Rumours (Deluxe Edition)

全米NO.1に31週間輝いた永遠のミラクル・ヒット・アルバム『噂』の誕生と軌跡がこの一箱に!

『噂』とは:「ドリームス」「ドント・ストップ」「ユー・メイク・ラヴィング・ファン」「オウン・ウェイ」等を含み全米NO.1に31週間輝いた歴史に残る永遠のミラクル・ヒット・アルバムである(グラミー賞:アルバム・オブ・ザ・イヤー授賞作品)。そのアルバムの発売35周年を記念した生産限定盤、『RUMOURS [35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION SUPER DELUXE]』がリリースされたのは、2013年のこと。

発売された当時、その内容の濃さを充実ぶりに、大きな反響と話題を集めたSUPER DELUXE EDITIONが、よりコンパクトで、よりお求めやすい形で再び登場!オリジナルのSUPER DELUXE EDITIONのCD部分を1つにまとめた"4CD DELUXE EDITION"として発売となる。

『RUMORS (4CD DELUXE EDITION)』には、この歴史的名盤の2004年リマスター盤に、1977年のワールド・ツアーからの未発表ライヴ・トラック、さらに『噂』のレコーディング・セッションからの未発表テイクやデモ・ヴァージョンなどを収めた4枚組CDセットである。

歴史が語るところによると、『噂』はフリートウッド・マックのメンバーが人間関係や個人的なことで様々な問題を抱えていた中でレコーディングされ、そうした生々しい葛藤や感情の動きから、バンドにとって初のNo.1シングル「Dreams」他、「Go Your Own Way」、「Gold Dust Woman」といった名曲が生まれたとある。よりお求めやすい形と価格で登場した今、是非、この歴史に燦然と輝くミラクル・ヒット・アルバムの全貌に触れて欲しい。

Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone's "Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.104) - Ranked #25 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...The Mac's catchy exposes, produced with California-sunshine polish, touched a nerve..." Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone's "Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.104) - Ranked #25 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...The Mac's catchy exposes, produced with California-sunshine polish, touched a nerve..." Entertainment Weekly (4/2/04, p.66) - "[On the 2004 deluxe edition, the] milestone gets the director's cut treatment..." - Rating: B Q (1/03, p.69) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (3/00, p.126) - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Relationship Albums Of All Time" - "...tells the soap opera of 2 splits: John and Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks...all of whom played lyrical relationship tennis..." Q (1/03, p.69) - Included in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" Q (3/00, p.126) - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Relationship Albums Of All Time" - "...tells the soap opera of 2 splits: John and Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks...all of whom played lyrical relationship tennis..." Uncut (4/04, p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "RUMOURS streamlined everything into elemental despair. The record is the pop equivalent of Kurosawa's RASHOMON - the same tragedy witnessed from three different perspectives." Uncut (4/04, p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "RUMOURS streamlined everything into elemental despair. The record is the pop equivalent of Kurosawa's RASHOMON - the same tragedy witnessed from three different perspectives." Vibe (12/99, p.162) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century - "Anger, jealousy, heartbreak, and spite....One of the best pop records of the '70s." Vibe (12/99, p.162) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century - "Anger, jealousy, heartbreak, and spite....One of the best pop records of the '70s."

Rumours is the kind of album that transcends its origins and reputation, entering the realm of legend -- it's an album that simply exists outside of criticism and outside of its time, even if it thoroughly captures its era. Prior to this LP, Fleetwood Mac were moderately successful, but here they turned into a full-fledged phenomenon, with Rumours becoming the biggest-selling pop album to date. While its chart success was historic, much of the legend surrounding the record is born from the group's internal turmoil. Unlike most bands, Fleetwood Mac in the mid-'70s were professionally and romantically intertwined, with no less than two couples in the band, but as their professional career took off, the personal side unraveled. Bassist John McVie and his keyboardist/singer wife Christine McVie filed for divorce as guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks split, with Stevie running to drummer Mick Fleetwood, unbeknown to the rest of the band. These personal tensions fueled nearly every song on Rumours, which makes listening to the album a nearly voyeuristic experience. You're eavesdropping on the bandmates singing painful truths about each other, spreading nasty lies and rumors and wallowing in their grief, all in the presence of the person who caused the heartache. Everybody loves gawking at a good public breakup, but if that was all that it took to sell a record, Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights would be multi-platinum. No, what made Rumours an unparalleled blockbuster is the quality of the music. Once again masterminded by producer/songwriter/guitarist Buckingham, Rumours is an exceptionally musical piece of work -- he toughens Christine McVie and softens Nicks, adding weird turns to accessibly melodic works, which gives the universal themes of the songs haunting resonance. It also cloaks the raw emotion of the lyrics in deceptively palatable arrangements that made a tune as wrecked and tortured as "Go Your Own Way" an anthemic hit. But that's what makes Rumours such an enduring achievement -- it turns private pain into something universal. Some of these songs may be too familiar, whether through their repeated exposure on FM radio or their use in presidential campaigns, but in the context of the album, each tune, each phrase regains its raw, immediate emotional power -- which is why Rumours touched a nerve upon its 1977 release, and has since transcended its era to be one of the greatest, most compelling pop albums of all time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine