Of course they’ve scored plenty of hits over the years, but the prime catalyst of Fleetwood Mac’s legend, why they still generate a buzz and draw arena-sized audiences whenever they re-team for a tour — the band begins a new one next Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio — is Rumours.
For as much as been said and written about the 1977 album’s often-tumultuous creation, of infamous tales of band members feuding and fucking and shoveling through insane quantities of cocaine, its songs collectively remain the band's crowning achievement. Recently released by Warner Music, Rumours (35th Anniversary Expanded Edition) illustrates over three discs just how driven these musicians were to have something to show for the soap opera their personal lives had become.
Only the second album to include Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the fray — the lineup was rounded out by Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, and John McVie — the Mac were at this point a pop/rock band, with mainstream hits like “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me” having moved them beyond the British-blues roots espoused by departed member Peter Green. And yet listening to some tracks on this set’s third disc, More From The Recording Sessions, reveals an unmistakable blues influence. The included demo of “The Chain,” most notably, finds Nicks summoning a feral, sobering vocal accompanied only by Buckingham’s stark, acoustic guitar. Comparably, Ms. McVie leads the band through a brooding take of "Oh Daddy," her slinky keyboard riffs against a thick-and-sultry rhythm giving the song a heavier vibe than the light-string-embellished version on the finished album.
In fact the third disc is what makes this entire set essential — the first disc comprises the album proper (which, if you're interested in this collection, you likely already own) while the second disc is a solid but nevertheless straightforward live performance from the Rumours tour — because it offers perspectives of songs that are, at times, drastically different than the ones to which we’ve been accustomed. Sometimes, as with early, scaled-down takes of "Dreams" and the B-side "Silver Springs," they're as good and, arguably, better than their most familiar versions.
(First published at Blogcritics.)
Lindsey Buckingham acquired a reputation over the years as that of a meticulous, often-eccentric musician and producer, one known for spending inordinate amounts of time painstakingly crafting albums until their fruition. And while his scrupulous talents certainly facilitated much of Fleetwood Mac’s greatest success, such hasn’t been the case for his infrequent solo endeavors. As Buckingham demonstrated on his superb 2006 release, Under The Skin, though, commercial success doesn’t necessarily equate with excellence.
On the road in support of the album, he treated audiences to the fruits of his labor with songs culled from both sides of his career. Live At The Bass Performance Hall, recorded in January 2007, captures the spirit of that magnificent tour.
Buckingham thrives in the intimate setting, the ruminative tone of his newer material casting an entrancing and illusory pall over much of the performance. His finger-picking style of guitar playing sustains the delicate melodies of “Not Too Late” and ”Shut Us Down” while, on “It Was You” and “Castaway Dreams,” beguiling harmonies and echoes abound.
He rearranges some older solo tracks to reflect the prevailing, pensive mood as well. Most strikingly, he strips “Go Insane” and “Trouble” of their original vim and pop gloss until they sound like harrowing confessions.
Not surprisingly yet sensational nonetheless, Buckingham delivers some of his finest, most animated moments when drawing from his catalog with Fleetwood Mac. On “Big Love” and “Never Going Back Again,” he sings with fervid intensity while further demonstrating his dexterity on the acoustic guitar. With an electric guitar in tow, he tackles “Second Hand News” and “Go Your Own Way” with rigorous enthusiasm. And he burns through a nine-minute version of “I’m So Afraid,” capping it off with a smoldering solo.
One final impression of this album – aside from the intrinsic merits of the performance – is that, for all the time and effort that he originally spent composing these songs, Lindsey Buckingham makes it all seem worthwhile. Live At The Bass Performance Hall will accordingly reward listeners for their consideration.
Beginning a much-anticipated, sold-out concert with three solo, acoustic songs could cause an audience to either grow restless, irritated, or bored.
However, when Lindsey Buckingham took the Tampa Theatre stage on Wednesday night, there seemed a collective concentration throughout the crowd, with everyone intent on listening to the music legend finger-picking his guitar and singing songs from his solo catalog as well as from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac.
Buckingham is on the road promoting his latest solo album, Under The Skin, a set of songs that sound far more sparse and intimate than the polished productions of his prior solo works and Mac compositions. Tracks like “Not Too Late,” which started the show, and “It Was You,” mirrored the album arrangements, while still yielding inspired live performances.
Some of his older cuts also received more subtle treatment during the concert, remarkably so on his 1981 hit, “Trouble,” which sounded more immediate and edgier than its original pop-radio-friendly version. Even after his more-than-capable band joined in, accordingly filling out the sound, Buckingham nonetheless stood out as a towering singular talent.
Buckingham’s virtuosity on the guitar never seemed so evident as during his performance of “I’m So Afraid,” from the Fleetwood Mac album, the first record with him and (then-girlfriend) Stevie Nicks in the fray. In last night’s live setting, within the ethereal architecture of the Tampa Theatre, the song (and most notably, Buckingham’s searing guitar solo) ascended toward a mesmeric climax.
Following a lively version of “Tusk,” with a near-competent synthesizer substituting for the USC marching band heard on the original track, the main set concluded with one of Fleetwood Mac’s gigantic hits from Rumours, “Go Your Own Way.”
“Holiday Road,” the bouncy theme from the film, National Lampoon’s Vacation (and, arguably, Buckingham’s most recognizable solo song), began the encore. Then, as if returning in tone to how the show serenely began, additional selections from Under The Skin, including “Show You How” and “Shut Us Down,” softly brought a night of incredible music to a close.
(photo © Donald Gibson)
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