Lindsey Buckingham: C o' D?

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