Lindsey Buckingham: C o' D?

Classic

Lindsey Buckingham finally releases a new album, Under The Skin, on 10/3. He tells USA Today

[It's] kind of a reduction. There are basically no drums, very little bass. On a musical level, I've been trying to distill things. This is the best time in my life, and that's a great thing to be able to say when you're 56, and didn't become a father till you were 48.

He plans another “more rocking” album next year and (finally) a solo U.S. tour. “It's a turnaround, time-frame-wise, for someone who's been sort of the Terrence Malick of rock,” he admits.

anyone have a copy of this interview?

and i guess quite the water polo player..my friend and i were perusing his mom's high school yearbook (i think a school in Palo Alto?) only to find Lindsey mid ball-toss in the pool...He signed something lame, like "Kristen--Government was classic. Big Love...LB" (not verbatim, but something trivial). And that, friends, is my Lindsey Buckingham story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllqie08a7U

Out of the Cradle is a great album and some of his guitar noodling is incredible.

Love it.

I just bought Out of the Cradle. Seems good so far (his guitar playing is, as always, amazingly clean and crisp (and he can be bluesy, too)). Crazy comparison, but Surrender the Rain sounds a little like a Richard Hawley song, to me (not a bad thing at all!).

Anyone else have this disc? Like it?

beautiful record.
probably his best solo record.

Haven't heard it in years, but I agree it's his best, with consistently beautiful guitar. "Soul Drifter" and "Turn it On" (is that the right title?) are favorites.

I know they're solo discs, but now I'm wishing that Buckingham gave his solo songs more of a full-band feel. Down on Rodeo, for instance, from Under the Skin, has a great SoCal-drenched band feel (obv., the presence of Fleetwood Mac and John McVie helps), and it worked beautifully.

Buckingham is god.

UH

I guess that's more true than "Clapton is God," but still...

Classic (but not god).

He's a brilliant guitarist. I'm pleased at the love he's getting on this thread, instead of just hailing him as a mere singing/songwriting/producing genius. My favourite Lindsey look is the besuited, droopy afro'ed one on the inside sleeve of the 1975 album. Someone post an image, please!

he turns 60 this year

60? Wow. He looks younger. See the photo on the cover of Under the Skin.

He is classic for "Tango In The Night" alone. Although that album is usually underrated when compared to their most popular mid 70s work.

He's classic for a lot of the Fleetwood Mac stuff, but his solo discs have a very different sound and feel (not worse, by any means, just v. different).

I may be misreading, but it looks like Under The Skin is available from Amazon for 99 cents.

'Under the Skin' was a tremendously strong album. Man, such a shame that it barely received any attention at all.

I may be misreading, but it looks like Under The Skin is available from Amazon for 99 cents.

Sadly, I'm not surprised. It's amazing to me that such a talented -- and successful (with his band) -- artist has had such trouble finding an audience.

maybe thats because he became too old for the youngsters and too "arty" and minimalist for the mainstream listeners.
or u can blame it on bad marketing.

I still spin "Go Insane" on Dj nights. Such a great single.

Under the Skin is very nice, yes. I thought I'd never want to hear another Stones cover until "I Am Waiting" started to play.

this is pretty much the best clip on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllqie08a7U

-- Stormy Davis (diamond),

This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.

Damn. What was that clip, Stormy?

new album out in a couple of months!!!

god his last one was amazing

http://i34.tinypic.com/3450940.jpg
My favourite Lindsey look

eugh not for me by a longshot

they all look like shit in that photo; i think they got good stylists after the s/t took off

"god his last one was amazing"

yes, it was.
vaguely hoping for a full electric/weird pop new album, though.

completely off topic but "fleetwood" hypem radio brought this up "Fleetwood Crack": http://www.zshare.net/audio/134226990668c4aa/

Very nice

It is somewhat based on "Tusk"

so what do you think of Buckingham's new single "did you miss me"?
(Gift Of Screws coming out in Sep.):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfJNeTvIjhI

I wonder what's going to be on it, since a lot of "Gift of Screws" (as originally planned) wound up on Say You Will. I'm really excited to finally get the title track on CD, since it's one of my favorite FM related songs.

i don't know, but the Track List is totally different from the original GoS.:

"Great Day"

"Time Precious Time"

"Did You Miss Me"

"Wait For You"

"Love Runs Deeper"

"Bel Air Rain"

"The Right Place to Fade"

"Gift of Screws"

"Underground"

"Treason"

early reviews says the new GoS is somewhere in between Under the Skin kinda songs and more "rock" songs like "did you miss me"

(except for GoS, the song, which is on both, and is an awesome song btw):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXMmvgElVSE

wait, which album is "Somebody's gonna change your mind" on? I thought it was the demos for this I had it in. If so, that was the best one, weird to have left it off. This should be good, I think a part of me actually prefers solo Lindsey.

"Somebody's gonna change your mind" - it's in Under The Skin (awesome song ineed)

Not really what you expect from the Buck

he probably just named the album GoS (almost) regardless of the previous unreleased recordings.
most of the songs from that "album" later appeared/ruined on Fleetwood's albums and/or Under The Skin

this song is swell, swell is this song

you can see how Animal Collective are influenced by LB by listening to it

jesus, that never even occurred to me

but yeah, that actually seems really obvious actually

i like Under the Skin's minimalist atmospheric sound- at it's best it as strong and classic as Suicide's debut.

Best solo album remains Out of the Cradle, but it's not great.

You used to be cool

loved the version of "Big Love" that he did on the reunion album (the dance or whatever), with the crazy fingerpicking. I was pissed that I couldn't play that super fast banjo-esque sounding part in the middle.

Second Hand News mother fuckers.

Never Going BAck AGain

I never did buy Go Insane. Should I?

YES

LAW AND ORDER THOUGH IS TOTALLY GREAT BY THE WAY

Best solo album remains Out of the Cradle, but it's not great.

Yeah, as good as OOTC and the last disc are, I think Alfred's right. Buckingham's such a great producer, guitarist and songwriter; I wonder why he hasn't been able to release a completely satisfying, great solo disc.

you mean "he hasn't been able to release a completely satisfying, great..disc" since TUSK

i look at it from the otehr side:
it's great that he still releses some awesome stuff between the mediocre one's, as oppose to lots of aging rockers who are became just plain boring or bad as a whole

Buckingham's such a great producer, guitarist and songwriter; I wonder why he hasn't been able to release a completely satisfying, great solo disc.

Cuz, like lots of other talented men, he needs help?

I kindof like how on his solo stuff he clearly has nobody to even slightly reign him in and he just makes these bonkers science experiments.

Bwana is so good it gives me a sugar headache for example.

you can see how Animal Collective are influenced by LB by listening to it

"red rover" from the last fleetwood mac album sounds SO MUCH like animal collective.

anyway i am officially anticipating the new lindsey album, his last one was such a lovely little record.

a friend pointed this out to me a few weeks back, "go insane" acoustic from '92. kind of amazing. dug this song as a kid but don't think the studio version's attention-grabbing production really holds up over time. stripped down version is a small revelation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o_YI_PgK0o

vocal @ 3:05, holy SHIT

"d.w. suite" from Go Insane is one of my fav ever Lindsey joints. so strange, so beautiful, so great

yeah the original "Go Insane" buries a creepy song in trendy production.

I love the capital-B-Baroque vibe of The Dance version.

I've seen him three or two times live lately, and it's interesting to watch him do songs that required his Guitarmy of five guitarists back in '92 or whenever. His current band is just him and three buds, but it sounds pretty great. Did that dog barking in "Holiday Road" and everything.

having a moment with go insane today. i know the production's considered "dated" but i don't know, i don't think i'll ever get over the idea of buckingham fucking around with a fairlight.

That's the only one I don't own. I love crazy eighties production on aging boomer records.

i also think it's crazy and amazing that this record has a locked groove on the first side.

ALSO there's a new lindsey song streaming at fontana distribution: http://www.fontanadistribution.com/

Lindsey is so, SO classic; it doesn't get much more classic. His contributions to Tusk alone show what a strange and amazing place his mind was back then, and don't get me started on the Go Insane LP... Brad, that locked groove at the end of side one is insane! I found this several months back on vinyl and play it all the time. Alfred, you must get it.

i've really been enjoying Out Of The Cradle lately. it's a big sprawling mess but a constantly engaging one

the production is like an understated, minimalist version of tango in the night's hazy balearic rain forest, one song has pretty much the same beat as "family man". must've sounded kinda anomalous when it came out in 1992

"all of my sorrows" almost unbearably beautiful whispered windchime reverb drenched lullaby

it's very good

"doing what i can" is basically "big love" w/ new lyrics, still totally exhilarating tho

Touring this fall. Psyched as usual. Having seen him both with and without the Mac, more without, sometimes I wonder if he even realizes the other guys aren't there.

Love this "Cradle" song, which is a total unabashed anthem, despite Lindsey's predictably crazed vocals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHg_WZ5ZDdk

Turn i OOooooHOOooOOOHOoOHonnn....."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lindsey-buckingham-fleetwood-mac-will-return-next-year-20110830

nice to know that a buckingham nicks reissue is still being talked about

new one leaked , and its great.

Of course it is. His is without a doubt the best post-gigantic boomer-band solo career. Nobody even comes close (I admit that the competition ain't all that, but that's hardly the point).

It's startling, actually, how his vulnerability and neuroses never ceases to spill into his songs and his playing, despite the fact that he's a multi-millionaire rockstar who used to sleep with Stevie Nicks on a very regular basis.

Lindsey's the man.

"his vulnerability and neuroses never ceases to spill into his songs and his playing, despite beacuse the fact that he's a multi-millionaire rockstar who used to sleep with Stevie Nicks on a very regular basis."

The roots of his neuroses, I guess...

he is going back to Under The Skin territory which is a good place to be. and it might be even better from that record too.

I love how consistent all his solo stuff has been. It's all pretty interchangeable, in a good way. His writing, performing and production is just so distinctive.

I'm the odd man out -- I had to review UTS and found it pretty and dull.

Dull? At it's best I found it terribly moving. I'd be interested in hearing why you didn't like it... Is the review available online?

it's at the VV's site.

Thanks

It seems it was actually Gift of Screws you reviewed, but hey, same guy.

And I agree he hasn't written a song like "Trouble" in a while. And that it would be interesting to hear him attempt to something a bit more grand scale-pop in a solo setting. But I doubt we will. Rumours say that FM are headed for the studio in the near future, though... That might pull the old demon out.

gift of screws has some of his most terrifically gorgeous songs. "underground," "treason," etc.

Given that "Tusk" is one of my favourite albums of all time, let alone favourite Fleetwood Mac album, I've never really bothered to check out any of Buckingham's solo stuff. I have been really curious though, especially since stuff like "Red Rover" (excellent guitar playing) from the Mac's "Say You Will" show that the idiosyncratic songwriting of "Tusk" wasn't a one-off. What's the best solo record to start with?

Out of the Cradle.

**adds "Out Of The Cradle" to his 'to listen' list**

Listen to "Turn It On" posted upthread.

It's alright, I've just found it on Spotify, I'm going to whack it on in a bit - I'm looking forward to it!

My favorite tune: "Soul Drifter."

it took me forever to get into out of the cradle but it was totally worth it

i was pretty taken by gift of screws immediately but i realize i am the only person who had that experience

I'm up to 'Countdown' so far, and I'm easily already liking this more than "Mirage" and "Tango In The Night" - some wonderful guitar playing, with some of the kind of individual take on folk/country that I liked about Lindsey's "Tusk" contributions - it's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds, but I am really really enjoying it.

I've found Out Of The Cradle to be an enjoyable album, definitely. I am, though, wondering how many more listens I'll get out of it before I start yearning for Christine McVie or Stevie Nicks tracks in between the songs, though!

Listen how "Doing What I Can" is a chordal rewrite of "Big Love."

I definitely heard echoes of "Family Man" in "Soul Drifter"!

xpost That's the paradox of Lindsey Buckingham. The guy's a genius, but sometimes his genius shines most brightly in the context of the others. Sort of as epitomized by the "special thanks from the band to Lindsey Buckingham" credit on "Tusk."

loving 'seeds we sow'

does not sound like the work of a man of nearly 70 at all

(whoops he's only just over 60. sorry LB)

still tho

(and haven't heard new record, but yeah, he's not resting on any kinds of laurels)

strange distortion on the chorus of 'when she comes down' - pretty much have to assume it's intentional as this is not a heavily crushed record by any means

this is not a heavily crushed record by any means

wait i take that back

It took me forever, but I finally found a copy of that Making of Tusk doc. Man, it should be subtitled "The Making of Colombia." The could fuel a small country with the amount of jittery, nervous energy on display.

Hehehehehe! Yeah, you can definitely tell that they're up to the eyeballs in the stuff. Every time you hear Mick Fleetwood speak, he sniffs between every other word! Stevie Nicks in particular is very 'not with it' as well.

Funny aside: there's a great local tribute band with a constantly rotating slate of acts that's taken them from the Band to Zappa. Not long ago they started occasionally working their way through the chronological Beatles, with a kids show or two. The last kids show featured songs from "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver," but given the nature of the audience they found a clever way to to refer to the introduction of drugs to the mix by substituting in the word "soccer." As in, "by now Paul was starting to get into soccer, and soon the other guys got into soccer, too. Their collective interest in soccer began to manifest itself in the music." That sort of thing. It was very funny banter.

Fleetwood Mac was totally into soccer.

Fleetwood Mac owned the Colombian soccer team! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fi3NGwnE3c

Lindsey was so hot in this period.

Lindsey was so hot high in this period.

Watching that is so odd, you see Lindsey there with all of his nervous energy. Short hair, clean cut, sharp. Then the camera pans over to John McVie, who looks completely out of step with the music he's playing!

I mean, 'clean shaven', rather than 'clean cut' - that's probably the wrongest phrase to describe Lindsey in this particular era of the Mac.

" project that challenges listeners to expand their definitions of Buckingham and include him as an indie singer/songwriter." (allmusic)

otm

and he is 61 years old..quite an age to become an indie figure after such a career

Don't damn him!

lol @ indie "challenges listeners"

mmm..i think for the mainstream Rumours etc fans his current stuff is a challenge

just out of curiosity - why doesn't pitchfork review Buckingham's records?

It will when he produces Deerhunter.

I know they've covered his chill wave side project Neon Indian.

love this guy, can't wait to see him

Seeing him tomorrow night!

just out of curiosity - why doesn't pitchfork review Buckingham's records?

when under the skin came out, I actually did write a track review of it, and in fact referenced his weird graduation into indie-godfather-like status...but for the life of me can't seem to find it on the site or google anymore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlzZlWQKlNY

Ashamed to admit I've never heard one of his solo records. Heard the title track off the new one, though, and it's tres pretty. How likely am I to dig the rest of it?

quite. i think the tunes are as strong as the last two solo ones but i feel this one is his most lyrically weak

After going through all his solo albums, I think Gift of Screws is the strongest. I immediately wanted to listen to it again - i don't think it has a weak song.

And I haven't examined lyrics, but Seeds We Sow is just a gorgeous album to listen to.

All his solo stuff is gorgeous in this manic-Baroque style. A lot of his recent trio but especially the new one, lyrically, veers on new agey/self-helpy territory, but I can set that aside.

I was struck, btw, guitar nerds, how many of the songs he played last night were in open tunings. Like, 90%. Makes his playing that much more mysterious. He brought it, though. Love his totally unassuming trio of anonymous talented guys backing him, who look like he met them in a new dads group or at the local block garage band.

Out of the Cradle is still my favorite.

There are not enough hearts in the world to express my love for Stevie and Christine in that "Second Hand News" vid posted above.

Mmmbop.

Listened to the new album twice through, and its gorgeous. So this is what I've been missing by ignoring solo Buckingham?

yes, and more.

D.W. Suite. Expansive. I like it.

new one is really good, I like out of the cradle a lot as well.

it's good? i buy, then.

that's the way love goes sounds like a rumors era vintage fleetwood track w/ slightly more modern production

Love solo Lindsey a lot, don't misconstrue this. But has anyone else noticed how the tracks with Mick Fleetwood and that guesting are by far the best ones?

Yep.

Also not to be contentious but if any of the tracks from any of LB's solo records were transplanted into Rumours they'd be by far the worst on it. I mean there's good and then there's good, no?

I dunno. All of Lindsey's solo stuff on "Tusk" is awesome.

http://thefalconsnest.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/lindseybuck260811_w.jpg

What's up with the clinically-depressed Metalunan Blue Steel look in every photo for the past decade?

haha

The man is tan and taut.

I am in the throes of Linndrum fun these days in my studio -- and am really enjoying the hell out of Go Insane, which is almost all Lindsey alone, btw.

Further listening to Go Insane reveals that the first side is loaded with tunes that would've made for a damned good Fleetwood Mac record. If you put aside the Fairlight/Linndrum production, "I Must Go" would've fit right in on Tusk. The harmonies on "I Want You" make it sound like a full-on Rumours cut. In fact, given that he did almost this entire record on his own, I think you you can safely say that a bunch of the tunes on Rumours had Lindsey singing harmony with himself.

I downloaded the album during the holiday break and liked it too, especially "I Want You." I'd heard the startling remake of the title track before the original version; it sounds like a 15th century madrigal or something.

after reading ^ I pulled this out of the cassette box and put it on repeat. Play in the Rain is properly spooky, kinda reminds me of Byrne/Eno Qu'ran

I am in the throes of Linndrum fun these days in my studio -- and am really enjoying the hell out of /Go Insane/, which is almost all Lindsey alone, btw.

I stand by my earlier comments -- Go Insane has some of his tastiest solo tunes. For those upthread who lament that Buck's solo career lacks the tunes and gonzo production touches of his Tusk/Mirage FM stuff, this is the one to dig out.

on some other thread i totally stan for go insane and probably mention the audacity of ending your first side with a locked groove

lol it's this very thread

I would recommend newbies start with "Out of the Cradle."

I've been so hung up on the title track of Go Insane that I don't think I've ever really spun the whole album. Will do today.

Jealous of you getting to experience it for the first time! Tell me "Slow Dancing" doesn't make you want to sing "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band, though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXTr3e0VPNc&feature=player_embedded

I saw him last night! Great seats too: fifth row center. More artists should perform 80-minute sets. The highlights: "Trouble," "Bleed to Love Her," and "Go Your Own Way."

Did he play "Holiday Road?" He did the last couple of times I've seen him with a band.

Nope, alas.

Has anyone listened to this? http://www.lindseybuckingham.com/news/109831

Parts of "Play in the Rain" sound like "Get Ur Freak On".

?!?!?!!?!??!?!?!!!!!!

Okay, so the other day "Trouble" came to mind and I was all "Hmm, I should relisten" just now. So I did a YT search and the official video, which I knew nothing about, came up and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d1guIZZNbM

The opening ten seconds alone. If you had told me this was a modern day parody of the place/time/style, I would have completely believed you. Also as Simon Price said on Facebook, "Everyone in that video is on the most cocaine in history."

According to Wikipedia, Walter Egan, Bob Welch, Dwight Twilley, Jimmy Iovine, and Andy Ward (the drummer from Camel) are in the video. Anybody recognize anybody else?

Ha. Um yes.

Story I've always heard (probably from wikipedia or fleetwoodmacapedia) is that Mick recorded a drum track that LB used only like 2.9 seconds of and looped it for the whole damn song.

Andy Ward plays with the Bevis Frond now.

Lots of good tunes he wrote..

And why on earth does the entire 3-CD version of the new Best Of contain only one song from Law and Order? The other solo albums contribute a minimum of 5 songs each--Out of the Cradle get 10!

STEREOGUM: Why only one song from Law And Order on this compilation?

BUCKINGHAM: There are other songs that I enjoy, but as I was listening to them as I was trying to make them work in the context of a larger body of work, they just didn’t seem to want to go on there. Again, completely subjective and perhaps maybe I have a bad attitude about that album. I mean, I wanted the anthology to have a certain elevated tone that had a level of sincerity to it. I think much of Law And Order doesn’t speak in a sincere way. It speaks more in an ironic way, a tongue in cheek way.

Lord knows Buckingham is never camp.

There are some Holiday Road dog bark samples that might disagree.

Which he and his band totally play live!

One of my favorite things about Bucky is how he simultaneously (and I'll say successfully) fostered a reputation as a cult act even while at the helm of one of the world's biggest rock bands.

Doesn’t feel like a restrospective without more representation of the nervy qualities of Law and Order, exploring those new wave influences after Tusk . “It Was I” and “Mary Lee Jones” come to mind.

One of my favorite things about Bucky is how he simultaneously (and I'll say successfully) fostered a reputation as a cult act even while at the helm of one of the world's biggest rock bands.

https://www.facebook.com/lindseybuckingham/photos/a.350595361675444/1977550365646594/?type=3&theater

My admiration for this guy as musician/producer has grownin the last week. I’ve been listening to and enjoying as much of his solo stuff as I’m able to dig up - recall hearing his stuff here and there in the ‘80s and liking it but never put two and two together (“Go Insane” is brilliant!). Damn, he really did carry the bulk of those ‘80s FM albums on his skinny shoulders, musically, didn’t he? So much of “Mirage” and “Tango In The Night” - wonderfully resembles his solo stuff.

*Sorry for the errors - typing from the phone

After his bypass surgery last year, I caught up with his solo work via that compilation he sequenced for Rhino, and the same thing happened - my admiration for him grew exponentially. It's a shame that compilation kind of tanked - Amazon was clearing out vinyl copies for very cheap - but it does an exceptional job of showcasing his solo work. I have to say it's stunning how his solo albums generally sold in low numbers because at their best, they're every bit as engaging and tuneful as Fleetwood Mac's best-known hits. Out of the Cradle alone is a great pop album, and I don't even think it went gold.

And yes, I think his contributions as a producer can't be overstated. I think you see this in Stevie Nicks's solo career where she's very dependent on her collaborators. A lot of it's execrable, but when she's leaning on Tom Petty's Heartbreakers or when Prince comes in to co-write and perform nearly every instrument or when she's working within Fleetwood Mac, it's an enormous improvement. ("Edge of Seventeen" is probably the one great exception to all this. That's an unqualified triumph.)

Who’s more essential to the late 70s revival, nicks or Lb? I think Lb is more important. Without her the band is still successful, just a lot less so. Without him it’s the Christine and Stevie show. Well maybe

Prince didn't co-write "Stand Back" ftr.

You're right about her struggle with collaborators, though. She's produced pretty solid work the last 20 years.

Yeah, I double checked, and co-write isn't accurate, they didn't collaborate on the writing, but here's the explanation:

Technically, the raspy 1983 Wild Heart dance track "Stand Back," was written by Nicks herself – but Nicks has said it "belongs" to Prince. She likes to tell its origin story: It was the day of her wedding, she and her new husband Kim Anderson were driving North to Santa Barbara for their honeymoon when she heard "Little Red Corvette" for the first time. She wrote "Stand Back" start to finish that day, humming along to the Prince single. When she later went to record the song, she called to tell him the story. Twenty minutes later the Purple One showed up at her studio. He "walked over to the synthesizers that were set up, was absolutely brilliant for about 25 minutes and then left," she later told Timothy White. "He spoiled me for every band I've ever had because nobody can exactly recreate – not even with two piano players – what Prince did all by his little self."

Great points made here. I'm sure once I actually read this entire thread from the top I'll find I just repeated well-worn facts. Still, I'm happy to have some new "old music" to knock me out.

Can we all just agree that “Go Insane” is an absolutely phenomenal song?

Bucky's skills as writer/arranger/performer absolutely were the key to late '70s and beyond FM. For myriad reasons they just couldn't function without him. I never get tired of the "Destiny Rules" scene where, once again, as with "Tusk" (I think) but definitely "Tango," they come to him when he's in the middle of working on a solo album and practically beg him for songs/material/ideas. He says yes, reluctantly, then everyone's agents and managers - they all have their own agents and managers and whatever - try to get him to cut things down to a a "commercial" single album. And he's all, that's fine if that's what you do, I'll just quit and take my songs back to my solo album. And iirc there's a scene with Mick where he more or less panics at the prospect.

Ok, here's the doc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQOjptfZLJ4

The convo/confrontation happens around the 21 minute mark.

Bucky being fired from the band was as much them calling his bluff as the reported conflict between him and Stevie. He wanted to make new music, and they didn't, possibly/probably because they didn't feel like dong it as always on his exclusive terms. He says, hey, I don't want to be *only* a nostalgia act, and they essentially counter with, well, we're happy being just a nostalgia act, because it is more lucrative and easier than doing things your way at a loss.

Heh, dong. I'm having keyboard problems.

Don't say that you love me
Don't tell me that you
DONG!

Xxp yeah that’s my read of the situation. Kinda sad but don’t think it’s a big deal all in all. Sad never to have seen them live though.

This fly-on-the-wall docu is great. Thanks for the link, JiC!

"We love Lindsey, and we want him to have everything that he wants and for all his dreams to come true. But this is not about art."

I know at one point Mick talks about sales of 500k with horror which is (I think) about where it ended up ... were they unhappy with sales?

"We love Lindsey, and we want him to have everything that he wants and for all his dreams to come true. But this is not about art."
Jesus, I'm actually a fan, but when I see that, it's like fuck this band. What, was their tens of millions not enough, or did they burn through it buying coke?

Maybe it has to do with this

https://www.iheart.com/content/2018-07-09-lindsey-buckingham-abused-stevie-nicks-for-years-says-biographer/

Or Lindsay generally being one of the most renowned assholes in music

Maybe they don't feel like doing a record but enjoy doing live shows

Maybe it's a fucking drag to record with Lindsay and they are old and just don't want to deal with it

also have to imagine it's exhausting to record an album as you've gotten on in age, take it on tour, only to hear requests for all old shit throughout the set at every show and people whining if you do more than 1 tune from the new album.

(I wonder if that's why Motorhead weirdly toured behind their final album in 2015, and didn't do one damn song from it, when I saw them)

I know "nostalgia act" is used as a pejorative, but I don't think bands that are touring and playing the music they love in front of multiple generations of fans who may or may not have seen them before are obligated to continually put out new material.

If Carcass put out their next EP and album this year/next and were to say "y'know, we don't have any more new material in us anymore, but we're gonna keep touring anyway for the next decade cos we love our fans and it helps us to not get day jobs as well" - some people would view that negatively and say 'oh god they're just gonna milk these albums forever" but that's kinda..rockist...innit?

"We love Lindsey, and we want him to have everything that he wants and for all his dreams to come true. But this is not about art."

― lukas, Friday, August 21, 2020 11:43 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This. FM are just as shameless when it comes to making money as the Eagles.

Recording is work, playing gigs is easy money.

Lindsey would be better to just cut bait and go make music with young musicians that are hungry to make it happen. I think in the end he would be much happier in the long run and would get to make music.

Can't speak for Lindsey, but pretty sure Mick and Stevie (and maybe the others?) had burned through their 70s millions by the 80s.

It's weird to me to regard him as underrated tbh. He's been overpraised as genius arranger since the late '90s.

I'd prefer to read a piece arguing for the brilliance of Christine McVie.

I guess Lindsey sank his in a house in Brentwood, which has paid off very well.

Nice crib

been there two times, never going back again tho

Bucky pulls a Dylan, which I guess others have been doing as well?

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/lindsey-buckingham-fleetwood-mac-hipgnosis-merck-mercuriadis-1109830/?fbclid=IwAR3tV0sK-KHlxohENaFFgNJptymHPI83peV0nCbZSCTlx6JBmtHSZgIK_Oo

After today's news about another big rock song catalog acquisition (Fleetwood Mac this time), it's probably worth sharing this again—my analysis of why this is happening and what it tells us about the future of the music business. https://t.co/CJVwibtCEj pic.twitter.com/YJRdKHT8sg

— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) January 5, 2021

That tweet is very depressing. I'm going to bed.

.

Is it? It guaranteed his family a bunch of dough forever.

Good for them. B-b-but...

Pretty sure that Stevie already sold her rights, not sure if that registered here or not.

yep, just one month ago:

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/stevie-nicks-fleetwood-mac-catalog-primary-wave-1098850/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lagpYLwnSd8

Just of a bit of yet another collapse of a way for people to be rewarded for their labors, let's be cool.

Variety relentlessly reports on these Hipgnosis deals (for some reason); not sure why this one registered in particular?

(I’ve assumed Jem Aswad gets a kickback or some other incentive for writing up every damn Hipgnosis announcement)

Is it? It guaranteed his family a bunch of dough forever.

this was likely guaranteed long before this deal

Because I’m painfully fair, I must amend my above remarks to note that Aswad apparently reports on non-Hipgnosis publishing deals as well.

(This other company, Primary Wave, is that one that Stevie Nicks made a deal with last year.)

Is he right about consumers spendling less in point 3? I was under the impression that revenue was actually rising in the streaming era. Official trade body seems to think so https://www.ifpi.org/our-industry/industry-data/ that it’s not necessarily going to the right people is a different story as on the numerous Spotify threads.

Fleetwood Mac's complete and total transformation into the The Eagles is totally sad, but it's probably been a balancing act since The Dance. The writing was on the wall when Stevie and Mick tried to replace Christine fucking McVie with Sheryl Crowe. Members are fungible and profits are all that matter. It's a boomer nostalgia clown show. And I don't that Lindsey is the only trouble maker in the band and deserved to be fired. Stevie chucked a steel chair at Christine in 1987 and has done her fair share of rotten shit.

glad i got to see them all on stage around 2013

At the least the Eagles still have Joe Walsh. I'm not an Eagles fan, but I'd rather go to their show than a Fleetwood Mac that's been turned into the Stevie Nicks show.

As I see it The Eagles have always been very openly corporate. Don and Glenn never try to hide it while FM tried to foster an image of a dysfunctional incestual family, but a family nonetheless. Joe Walsh is the only reason to see The Eagles. Don Henley has always been a wet fart. Mick and Stevie also fired keyboardist Brett Tuggle, who had a close working relationship with Christine and then laughably replaced him with her solo touring keyboardist. It's sad to see that Christine is done. She's a ridiculously good writer and never got her due because her ego wasn't huge and Stevie, Lindsey, or Mick's. She's pretty much retired. RIP Fleetwood Mac.

After Peter Green left, Danny Kirwan and Christine were by far the best things about Fleetwood Mac, and with Kirwan soon gone, she carried the band IMHO. Bob Welch was okay, he had a few songs I really liked, but she was a far better and more consistent songwriter as well as a far more appealing vocalist. You can compile a truly great Christine McVie solo album from the best songs she wrote for FM before Buckingham and Nicks came on board, and afterwards she and Buckingham edged out Nicks as the best songwriters for the group. I can't imagine going to a show if Christine and Buckingham are truly gone, not unless someone else is paying.

I once burned a 2 CD comp of Christine's songs in FM and it's just ridiculous how consistently great her songwriting is. The problem is that money is in touring and Stevie puts butts in the seats, therefore she gets to make all the executive decisions. Fleetwood Mac only tours and records an official Fleetwood Mac album when Stevie says so. It's a crime that Christine's last appearance on an official FM release was 31 years ago. Now Mick Fleetwood is trying to put together a ramshackle Fleetwood Mac tour involving all remaining Fleetwood Mac members. Nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLKaiGDPIg

fantastic imo

He's such a consistently great writer/arranger/producer/player.

Beautiful, he don't miss. Seeds We Sow was his best album yet imo

As a Tusk lover who was ambivalent towards Law and Order, which Buckingham album might I like best?

Hmm, probably Out of the Cradle. But all the albums after that are great, too, or at least less uneven.

(Less uneven than the first couple, that is. After those two it's pretty smooth sailing in Buckyland.)

Out of the Cradle's a solid intro if you know him as a band member; even though he plays or programs 98% of it himself, it's not as minimalist as the others.

Go Insane is a fascinating boomer-goes-new-wave moment though the songwriting's more wan.

Yeah, was going to recommend Go Insane if you haven't heard it. It's about as ambitious as Tusk but completely different sonically--very 80s neo-psych, closer to Tango In the Night

Iirc, very "hmm, what does *this* button do?"

I agree, Out of the Cradle is excellent.

BUT, the Solo Anthology is a great compilation, and I'll add that I never thought *that* highly of solo Buckingham until I got that three-disc set and listened to it from start-to-finish. I was skeptical of the whole thing - THREE discs? c'mon - but seeing it on clearance convinced me to give it a chance, and man was I wrong. (To be clear, it's more like a two-disc set with a great live disc as a bonus.)

(And to be fair, a lot of Out of the Cradle is on Solo Anthology - it really is an excellent album)

yeah it’s great.

“street of dreams” haunting af

I almost nailed the acoustic intro to “don’t look down” years ago

My new self-titled album is one I’ve been intending to get out for a couple of years now, but on more than one occasion, unforeseen circumstances necessitated a postponement of plans. Now that we’re back in gear, I’m thrilled to finally be sharing this new music with my listeners!

In other words, "my new album is once again stuff I'd been sitting on for potential use on a new Fleetwood Mac album, but now that they've gone their own way, I'm keeping them for myself."

how many buckingham solo albums that could have been parts of a respectable enough late career FM album if he'd been able to get the others on board are we up to now lol? & of course he managed to get everyone except stevie on board for buckingham mcvie

will also rep for out of the cradle & go insane, both very enjoyable stuff. love "don't look down"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcOZfU4PVCg

looked up the out of the cradle tour and why does he have 5 guitarists lmao. great performances though

that's how many it takes to duplicate his one guitar and mullet

xpost His fabled guitar army! Iirc, he infamously didn't play "Countdown," the single, on the tour. But here it is (with house band) doing it on Letterman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzVtMdpxYWM

That Center Stage thing, btw, I know people who were at that show, and apparently no one was allowed to leave, with some songs getting multiple perfectionist takes.

Letterman With The Longbox!

Whatever bubbles bubbles up

Lol

Tix on sale tomorrow for a rescheduled show that we were supposed to see in May 2020 but will now be September 2021. Seen him solo twice before (along with once with FM), he's one of those guys I'll pretty much go see every time he comes around.

Does he ever do his crazy picked version of "Big Love"?

He does. He also often does "Holiday Road" replete with dog barks.

i've seen him do the fingerpicked "big love" literally every time i've seen the mac and him solo, to the point where i'm like idk man maybe retire it and translate "murrow turning over in his grave" to solo guitar instead

jk the fingerpicked "big love" is amazing, hits every time

I remember pulling up the tab when I was 16, not having heard that version yet, and thinking I had it.

Then pulled my mom's copy of The Dance out and realized he was playing at 4 times the speed I had learned it at.

Love that piece but yea I guess it'd get old after a while!

I was bored with acoustic "Big Love" by late '97 when I saw him live -- so much so that the programmed Mac version is underrated.

Not big on synth version. I need fingers

Nah. Just one finger to program.

Plus: Arthur Baker!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfpPUsfmVO4

Yeah seeing him multiple times some of the shtickier stuff gets old, but he's still a blast to just watch and listen to.

Meanwhile, I started clicking on headlines about his divorce to see how many used some version of "going his/her own way," and the answer is all of them.

Quick reminder LB’s girlfriend during the Rumors/Tusk period wrote about his abuse in her autobiography.

My new self-titled album is one I’ve been intending to get out for a couple of years now, but on more than one occasion, unforeseen circumstances necessitated a postponement of plans. Now that we’re back in gear, I’m thrilled to finally be sharing this new music with my listeners!

In other words, "my new album is once again stuff I'd been sitting on for potential use on a new Fleetwood Mac album, but now that they've gone their own way, I'm keeping them for myself."

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, June 8, 2021 8:34 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

sorta assumed he was referring to his recent health issues here

I think, as a decades long master of passive aggression, that he means both health *and* getting fired by Fleetwood Mac. Hence the addition of "on more than one occasion." Ie, lest you think this was just about health, here's a bonus fuck you to FM. But certainly from "Tusk" on, every FM album has been filled out with more or less solo Lindsey tracks. Maybe not "Mirage," that one seemed to be a conscious attempt to return to a "band" album, but after saving their bacon so many times I think he had had enough after that and went into full time FM mercenary mode. Which was probably healthiest for everyone concerned, until it wasn't.

I've seen him live solo a few times, with FM once, and on that McVie tour. The differences between him solo and with the others was nominal, he just does his thing and does it well and everyone else falls in line. There's a reason both times they've had to replace him with *two* ringers. Speaking of which, that new song sounds like something Neil Finn would write ...

Yikes, divorced again? It's not like I know them, but given all the photos and upbeat messages both of them posted since his emergency heart operation, it didn't seem like a split was coming anytime soon.

And after 22 years or something right? Also sounds like she filed for divorce from him. Maybe that's why he sold his gajillion dollar Bel Air mansion. Going to get a bachelor pad.

Quick reminder LB’s girlfriend during the Rumors/Tusk period wrote about his abuse in her autobiography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-IKgoPjv00

“On the Wrong Side” is about the peaks and valleys of life on the road with Fleetwood Mac, and sports one of the album’s most thought-provoking lyric: “We were young, now we’re old / Who can tell me which is worse?” The song evokes “Go Your Own Way,” in that it’s not a happy song, subject-matter wise, but it was an ebullient song musically. This was sort of the same idea.

Not a good sign when Marc Maron looks like the healthy one:

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/s1080x2048/227103336_366236324860408_8423276956210511833_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=EGvW0UC4PJYAX-IWRDx&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=37874af922b46d4615735482115259c6&oe=6107F9F8

He's 71! A pretty good 71

Fair enough. Lotta sun.

LB looks like he steps out of the shower and rides the matterhorn every morning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=selaVY2iYQ0

tight

It's his best since Out of the Cradle. Melodically on-point.

i suspected it might be as much!!!

and the songs posted here aren't even the best

Dude remains an ingenious and utterly distinctive arranger.

still wish Fleetwood Mac had gotten their mitts into these lovely demos

lol, you know they would sound 90% the same, only with the occasional Christine McVie harmony or Stevie popping up on backing vocals.

Thanks for the tip Alfred - really looking forward to this now.

The hypocrisy and bitter, passive-aggressive doublespeak in the new Lindsey interview in the LA Times (that I saw incorporated into a Variety article), from all involved, is pretty hilarious. Lindsey considers himself not “as aggressive” and “less self-involved” as he has been in the past, but admits he had asked the band asked to delay its 2018 tour in order to promote his new music. Stevie claims she did not have him fired. "To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my wellbeing. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it. And after many lengthy group discussions, Fleetwood Mac, a band whose legacy is rooted in evolution and change, found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members."

So ... she fired herself and had to be talked back into the band, yet somehow she is there and Buckingham is not?

And then Azoff claims to have "been aligned with Stevie Nicks in thought and purpose from the earliest of days," whatever that means, with the delicious kicker that "while financial gain was not a motivator for me, it was a delightful bonus that the band scored their highest grossing tour ever without Lindsey.” Sure, Irv, you didn't care about the money.

So it sounds to me that:

Lindsey was his usual my way or the highway asshole self, and was willing to sacrifice monetary gain to get it.
Stevie used her position in the band as leverage to get Lindsey out and probably a bigger cut of the proceeds.
Notorious asshole Azoff probably played a role in the mess to guarantee a big payday for the 2018 tour.

Lindsey throws some bombs his other bandmates' ways, too:

Mick Fleetwood has “never quite gotten to the point where he’s financially stable all the time,” Buckingham says of the band’s namesake. “He’s been married and divorced many times. He’s just not smart with his money.”

The same theory applies to Christine McVie, whom Buckingham says sent him an email after his firing that read: “I’m really sorry that I didn’t stand up for you, but I just bought a house.” (Both she and Fleetwood declined to comment for this article.)

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-09-08/lindsey-buckingham-fleetwood-mac-stevie-nicks

I rather liked this thread in response:

This is a fascinating LA Times story by @AmyKinLA on the split b/w Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac. https://t.co/u7NRPqzrr1

I'm on Team Lindsey, but for the record he's out of his mind.

— ʙɪʟʟ ᴡʏᴍᴀɴ (@hitsville) September 9, 2021

Especially these two bits, which just makes me think of why Bruce Willis keeps doing what he does. At what point do you just not have financial planning or don't have anyone around you who does?

I'm on Team Christine, too, but what does she spend her money on?!?

The band grossed more than $100 million touring as recently as 2019.

— ʙɪʟʟ ᴡʏᴍᴀɴ (@hitsville) September 9, 2021

David Crosby has been whining about his financial situation as well. He has a mortgage to pay, he says.

Me, I can remember when CSN were pioneering the $200 concert ticket.

— ʙɪʟʟ ᴡʏᴍᴀɴ (@hitsville) September 9, 2021

Deep in the replies, this anecdote:

40 yrs ago I was a college student waitressing an end-of-tour Halloween party 4 the band. Christine unkindly told young me that my costume was "not very original." Mick hit a busboy because we couldn't serve alcohol after 02:00. It was 30 yrs B4 I could enjoy their music again.

— A Texan In Scottsdale (@WiseOldTexan) September 9, 2021

Is it in fact possible that the only sane member of the band is...Neil Finn?

would pay money to not hear any of the members of fleetwood mac talk about each other ever again

Fleetwood Mac: The Debate Tour

I forget what book it was in, but I once read a breakdown of how much basic upkeep in a giant mansion alone costs. Potentially tens of thousands of dollars a month in mortgage, heating, electric, landscaping, staff, pool maintenance, that kind of stuff. Now multiply that times several houses or properties, factor in a lifestyle that long ago outsourced the logistics of money and other boring stuff like that to accountants and managers and other yes-men leeches who know the bottom line and what it takes to maintain said lifestyle yet at the same time encourage it, and it's no wonder these big babies have so much trouble with money. The article claims Lindsey would have made $12 million on that 2018 tour, so figure everyone else in the band made something more or less similar. That's a ton of money, but I don't know how far it goes if you're bad with cashflow and impulsively buy, like, islands or castles or shit like that. (I'm looking at you, Nic Cage and Johnny Depp, you big dummies.) When was the last time any of these lunatics probably even carried a wallet?

I hate the thought of "Team Lindey."

Men are so stupid.

Lindsey even

But we must have teams or we have no identity and *cries, flails*

For all the collective bullshit John has done such a good job extracting himself that there is no Team John.

Maybe Team John is really Team Put Your Money in the Bank and Make Sound Investments.

the way lindsay acts doesn't do much to dispel the account of him being a manipulative abuser

...but I just bought a house

As someone looking into home ownership, I'd just like to say I commiserate with this excuse far more now than I ever did before. Buying a home, any home, is expensive shit in every possible way!

I daresay hanging out with Neil Finn night after night and earning money for a house sounds better than doing the same with Buckingham.

But Bill Wyman makes a good point. I'm not 1/5th of any $200 million grossing endeavor.

Or $100 million I should say

You're just not posting the right way yet!

Yeah, still learning...I'm a slow learner all right!

When was the last time any of these lunatics probably even carried a wallet?

That reminds me of my favorite Paul McCartney impression. From Dana Carvey's stand-up, probably from the '80s before SNL:

"Linda! I lost me wallet! It had a million dollars in it...I'd hate to go back to the bank and get another million."

I read somewhere that the Beatles never carried money or wallets post-Beatlemania.

Picasso never needed a wallet.

Would anything have been missed, musically, if he had just kept his distance from the band post 1988? A couple of songs on Say You Will, maybe? Plus a stronger solo career, which seems to be his focus anyway?

he should forget about FM, join forces with & write an album for little big town. it would rule....maybe even reach the charts.

xpost I think what's clear is that it's the *band* that needed him. Even "Tango," a lot of that is essentially solo Bucky, as was "Tusk." They had to lure him back (again) for the reunion, and then lured him back *again* for Say You Will, because they needed his (more or less complete) songs. As the Times article noted, his new solo album was apparently done 4 years ago, so he's just been sitting on his hands (health scares aside). No doubt had the band decided to do something in the studio they would have borrowed at least some of his solo stuff (as they did for Say You Will). Neil Finn and Mike Campbell are great, great songwriters, but there is no way this current version of FM (which is probably done, anyway) is going to write and record anything new. They're too cautious and unmotivated. That's the crux of it.

Nicks has said she has no interest in a new album because she thinks it won't sell or something.

Xp Didn’t Lindsey quit/got fired because he was pushing for recording new material rather than touring? Stevie made it pretty clear that she didn’t see the financial point in putting out new music

Yeah, both right. I was just thinking of the Stevie quote above, "Fleetwood Mac, a band whose legacy is rooted in evolution and change, found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members." It was no new path forward, it was a way to ensure the tour obligations were met. If it was really an "evolution" akin to the band's past history, Finn and Campbell would contribute to a new album, but no way that's happening.

They should put out an album called Campell Finn and recreate the Buckingham Nicks cover photo and font.

clearly Lindsay could get along with everyone but Stevie, as there was that 2017 record that by all rights is a Fleetwood Mac record but they couldn't call it that cuz Nicks wasn't involved…

It's hard to really feel like there are good guys and bad guys here, just a bunch of rich weirdos (not as rich as they'd like, I guess) with different priorities. I don't begrudge Stevie being at a point where she's like, "Let's just go out and play the songs people love and get their adulation and money." Or Lindsey still wanting to create new stuff. I can understand both of those POVs.

Team Both Sides.

I've looked at Mac from both sides now

I used to think all these rock stars would age out of their stupid grudges - if Axl Rose can do it, surely anybody can, right? But I guess there’s something in the water in Laurel Canyon that turns everyone into 16 year olds, emotionally, forever. I still think in FM and CSNY’s case things have basically shaken out to separate the children from the adults, even if we’re speaking in relative terms - whether it’s 3 or 4 against 1, the lone guy is definitely the child and the asshole. As much as Lindsey was the architect of the FM sound, we already know he’s an abuser - I really don’t think Stevie has to explain why she never wants to work with him again, but if these tantrums keep playing out in public she might.

With CSNY I always thought Stills was the asshole. Just like with the Eagles I thought Don was king prick. I was wrong. But again you have to add “relatively speaking” with these fucking people.

'scream' is incredible #teamlindsey

Stevie Nicks was nervous. It was 1973, and the then-25-year-old singer and her guitarist boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham were posing for the cover of their first album, “Buckingham Nicks.”

Their record label had asked the duo to look “sexy,” and the bookish Nicks was already feeling self-conscious when the photographer told her to remove her diaphanous white blouse.

She didn’t want to do it. Buckingham lost it.stevie

“Don’t be a f–king child,” the then-24-year-old guitarist snapped. “This is art!”

Nicks and Buckingham met in high school in San Mateo, Calif. They were in a band called Fritz when they decided to move to Los Angeles and launch a career as a duo in 1971.

Yet while Nicks hustled to make rent, cleaning houses and waiting tables, Buckingham, who said he couldn’t work because he had to devote himself to music full-time, would spend most of the day smoking hash with his friends.One time, during a heated argument in front of the band in 1987, Buckingham, the book says, “manhandled Stevie, slapped her face and bent her backward over the hood of his car. He put his fingers around her neck and started to choke her.”

yeah, that 1987 incident was talked about at the time; it's insane how much perfidy we excused for the sake of Solitary Male Genius.

I like the music obv but him comparing her to Trump was so infuriating in context

stevie released as statement

https://www.nme.com/news/music/stevie-nicks-makes-first-public-statement-on-lindsey-buckinghams-exit-from-fleetwood-mac-3041963

“Following an exceedingly difficult time with Lindsey at MusiCares in New York, in 2018, I decided for myself that I was no longer willing to work with him. I could publicly reflect on the many reasons why, and perhaps I will do that someday in a memoir, but suffice it to say we could start in 1968 and work up to 2018 with a litany of very precise reasons why I will not work with him.

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“To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it.

“I have championed independence my whole life, and I believe every human being should have the absolute freedom to set their boundaries of what they can and cannot work with. And after many lengthy group discussions, Fleetwood Mac, a band whose legacy is rooted in evolution and change, found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members.

“Further to that, as for a comment on “family”—I was thrilled for Lindsey when he had children, but I wasn’t interested in making those same life choices. Those are my decisions that I get to make for myself. I’m proud of the life choices I’ve made, and it seems a shame for him to pass judgment on anyone who makes a choice to live their life on their own terms, even if it looks differently from what his life choices have been.”

Really great review for Pitchfork, Alfred --

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lindsey-buckingham-lindsey-buckingham/

Thanks!

really enjoyed that, made me want to check out the album

Yeah, a good 'un. He can be tricky to write about on his own terms, but you pulled it off.

A pain in the ass too, for I didn't wanna concentrate on The Drama.

“In the blissful exile of the recording studio, Lindsey Buckingham dreams of a dozen music boxes tinkling beautifully in various keys without cease.”Wow! @SotoAlfred is new to me but now has my attention. Throwing heat on @pitchfork. https://t.co/Yn24DSP3yS

— Michael Chabon (@michaelchabon) September 14, 2021

great review, deserves the accolades

cool

stevie effectively giving an ultimatum after whatever happened between them at musicares makes way more sense than any of the other narratives that had previously been thrown around

Pretty awesome - outstanding job Alfred!

thanks all!

I've noticed that cheap concert tickets have been surprisingly easy to come by in NYC. It must be COVID that's impacting the demand but I took a risk on Buckingham's show tonight as the side areas were pretty empty and I found a pair on the outer edge that someone wanted to unload for about half their face value after fees. Excellent, excellent show, I've never seen a performer of this level more happy and grateful to be on a stage. Only downside was hearing some misogynist douchebag yelling an insult about Stevie Nicks.

haha "swan song" has breakbeats!

something really funny about him getting into late 90s drum loops 25 years late

"Power Down" is my jam.

Marc Maron interview with him: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1248-lindsey-buckingham?fbclid=IwAR3BOMbdMsY4IDy6fm11Z0Wrr33M1w3oPYYA68ForYAtHPfeQFieyLQyuqY

Snarky remarks on the Kirwan-Welch period, what he calls "the non-sequitur" years.

i.e the best ever

I concur with everyone, great album, first half in particular. On first listen I thought it might be feel like there were FM ghosts on it, that I'd want to hear these songs played by them, but that didn't wind up being the case.

he's got every play in the manipulative abuser handbook down pat

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lindsey-buckingham-suggests-stevie-nicks-still-in-love-with-him-fleetwood-mac-191258119.html

“I Don’t Mind” is pretty undeniable. It’s also pretty clearly a track he wrote for FM – the background vocal oohs and flutters are tailor-made for Nicks and McVie.

As for him getting the boot from FM, my theory has been that Nicks came to the realization post-MeToo that she shouldn’t live with an unrepentant abuser in her life any longer, no matter how good the music they make together is. Her recent statement pretty much does nothing to dispel that theory.

Based on re-reading this thread and Alfred’s appreciation for it, I listened to Out of the Cradle this am and was … not super moved by it. For one, despite being 48 minutes it feels like 70, with all the interludes and whatnot. A lot of the tracks sort of bleed together as well – with fuzzy, aggressively fingerpicked guitars, similar tempos and a very early 90’s production polish. It feels like a record that took five years to finish. All that said, I think it’s a decent record – but it lacks the hooks and production zigzags of a Go Insane.

A few other things:

1) The “Lindsey only goes back to FM bc he is unjustly ignored as a solo artist” argument feels wrong footed. Despite the fact that most of his records aren’t particularly commercial (see above), he’s had a handful of hits (“Trouble,” “Go Insane”) and doesn’t seem to lack for label support. Per the “his best solo stuff seems to have Mick on it” comment above, it does feel like his best solo material would have made great Mac tracks – from the whole first side of Go Insane to “I Don’t Mind” on his self-titled this year.

2) To that point, the Buckingham McVie record has some pretty fun FM moments on it – “Sleeping Around the Corner” is fucking great (the fuzz bass from John is great). The documentary about the making of it is kind of hilarious bullshit in light of Lindsey getting canned a year later. Anyway, they probably should have just made this a FM record without Stevie and called it Say You Won’t.

3) Some of the commentary upthread about Stevie not wanting to record new music seems critical. I am pretty on record as saying Lindsey seems like a horrible person (kudos to Alfred for tucking in the abuse stuff to his review in Pitchfork). But when you get beyond what a bunch of overgrown children all of the members are, Stevie’s series of actions toward Lindsey really does feel consistent with that of an abuse survivor: feelings of codependency (relying on him—or other collaborators—for arranging her work), a guilty sense of comfort within the confines of abuse (touring and recording together because it pays the bills described upthread), a last straw that brings all those feelings to a head (being mocked while she spoke at an awards show). It’s hard for me to see it any other way.

finally listened and new album is impressive

though there's definitely backing vocals (autotuned?) stuff where it's clear it should have been fleetwood mac songs and those parts were meant for stevie or christine

I don’t believe the background vox are so much “autotuned” as sampled, manipulated and sequenced into little melodies. He’s been doing this on most of his records since the mid-80s – and it’s probably most heavily featured on Tango In the Night, where I gather everybody (okay, mostly Stevie) was so drugged out it was the only way he could get them on the record.

it should have been fleetwood mac songs and those parts were meant for stevie or christine

But wasn't this record completed (as a solo album) before he was kicked out of the band? I'm sure he feels he can do Fleetwood Mac on his own anyway(except maybe for the drumming).

But wasn't this record completed (as a solo album) before he was kicked out of the band? I'm sure he feels he can do Fleetwood Mac on his own anyway(except maybe for the drumming).

That's what I heard. I went through his solo records and I would go with Out of the Cradle and the new self-titled album as his two best and most fully-realized albums. More than the others, they both sound like they could've been Fleetwood Mac albums, or at least a "modern" continuation of the 1975 Fleetwood Mac LP and Rumours. I wouldn't say that's why they're the best - there's quite a few solo cuts that I like which don't sound like that - but it does make them more accessible as a whole, and it's possible making something more accessible means making something more cohesive and even from end-to-end.

Yeah, this album has supposedly been done for 4 years. I want to say his songs from his original unreleased "Gift of Screws" were more or less identical to the ones from that album that ended up on "Say You Will."

Yeah, it looks like (afaict) four tracks from the then-unreleased "Gift of Screws" ended up on "Say You Will" more or less unchanged, and two or three were released on that album with "additional overdubs."

Josh, what do you think of the original Gift of Screws? Great lost album or at least Buckingham's best?

I'll be honest, I've never really listened to it too much, not as an album, mostly because just about everything associated with it ended up on another album anyway, more or less.

He finished this album in 2017.

I don’t believe the background vox are so much “autotuned” as sampled, manipulated and sequenced into little melodies.

Otm. He's a master at this.

pic.twitter.com/6BM5o0vy2F

— SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest (@snlhostsintro) October 10, 2021

COBURN!

L Buckz a lil keyed up…

https://videopress.com/v/nyhChSvF

like neil young in crazy horse mode but the backing band is actually tight.

That performance reminds me that "Trouble" is built on the same two-chord progression and the same tempo as "Dreams". This can't have escaped him, I wonder if it was an intentional statement: "See what I can do with this pattern!"

Yeah, or "See what I can do with this cocaine!"

Better quality:

https://vimeo.com/442118162

Plus even bigger coke energy:

https://vimeo.com/442118899

xxpost They're not the same chords at all, though, are they?

That performance reminds me that "Trouble" is built on the same two-chord progression and the same tempo as "Dreams". This can't have escaped him, I wonder if it was an intentional statement: "See what I can do with this pattern!"

― Halfway there but for you,

Well observed

https://vimeo.com/442118899

Ah, the power of coke! Man, if would've unnerved the shit out of me if he was making the same crazed faces at the show I went to.

It's hard to tell from the mix, but it sounds like he tweaked "Bwana" into a Chuck Berry-style rocker - probably would've been better if the studio version was like that.

I tend not to credit coke with Buckingham's flights of fancy. He was by all accounts a rather unhinged guy in the studio without drugs.

OTOH these performances were on SNL in '81, so I wouldn't rule out cocaine being involved in this particular case.

Actually '82: https://bronwynjoan.com/blog/2010/09/12/classic-snl-review-february-6-1982-james-coburn-lindsey-buckingham-the-cholos-s07e11

Buckingham's backing band is mentioned in the montage as "The Cholos"; this is actually an early version of Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, who would appear without Buckingham in November 1983. Most episode guides list just Fleetwood with Buckingham on this appearance, but they also mention Buckingham in the 1983 show. Perhaps the confusion comes from this appearance.

...

Buckingham seems pretty twitchy and agitated in these performances, almost as if he were on cocaine.

Apparently "Bwana" was the first song!

He also seems kinda ... puffy.

in the studio without drugs

According to the making-of-Tusk book, no Buckingham-focussed session could begin without a multiple-joint-rolling ceremony.

I read that too in the memoir by the ex.

I don't credit coke with Buckingham's creativity, but it's hard NOT to credit it to his physical behavior in those clips. That could've been the template for the coke-up werewolf (sans fur) on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Anyway, on another topic, I have to say I'm really digging his new album more and more. I'm tempted to say it's his most listenable album, partly because it's so compact and well-crafted - only 36 and a half minutes, but not a moment is wasted IMHO.

Techie interview in the latest Tape Op magazine is great.

I was excited for it, and they do their best, but it's quite remarkable how hard it seems to steer Bucky away from the same old stories/drama.

tape op has the best interviews imo

"i don't mind" is nice

I dunno. I found that Larry Crane (Tape Op head and interviewer) expertly steered it away from a potential rundown of how dysfunctional things got in FM yadda yadda back to righteous talk of home studios, consoles and production techniques. They seemed to vibe well and I'm glad, for one, that most of the talk stuck to studio stuff.

Oh, it's definitely a good interview! Crane did the best he could steering the conversation in interesting directions, even when Bucky dangled out the familiar drama as bait. I wish there was time/space for an even deeper dive, because I'd love to know about his work with the Fairlight, with pitch shifting vocals, speeding his guitar up, and so on. Or why he's done so relatively little production for others.

ilx-adjacent musician brad laner wrote swan song on the new record! https://www.spin.com/2021/11/jordon-zadorozny-brad-laner-lindsey-buckingham-swan-song/?fbclid=IwAR3URcrasLJ7D_1jES0lb-u_x-PU4kVoSDJ71kICDTbrrbOD0q5uXgM8qA8

LMAO, a lot of times you'll see a longtime musician like Dylan, McCartney or Prince discuss decades later how they amaze themselves when they look back at their work (i.e. "where did this come from?" or "how did I write this?") It's funny how this plays out with Buckingham stumbling on a demo he recorded 20 years ago and whoops, I guess I DIDN'T write that!

I have to imagine this sort of thing is a common occurrence amongst songwriters. I recall about 15 years ago I thought up a really nice, pretty arpeggiated melody over an elegant descending chord sequence - I was in the shower at the time but thought it was so good I threw on a towel, jumped out, and wrote down the chords and recorded myself singing the melody so I wouldn't forget it by the time I was dried off. Around the time I was working out the lyrics a few weeks later, I heard "my" song playing on the piped-in music at a McDonalds I occasionally stopped at on the way home, then realized the song I thought I'd written was something i merely heard at a previous fast-food stop when I wasn't paying much attention. To this day I don't know what song I unintentionally almost copped; this was pre-Shazam.

Greil Marcus really likes the new album too. He's always been a huge FM fan (of the Peter Green era, of Christine McVie's songs, and of the Buckingham/Nicks-era), but IIRC he's never cared much for their solo work. A search of his complete Real Life Rock Top 10 albums reveals no entries on anything Buckingham's done on his own.

Top 10 columns, not albums

kind of like the episode of the John Laroquette Show where he discovers a manuscript of his from 30 years ago and it's amazing and he's trying to recreate something new in that vein for publishing, but he can't find the inspiration, so he sends the manuscript to the publisher and it's an Ernest Hemingway novel that he had typed up for his Typing final years ago

I recall about 15 years ago I thought up a really nice, pretty arpeggiated melody over an elegant descending chord sequence

I did this once and it turned out to be "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Warrant

rocket, rocket, all of my rocket sauce