This book is not available to purchase on Fable
3.0
Never Break the Chain: Fleetwood Mac and the Making of Rumours (The Vinyl Frontier series)
ByPublisher Description
This insightful behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours explores the strong personalities behind the band and the creative tensions between the members that helped to shape the lyrical content of this era-defying, classic album. Original research and new interviews with those who were there reveal the technical challenges and excessive drinking and drug abuse that went on during the album's production. The complex relationships within the group and each individual's contribution to the album are discussed. The two rocky romances within the band, including the breakdown of John and Christine McVie's marriage and the increasingly strained relationship between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, are also discussed, as are the songs on the album they influenced. The stories that inspired and created one of the most popular and significant albums of all time are unearthed.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesNever Break the Chain: Fleetwood Mac and the Making of Rumours (The Vinyl Frontier series) Reviews
3.0
“This was exactly what it sounds like. If you’re having your phase of loving the band this is enjoyable. ”
“I have become quite interested in Fleetwood Mac's music in recent years, and obviously my go-to album has always been Rumours. It speaks to me in a certain way, as it did to a lot of people. I am not old enough to remember Fleetwood Mac in this era, although my dad has this book. I picked it up after watching a few documentaries about their career and a concert from the late 90s.
This is called Fleetwood Mac & The Making Of Rumours. Arguably their most popular and stand out album, I was expected a brief biography about the band and their various incarnations, and more indepth about each song, perhaps the lyrics, and a breakdown of who sang what and obviously what was going on behind the scenes. This is what the book makes it out to be, from the blurb, to the title.
What I got was a biography about Fleetwood Mac. You would not be going into this book blind, and most of the biographical stuff, I already knew from the documentaries. The band don't even go to start recording Rumours until page 98, and the book goes into the Peter Green-Fleetwood Mac era, the backgrounds of the main titular stalwart stars, how Nicks & Buckingham came to join them, and what they did before Fleetwood, and the first album with the famous fivesome. It's quite a nuisance to get through, when you thought you'd be reading a book focusing primarily on the album. You are not going to pick up this book, without at least having some knowledge about the band.
Other albums are covered as well, including their albums post Rumours, although it does get more brief as time goes on - Tusk gets the most talked about after Rumours, whereas Mirage etc, only briefly gets mentioned. Buckingham leaving/being fired, gets touched upon as well (I wonder if Christine still wanted to break his limbs), and my opinion is, after seeing their stage show, he did take over quite frequently and thought he was bigger/better than Fleetwood. That is just my personal opinion though.
It also feels like it's aimed at people who have knowledge of how to make music, or the author has some knowledge of this. A lot of the recording studio sequences were quite indepth, especially when Buckingham was trying to put his stamp on things, and it does get quite technical. Most of this I didn't understand apart from the basics, although I don't feel that this detracted from the book as much.
To be fair, if this has been more marketed as a biography about Fleetwood Mac, I think I would have felt better about it, but I think the blurb was all wrong for this, or the author got carried away. Or got told to pad it out more, when she discovered that she was just repeating what the world already knew about Rumours. There's nothing really new included here, that you won't have already known from documentaries/the internet/Mick Fleetwood's biography/interviews with the band themselves.
It is quite sad to now be reading this after Christine's sad passing, and to know that the famous fivesome will never perform together again. Is it worth picking up? It's a slim little volume, so won't take long to read. IF you've already seen the documentaries, or have other books about the band, I would give this one a miss.”
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Why can’t I buy this ebook on Fable?
Can I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
