“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac was recorded in 1976 and hit number 1 on the Billboard Top 100. The track is the second track off their seventh studio release ‘Rumours’ which is still a classic record to this day. The track seems to hover around the 121BPM range while being in the key of C Major.
“Dreams” has quite a simple structure of; Intro for 8 bars, Verse 1 for 8, Verse 2 for 8, Pre-Chorus for 12, Chorus for 16, Bridge for 12, followed by Verse 3, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Chorus, Outro which have the same bar count as their previous. This format almost follows our typical song structure except it swapped the verse after the first chorus for a bridge which although the second half of the song is the same it seems to break the track into two parts.
The instrumentation of “Dreams” is very strategically written with parts having a very textural role in the song that provide variation and interest without losing the timbre of the track. Drums, bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, lead female vocals and harmonies, male harmonies, vibraphone, a Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, and finally congas are what make up this track without even touching the effects and processing of these instruments.
The song begins with a drum fill on the “and” of 3 which rolls into the second beat of the first bar with an accent on the crash cymbal which already diverges from a what would usually be a straight fill. Bass, and the Hammond organ come in on the one on the first bar though holding a simple groove. The bass a half note line with and eighth note stab between the chord changes F and G. The organ is playing an almost quarter note rhythm which accents the 2 and 3 of every second bar. The lead electric guitar, then comes in at bar 3 with a swell and then a lick. This continues in variations throughout the whole song as a call and response with the vocal. The vocals are accompanied by a harmony that is a third below and a fifth above throughout the song. The chorus sections maintain the same with an acoustic guitar, the lead guitar plays some swelled chords, bass continues on with some variations in rhythm. A Fender Rhodes plays a slightly varied chord progression along with the Hammond providing some extra tonal character. As the song continues, the instrumentation doesn’t change but rather the dynamics changing the feel and providing interest to support the emotion of the song.
An EV RE-20 was used on the kick and vocals to provide a warm and full tone. The AKG 451 was placed on the overheads and the snare while a couple Neumann U-87’s for the Toms. The overhead image is very wide to ensure a complete picture of the drum kit. The bass was recorded through a FatBox pedal as a DI. The guitar cab was recorded with a U-47. The snare and kick are very warm with the snare being very short. The hi-hats completely panned to the right, while the acoustic guitar and backing vocals all the way to the left. The vibraphone seems to pan from right to left which could be the result of a stereo delay.
Overall the tracks feel, and vibe is determined on the performance of each instrument. The idea with this song is to capture a performance that is true and believable to the audience.
Some good details in your analysis here.