Fleetwood Mac slides so smooth under sheets of dark weather, taking flight only to drop us off at our most piercing memory. I can't recall an album like
Fleetwood Mac that can so strongly adhere to blissful optimisim for how
pained it all is; Nicks' depressive portraits are seamlessly integrated into road-trip pop songs, catchy and hard-hitting with no compromisation in terms of vocal melodies that singe the soul. The opening "Monday Morning" perfectly captures the essence of forgiveness apparent throughout the record; forgiving pain, forgiving loss, letting go. It's a spirit rarely found so exuberant. Where the critically revered
Rumours takes this formula and expands upon it,
Fleetwood Mac is the training camp before the big season, the team working on its civil problems as opposed to x's and o's and the result is a more humanistic and ultimately better record.
If
Rumours is highly regarded for its songwriting, the self titled is just as solid, if not more direct. Upbeat tracks like "Blue Letter" and "Say You Love Me" are quick and precise, but most of all they're fun as hell. Nicks' has such an uncanny ability to switch vocal hooks at the perfect time through beautifully strummed songs and gives a variety to
Fleetwood Mac's ballads, of which there is a perfect one in the bunch. "Landslide" shows time no quarter - nearly 30 years after its release, the song is still majestic and beautiful.
"Well I've been afraid of changing cause I've built my life around you" sinks deeper than you want it to but it's nice sometimes to get all teary eyed. It's this ballad vs. upbeat song give and take throughout that reveals more of the band's makeup than I think they probably wanted to or expected to expose and gives
Fleetwood Mac a naked feel to it, emotions divulged. At least it's real.
