Steve,
I happen to like Silver Springs very much (tho not quite as much as you do), so I understand your point, but....
1) The song was left off Rumours (tho included as the B side to the first Rumours single "Go Your Own Way"). "Monday Morning" was on the previous FM album, so I'm not sure where you're going with that comparison. It was never either/or between those songs.
2) At the time, Rumours became the biggest selling album ever. It's hard to dismiss the judgement ("stupid musicians") of the band on the Rumours tracklist when the result is that kind of overwhelming response .
3) Although I've read conflicting reports about the decision process re: "Silver Springs", two things are clear:
The band liked the song A LOT and
The decision to omit it wasn't taken lightly. They knew full well that Nicks was pissed off by the decision, she was fast becoming their commercial bread and butter, and they did it anyway.
The most persuasive version of the story that I've heard (you may prefer another, and there are several) is that Richard Daschut (along with Ken Caillat one of the producers on Rumours) lobbied hard for the inclusion of the song. The push back came because contractual obligations to Warners limited the cumulative length of the content of the album. There was also an informal agreement within the band that allowed for each songwriter (Buckingham, Nicks, and McVie) "fair" access to the publishing and residual opportunities - that is, they would each get a roughly even # of songs on FM albums.
Buckingham (the least prolific songwriter of the three) and had three tracks on Rumours. "The Chain" was credited to the band. That left room (per the Warners agreement) for seven more tracks and Nicks was going to get at least three, as was McVie. In the end, McVie got the last spot (I've read multiple versions of the dynamics behind that decision as well) and "Silver Springs" was the odd song out.
BTW, Mick Fleetwood liked the song so much that he pissed off Stevie Nicks AGAIN some years later when he refused to allow her to use it on a solo album, insisting that it was FM's property and would be included on one of their future albums (which turned out to be The Dance).
Bottom line - the decision to exclude the song doesn't really say much of anything about the band's musical judgement. It was just an odd set of circumstances.
Mr Nice -
Welch left FM to pursue a solo career. He had a brief minute in the sun with a couple of hits, but eventually fell on hard times and, sadly, ended up killing himself last year. As to the live Boston material, it's a great opportunity to hear Peter Green's remarkable improvisational skills but - per Tostado's post - it's not for everyone. You might want to check out "Men of the World" a 3 disc compilation of FM's early material.
