And while they capture the carefree positivity of the good life (and the Baby Boomers living it), they don’t shy away from the pains it took to get there (“Don’t Stop”, “Dreams”). When they rock, they do it gently (“The Chain”), but with a bite that sets them apart from their adult-contemporary contemporaries (“Go Your Own Way”). Not to mention Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond, ABBA and the Bee Gees, and The Clash and Patti Smith-all of whom were totally different, but who collectively drove pop-rock to greater extremes of showmanship, polish and rebellion.Īnd there, in the middle of the road, is Rumours. But it was also the era of Boston, Foreigner, Pink Floyd and a wave of bands that scaled up the ambition of ’60s rock to blockbuster heights-stuff that parents who loved doo-wop and early Beatles records might not care about, but millions of teenagers would. This was the era of the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt: artists who, like Fleetwood Mac, combined the intimacy of singer-songwriters with a softened take on rock ’n’ roll.
To understand what made Rumours so impacting, you have to look at the music that came out around it.
