Those kindly following my sporadic deep dive into Christine McVie’s legacy will recall I pressed pause on that series a month ago, after revisiting Rumours and its alternate edition. Chronologically speaking, it made a lot of sense to wait on this just-released 2LP memento, captured during the first of three nights in August ‘77 at the then-Fabulous Forum, a sort of homecoming for the gone-platinum group.
Now that it’s available on wax and your streaming platform of choice, my approach has been bifurcated by double spins: first to assess sound quality and overall usefulness within the Mac canon, then to focus on Christine’s contributions.
Indisputably valuable as a historical document, both of the band and rock itself, Rumours Live is a worthy addition to a discography already cluttered with concert curios. All but two tracks from its namesake are revived (why ‘Don’t Stop’ wasn’t part of their sets back then is baffling) while all but three from its self-titled ‘75 predecessor are included. That it’s often tinny-sounding — plug into a powerful EQ to get the most out of John McVie’s bass — I attribute to the age and processing of the tapes themselves. That it exists at all is enough.
‘We’ve only been together for a short while, so we don’t know any more songs,’ John (I think) says to begin the encore. That’s as disingenuous as his assertion that ‘we’re gonna jam around’ when what they ultimately deliver is ‘The Chain’ without much embellishment, ‘Second Hand News’ without deviation, and finally Christine’s solo ‘Songbird.’
But the performances are spirited throughout — arguably too much so from Stevie Nicks, whose banshee howls at the end of ‘Gold Dust Woman’ border self-parody. The diminutive woman with a hurricane-force voice sometimes sounds as if she’s still learning just how powerful it can be, especially within such cavernous spaces.
Whereas Christine at this point is pure pro.
Among her standout moments, subtly strong as ever, and I’m not even talking about her majestic keys work: setting the pace from the jump with ‘Say You Love Me’; receiving as rapturous a response for ‘Oh Daddy’ as Stevie does for ‘Rhiannon’; holding her own husky holler alongside Lindsey Buckingham’s overcome wailing during another epic ‘World Turning’ (expanded by a Mick Fleetwood drum solo that surely needed to be seen to be appreciated); then captivating ears all over again with her delicate closer, ‘Songbird,’ a quote from which is spread across the gatefold.
As for why the audio clip isn’t one of her songs … well, it’s also quite lovely to hear her address the audience, no matter how perfunctory her remarks might be. Even her speaking voice was gently regal.