Buckingham Nicks

Sound DNA

• Rock
• Art Rock

• lush
• tender
• romantic

About

“We’re old enough now that we’ve laid down our weapons,” Stevie Nicks told <i>Rolling Stone</i> in 2012. She was talking not only about potential songs for a new Fleetwood Mac album, but also her fabled, contentious, and musically revelatory relationship with Lindsey Buckingham. The 40th anniversary of their debut together, 1973’s <i>Buckingham Nicks</i>, was quickly nearing, so she was hoping for a deluxe box set and a grand tour where they reunited their old band to play that album end-to-end. Trouble was, though, that Buckingham wasn’t entirely on board, telling <i>Rolling Stone</i> a week later that her plan would be “economically suicidal.” Some dynamics are hard to change, and <i>Buckingham Nicks</i>—one of the most famous footnotes in rock ’n’ roll history—remained out of print beyond even its 50th anniversary. At last, it is back. The early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac was stumbling out of the smoky ’60s haze when producer Keith Olsen played Mick Fleetwood a track from a debut he’d just produced by a handsome duo called Buckingham Nicks. Their record barely sold or generated much interest at all, but Fleetwood was so struck by what he heard that he wanted the guitarist in his own band. Buckingham, however, insisted that his girlfriend and harmony partner come along for what turned into one of music’s most infamous rides—a nonpareil hit factory fueled by breakup, blow, and betrayal. You can hear the sparks that led to Fleetwood Mac’s subsequent masterpieces so clearly in these 10 tracks. Nicks’ nasal command cuts perfectly against Buckingham’s chiming guitar during “Long Distance Winner,” creating an irresistible frisson, while the pair’s all-uppers energy during “Don’t Let Me Down Again” predicts the excitement they’d soon put on the radio. Buckingham plays so beautifully during the brief instrumental “Stephanie,” while Nicks manages to be both mellow and menacing during “Races Are Run,” finding the steely willpower that would soon make her a permanent star. It is easy to hear these songs half a century later and wonder how these two didn’t make it as a duo. Turns out, they first had to change the way we heard rock songs with a band before we could truly appreciate how charmed this set, at last faithfully restored, actually was and is.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits