Plays Fleetwood Mac

I was intrigued by the notion of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) creating a score to Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" (one of my favorite records of all time), and I was eager to hear it on my new car's THX sound system (on which symphonic music sounds remarkable). I'm pleased with the record, but it is a little trippy to hear some of the interpretations! Some songs work much better than others, but they are all interesting. Some songs that I thought missed the mark a bit were "Dreams" (which to me is basically a sad song, but in this version sounds like it could be played in a Disney film soundtrack out in the fairy forest where butterflies are flitting about - this is an extremely happy rendition of a sad song); likewise I feel that "Go Your Own Way" in its original form is a song of anger and frustration (albeit beautifully musically crafted in its original recording), but on this record it is all "sweetness and light". Just seems odd (and yet, the music still sounds good, regardless, just DIFFERENT). Songs that work particularly well include "Don't Stop", "You Make Loving Fun", and "Gold Dust Woman" (which is arguably my favorite song ever, and I LOVE how RPO represents it here. Bravo!) Having Peter Frampton on guitars was a brilliant move, and adds much to the recording. It's always fascinating to me to have music "de-constructed" and "re-constructed" in a new art form; this recording proves (yet again) that the music of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" very much stands the test of time and can yield new magic in the music world courtesy of this new, different, and interesting form. Kudos to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for their fresh take on a true classic. If you enjoy the artistry of Fleetwood Mac and the complexity and beauty of symphonic music, this recording is certainly worth a listen now and again.

The Royal Philharmonic Plays Fleetwood Mac's Rumours isn't as great as it could have been. It starts off ok with "Second Hand News" but after that the arrangements all sound like something from a 60's or 70's western. They all sound like they took the theme to "The Magnificent Seven" and adapted them to the Rumours album. Some sound like the music from "The Wizard Of Oz" was the inspiration. The worst of the bunch is "You Make Loving Fun" which actually starts off ok, but then at the end sounds like the square dance scene from "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas"' I kid you not, it's got steel guitar and fiddles. "The Chain" could have and should have been much more dramatic, instead it plays like something you'd get in a Disney film. I've heard other orchestras tackle pop/rock music with great results, that just isn't the case here. These are all very lightweight and pretty much all sound like elevator music of the 70's.

When I buy a symphonic version of a cherished album of mine, I start to worry. Just chalk it up to age I suppose. Good music regardless. RPO does a great job. Pleasure to listen to.

I learned about this album from Peter Frampton who plays on it. What I didn't know was that he is only on one song, so I was kind of disappointed in that. Some of the songs were too orchestrated and sounded more like movie sound tracks. It was okay, but could have been better.

I love "Songbird" & "Never Going Back Again"..."Songbird" was done well, but I was disappointed in the lightly exquisite "Never Going Back Again," which could have been given a more sensitive touch. However, both songs are perfection in any incarnation, & I'm happy to have them both. God Bless the talent of Lindsay Buckingham.

Yes, some of the songs may miss the mark (or fail to "translate" as well to orchestra), but all in all this is a wonderful album. What makes it truly fun is exploring how the arrangers "rebuilt" these iconic tunes for symphonic orchestra.

The idea was brilliant, an orchestra playing Rumours. If however you add a drum kit it becomes lazy to then add electric guitars for two tracks as well - what is the point ? Two tracks don't have the aforementioned and are quite good, the rest are virtually unlistenable. Buy the string quartet instead it's in a different class

A little disappointed in some of the arrangements, would love Carl Davis to do this as he is always true to the Artists. Orchestra is fabulous but the arrangements let this CD down.

Wonderful, every mac fan should buy, the songs sound so good, great yo have in the back ground, great cd