How Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ Was Transformed From a Two Chord Piano Song to a Lush, Layered Hit

Video blogger and web producer Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter took a detailed look at the Fleetwood Mac song “Dreams” from the iconic album Rumors and explained how the song was written by Stevie Nicks on piano, how producer Ken Caillat incorporated the different instruments into the two chord song, which of those sounds stood out more prominently, how the lush pointed prose of the song was juxtaposed against the loopy sound of the guitar in much the same way the lyrics stood between writer and guitarist.

Buckingham recorded an electric guitar part adding those soupy licks that float through the verse then tighten up in the pre-chorus and eventually give way to an acoustic guitar in the chorus itself. ..Also in the high-end is Buckinghams whining guitar a muddled longing response to the sharp poetry of the lyrics on Rumors. …The song of course is about Lindsey Buckingham and it literally feels like it’s haunting him. Stevie Nicks wrote it shortly after their breakup and as she says in the lyrics she couldn’t go on because Lindsey wanted his freedom and now in loneliness he has to dwell on what he had and what he lost.