Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac – The Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Some albums are destined to become classics. A select few take on a totemic status, an instant flashback to a particular period in time. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac is one of the latter. In 1977, depending on which side you took in The Punk Wars, there’s a fair chance that your album of choice was either Rumours or the debut album by The Clash and while there doesn’t appear to be too many punks here tonight, there are a couple of thousand people ready to celebrate Rumours’ 45^th anniversary and, in doing so, relive some old memories.

Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac claim to be the world’s greatest Fleetwood Mac tribute band. If the idea of a tribute band makes you think of some pallid parody by second-rate wannabes, these guys blow that proposition right out the water. Their loyal fan base return to see them time after time because they know that Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac is a terrific band in its own right.

This being Rumours’ 45^th anniversary, the band have elected to start the show by playing the album from start to finish. I have to come clean here and admit that I’m not actually that much of a fan of the album; I like a few tracks well enough but it’s not an album I would ever choose to sit down and listen to from start to finish. As the band kick off with Second Hand News, it’s pretty clear that I am in the minority though. Next up, Dreams and Never Going Back Again may be a little polite for my tastes but it’s impossible not to be drawn in by the band’s performance. It turns out that all my favourite songs from the album all run one after the other: Don’t Stop and Go Your Own Way ramp the pace up a notch before Songbird gives Emily Gervers on piano and vocals an opportunity to shine: the band lock together seamlessly on The Chain with Alan Cosgrove’ sold drum thwack anchoring the band until bassist Etienne Girard breaks out that unmistakable F1 bass line and Scott Poley and James Harrison’s guitars go flying. While my interest in Rumours peaks at this point, there are still a few songs left to keep everyone else happy until Jess Harwood brings this section of the show to a close with Gold Dust Woman.

It’s time now to go back to Fleetwood Mac’s beginnings with a selection of songs from when the legendary blues guitarist Peter Green formed and fronted the band.  Keyboard player Dave Goldberg switches to guitar for the Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown).  Little Willie John’s Need Your Love So Bad showcases Goldberg’s bluesy, soulful vocals. Albatross is a Fleetwood Mac classic and so deserves its place in the set but I’d personally rather have seen Man Of The World get an airing. To be fair though, this section of the show is usually longer but evidently, some cuts have had to be made to accommodate Rumours. Black Magic Woman brings the first set to a suitably rousing close. “The bar is open,” says Goldberg, “Go and get pissed”.

Whether or not they have taken Goldberg’s advice, the audience is considerably more animated after the band return to the stage. Both in the stalls and the balcony, they are on their feet to the visible surprise and discomfort of the venue’s security staff. Clearly, they would be much happier if there was no dancing in the aisles but there is no way that particular genie is going to be put back in the bottle. It is around this time that I begin to realise just how many cracking songs Fleetwood Mac have cranked out over the years. The hits just keep on coming: Sara, Gypsy, Little Lies, Seven Wonders; every one an earworm. I’m So Afraid from Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album became a bit of a live guitar workout for Lindsey Buckingham and so Pooley and Harrison take the opportunity to turn it into a searing guitar duel. Jess Harwood brings the evening to a climax with Rhiannon, at least until the triple whammy encore of Big Love, Everywhere and a thundering Tusk result in the crowd giving the band an ovation that your actual real Fleetwood Mac would be proud of.  You know, there may well be something to the “World’s Greatest Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band” claim.  It’s certainly more than just a rumour.

John Scott