full-throated belting, or more discrete highlights like the gut-punching "oooooh" she delivers halfway through "Dreams." This show also demonstrates the often-ignored strengths of Fleetwood Mac as a band. When they find their groove—which is often on Rumours Live—it's a sight to behold, with a loose, rollicking confidence that can only come from a group of players absolutely locked into one another.

Although many of the songs are delivered in relatively faithful versions, when the band does get playful with arrangements (bouncy, twangy "Over My Head," twitchy, proto-New Wave "Blue Letter," jammy, guitar-forward "I'm So Afraid") or stretch out (extended jams on "Rhiannon," "World Turning" and "Gold Dust Woman"), the deep symbiosis that these players had is abundantly clear. That's further emphasized in the encore, which is introduced with "We don't have any more songs so we're gonna jam around." They proceed to play a-now iconic number ("The Chain"), the song that opened—and thematically defined—Rumours ("Second Hand News"), and one of the best songs ever written by anyone in the band (Christine McVie's "Songbird") to close out the show in a fashion that is loose, loving, warm, and absolutely without peer.
© Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

Трэклист:

01. Say You Love Me
02. Monday Morning
03. Dreams
04. Oh Well (Pt. 1)
05. Rhiannon
06. Oh Daddy
07. Never Going Back Again
08. Landslide
09. Over My Head
10. Gold Dust Woman
11. You Make Loving Fun
12. I'm so Afraid
13. Go Your Own Way
14. World Turning
15. Blue Letter
16. The Chain
17. Second Hand News
18. Songbird

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