The history of Fleetwood Mac is long and convoluted. Originally conceived as a heavy blues outfit in the tradition of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the band evolved into its definitive form when Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie enlisted the services of soft-rock duo Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham’s prodigious guitar talent, gift for lyrics, and occasionally daffy sensibilities nicely complemented the tender intimacies of Nicks and McVie. Liaisons within the group threatened to tear Fleetwood Mac apart, yet they also sparked some of the band’s greatest material. The painful intimacy of Rumours is precisely what gives it power, and is one of the reasons the album is still on the top ten list of all-time best sellers. Though a pair of mediocre releases in the ‘90s threatened to end Fleetwood Mac’s career with a whimper, 1997’s The Dance dusted off the cobwebs of Fleetwood Mac’s rich legacy.
