As far as Lindsey Buckingham is concerned, Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" is overrated.
"I mean, it was a great album," he says, trying to fend off his listener's incredulity. "But it seemed to me that [the public reaction to the album] was more about, well, other things. And I was always uneasy with the sense that, with the 'Rumours' album, people were looking for something -- anything -- meaningful, that had just a little bit of truth to it. Just something to latch on to.
"It was unnerving to see something that became a real phenomenon, when the music itself didn't necessarily warrant it, I didn't think."
That's an odd sentiment, coming from the man who was largely responsible for the album's aural impact. After all, Buckingham not only wrote its first single, "Go Your Own Way," but his production input was instrumental in shaping the sound that made "Rumours" the third-best-selling title of all time.
Considering that this is the 20th anniversary of the album's release, you'd think Buckingham would play into the hype just a little bit -- particularly since he has rejoined Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood for a package of commemorative events including a 90-minute MTV concert (airing Tuesday at 10 p.m.), a live album drawn from that show called "The Dance" (which arrives in stores Aug. 19), and a 40-date tour starting in September (no dates announced as yet).
Hype, though, is the whole problem for him. "I mean, look at what I remember hearing when I was very young," he says. "Like Elvis, or when the Beatles came [here] -- those waves were totally spontaneous and original.
"By the time we were doing what we were doing, it was pretty much a restatement of something."
But Lindsey, that's the point. Sure, Fleetwood Mac made some amazing, daring music -- 1979's "Tusk" is full of such stuff. But just as the Beach Boys' dreamy, simplistic surf singles are more fondly remembered by the average fan than the innovations Brian Wilson built into "Pet Sounds," it's only natural that people would prefer the warm familiarity of "Rumours" over the arch invention of "Tusk."
That's because "Rumours" didn't just reflect the pop-rock sensibility of Southern California in the mid-'70s; it epitomized it. From the soft-focus throb of "Second Hand News" to the exhilarating overdrive of "Go Your Own Way," it synthesized and distilled the So-Cal rock aesthetic as effectively as Disneyland // idealized the charm of small-town America.
