Have You Any Dreams You'd Like to Sell?

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, off their 1977 mega-hit album "Rumors," is syrupy-smooth 70s folk pop perfection. Soft layered vocal harmonies and ghostly keyboards swirl around a fat bass line and delicately splashing cymbals, all telling a story of betrayal, heartbreak, and bitter acceptance. It hurts so good.

They say art is hard. That struggle and torture leads to cathartic self-discovery through the act of creation. "Rumors" is a standout example in proving this theory.

Fleetwood Mac was experiencing inner turmoil of biblical proportions during the recording of this album. Two couples, comprising four band members, saw their relationships fall apart as pressures mounted from their skyrocketing commercial and artistic success. 

Failing romantic bonds and forging clandestine new ones threw the band's emotional bedrock and relationship dynamics into chaos. Bassist Jon McVie and his wife, keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie, divorced. At the same time, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks broke up, and Stevie started a secretive romance with the band's drummer, Mick Fleetwood, who had recently discovered that his wife (not in the band) had been having an affair with his best friend (also not in the band). It's an absurd situation that would get any screenwriter chastised for unrealistic melodrama, but it was as real as rain.

Against all odds, Fleetwood Mac did not break up but instead captured this tension in the studio to brilliant and lasting effect. "Rumours" is a voyeuristic look deep into the heart of a group of artist(s) experiencing common pain. The magic is that this group was brave/crazy enough to lay it all out in their collaborative art and skilled enough to do so in a way that is compelling and accessible. It's lightning in a bottle; a titanic pop album in the cultural landscape. From Wikipedia:

The album garnered widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its production quality and the vocal harmonies of the band's three singers, and won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards. Often considered Fleetwood Mac's magnum opus and one of the greatest albums of all time, Rumours was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. The album was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2017 by the Library of Congress, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1] In 2020, Rumours ranked seventh in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Suffice it to say, there are no skips. 

It's hard to pick a single track from this album, but Dreams is mine. It can be said for the entire album, so of course the production is fabulous, and the lyrics are amazing on this track. When the rain washes you clean, you'll know.

Data

Song: Dreams
Album: Rumours
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Genre: Pop, Folk
Year: 1977
Length: 4:19
Producer: Christine McVie, John McVie, Ken Caillat, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Richard Dashut, Stevie Nicks