By the time of Rumours, Fleetwood Mac had begun to employ their songs as musical weapons. After both of the band’s relationships fell apart, each composer channeled their grievances into the songs, either making peace with their past or becoming more bitter with time. Stevie Nicks attempted to take a civilized approach with ‘Dreams‘, but her writing partner was less so.
Before joining The Mac, Nicks collaborated with Lindsey Buckingham on her initial solo projects, which evolved into Buckingham Nicks. Despite the record’s poor public reception, Mick Fleetwood saw potential in Buckingham and suggested that he try out for the band. Buckingham felt he couldn’t leave Nicks behind once he passed the audition, so he invited her to play tambourine and contribute her tunes.
Although half of the songs on Rumours are about each songwriter’s heartache, other Buckingham Nick compositions survived. This includes Nicks’s’ ‘I Don’t Want To Know,’ which was rewritten with a full band arrangement. Buckingham was open about their breakup while working on their next hit tune.
Beginning with a nervy electric guitar, ‘Go Your Own Way‘ is essentially a kiss-off to Nicks, as Buckingham screams of how she will reject all of his approaches. Buckingham had tried to keep the song’s words hidden from Nicks throughout the recording. However, Nicks was furious when she heard the second stanza.
Buckingham alleges Nicks simply wants to hook up with whoever she likes after rejecting his advances. According to Nicks, that was not how the relationship ended. She told Classic Rock Stories, “I want you to know, that statement about shacking up‘? I never hooked up with anyone when I was with him. I broke up with him. “All he wanted was to fall asleep with his guitar.”
However, Nicks’ assertions concerning Buckingham’s musical preoccupation seem plausible. After years of developing his art, Buckingham had gotten accustomed to striving to get the band’s sound as perfect as possible. This dedication led to him nearly strangling one of the album’s engineers when he erased one of his solos.
Buckingham’s bitterness towards Nicks began to show in his attitude in the studio. He told Behind the Music, “I was the one sorting out her songs and making them into albums, and there were times when I didn’t want to do that.” Stevie and I spoke, but it was difficult for us not to be hostile or belligerent.”
That artistic strain finally became too much for the core lineup, resulting in a notorious band meeting in which Nicks and Buckingham got into a physical altercation. That proved to be the final straw. Nicks and Buckingham pursued individual careers, and Fleetwood Mac continued with different personnel. The band was able to channel that creative energy, but it always came at a hefty cost.
