Deep Tracks: Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Buckingham has been fired from Fleetwood Mac. Again. Well, technically he left in 1987 but he was essentially told he had to leave after he refused to tour. This time too it’s said to be disagreements over the forthcoming tour but in many ways this has been a long time coming.

Let’s not get into the blame game here because who knows what was said behind the scenes but there has been obvious tensions in the band for quite a while evidenced by Stevie Nicks’s reluctance to tour and even record with the band (last year’s Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie album was started as the next Mac record but was eventually released as a duo album after Nicks refused to contribute.)

This high drama was always been a huge part of the Mac and their appeal but to actually fire one of the key members of their most successful line-up is a huge move and, to many fans, a terrible mistake.

Buckingham wasn’t just the third voice and songwriter or guitar god of the band, he was the arranger and producer, the visionary, the man who helped bring out the brilliance in all of their songs. Fleetwood Mac carried on without Buckingham back in the late ’80s and early ’90s but there is no doubt a big part of the magic was gone. It’s hard to imagine, although the new members are both hugely talented, that they can recapture that special chemistry with new members Mike Campbell and Neil Finn so late in the game.

Of course, the Mac has had a revolving line-up over the years with some amazing talents (in particular the legendary Peter Green but also, the often forgotten but wonderful Bob Welch), but the impact of Rumours overshadows it all. Buckingham’s massive contribution to that is not only undeniable but an important part of why Fleetwood Mac still mean so much to people decades after they first formed and it could be argued, why they are still around at all.

Buckingham, after all, gave up plans for solo albums on at least two occasions to keep the Mac going. Fleetwood usually gets all the credit for the Mac soldiering on but there are times when it was Buckingham who actually made it happen. His enthusiasm meant we were just one voice away from getting that final Rumours line-up album that every fan has been dreaming about but at the very least his parting gift to the Mac is the rather lovely Buckingham McVie record.

Before her return in 2014, Christine McVie herself left the band after deciding she had enough of touring in 1998 and returned to live in the English countryside. While her absence was always deeply felt during those years, the fact she wasn’t replaced with newcomers singing her songs (Stevie’s suggestion of Sheryl Crow joining was wisely outvoted) says volumes.

Can Fleetwood really continue now without one of its most important members? Time will tell. The forthcoming tour is rumored to be a farewell tour and will likely be one filled with the band’s greatest hits, only this time it will be without one of the key reasons that made us love those songs in the first place.

Here are 15 lesser known Lindsey Buckingham tunes where the singer/songwriter/producer/musician proved his genius, in and out of the Mac, and why we will miss his tremendous and often underrated idiosyncratic presence in Fleetwood Mac.

1) “Frozen Love,” Buckingham Nicks (1973)

This is the song that bought Buckingham and Nicks to Fleetwood Mac. The legend goes that Fleetwood needed a new guitarist after Bob Welch left the band and, after hearing “Frozen Love” while visiting recording studio Sound City, knew he had found his man. Buckingham was interested but only if they would take his partner and girlfriend Stevie Nicks too, and the band agreeing to take them both is the best decision they’ve ever made.

Listening to Frozen Love it’s no wonder Fleetwood was so impressed: the song is a soaring whirl of plaintive folk and rousing orchestral flourishes infused with Buckingham’s epic guitar soloing. It’s one of the few tracks that Buckingham Nicks ever wrote together and a forerunner to dramatic brilliance of “The Chain.”

2) “Don’t Let Me Down Again,” Live (1974) later Fleetwood Mac Live (1980)

This Buckingham Nicks track was one of the few that made it onto the Fleetwood Mac set list when they joined the band in 1975. There is an officially released live version on the 1980’s Fleetwood Mac Live but there’s a youthful energy and rawness on the bootlegged versions from Buckingham Nicks’ short tour in support of their one and only duo album.

3) “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” Tusk (1979)

When Tusk only sold four million copies after its release in 1979, instead of the 10 million Rumours achieved, Buckingham was pretty much blamed for its relative “failure.” To be fair, Tusk was very much his baby and it did sound pretty crazy compared to the warm Californian rock of Rumours. Now, Buckingham’s reaction to the advent of New Wave and punk rock couldn’t be more acclaimed and is considered highly influential.

All these years on, Buckingham has been proved right and the album features every member of the band at the height of their powers: Stevie Nicks was never more sensual or mysterious, Christine McVie was at her most beautiful and plaintive and Lindsey was bold, experimental and playful. The epitome of this has to be the song “Tusk” itself, one of the weirdest hit singles the band ever had. Buckingham’s best though has to be the blistering hillbilly-punk “I Know I’m Not Wrong.” For some reason the CD version of this song is different to the vinyl release from 1979 but that original mix is still the best.

4) “Shadow Of The West,” Law And Order (1981)

Buckingham’s first solo release saw him taking the raw sounds of Tusk a step further and mixing it with the sounds of his youth, layering his vocals to emulate ‘50s rock ‘n roll, best displayed in the hit single “Trouble.” The rest of the album is an eclectic mix of quirky power pop and sentimental standards and even a little country. The standout tune though is the dreamy, Western croon of “Shadow Of The West” that sounds even more atmospheric thanks to some luscious backing vocals from Christine McVie.

5) “Can’t Go Back,” Mirage (1982)

The album Mirage was supposedly Fleetwood Mac’s return to the more commercial, radio-friendly sound of Rumours, but in reality it’s somewhere in between Rumours and the various solo records the members were producing at the time. “Can’t Go Back” could have easily fit into Buckingham’s Law And Order album with its ‘50s feel and longing lyrics. What many don’t realize though is that the infamous and much-loved clip of Stevie Nicks beautifully and spontaneously singing the lyrics to her song “Wild Heart,” while having her make-up done for her 1981 Rolling Stone cover, is all to the instrumental version of Buckingham’s song. It just makes you wonder what these two could have come up with if they were able to put their differences aside and actually sit down and write together.

6) “D.W. Suite,” Go Insane (1984)

Named after friend Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys (Wilson was Christine McVie’s boyfriend for a time and the Beach Boys one of Buckingham’s biggest influences) who had recently passed away, “D.W. Suite” is Buckingham at his most weird. Threading together several different songs starting as a almost ethereal and spooky whisper, then turning into a gospel pop singalong and finally to a Celtic march, it’s all laced together with Buckingham’s waterfall guitar picking and it’s such an oddly wonderful way to end what is easily one of his most underrated albums.

7) “Time Bomb Town,” Back To The Future Soundtrack (1985)

As a kid I remember re-watching Back To The Future over and over again and trying to hear the brief snippet of the song in the film (it’s on the radio when Marty McFly wakes up, if I remember correctly). Buckingham’s beautifully stuttery vocals and the light, rhythmic guitar are so memorable and catchy it’s wonder this wasn’t released as a single.

8) “Tango In The Night,” Tango In The Night (1987)

Tango In The Night started off as a Buckingham solo project and morphed into a Fleetwood album. More than anything it’s a beautiful collaboration between Buckingham and Christine McVie (something they would explore further on their 2017 duo album) and it contains some of McVie’s biggest and most memorable hits. Nicks does have some great tunes on the record too, including the hit single “Seven Wonders,” but due to her stint at Betty Ford was only in the studio for two weeks of the recording. In many ways this benefited Buckingham’s and McVie’s musical relationship and also gave Buckingham the opportunity to explore interesting studio techniques that allowed the album to sound big and airy, yet still warm and full of emotion. There are so many tracks this comes across on but the title track is so utterly epic and full of quiet tension that explodes into an awesome wailing guitar solo at the end. How this song never made it onto a Mac concert set list is truly mystifying.

9) “Street Of Dreams,” Out Of The Cradle (1992)

Many believe that Buckingham’s first solo release after his first departure from Fleetwood Mac, Out Of The Cradle, is his masterpiece and if it had been released not long after the success of Tango In The Night rather than five years later just as the grunge explosion was happening, Buckingham may well have become a solo superstar too. Musically the album is closer in sound to his Mac work and contains instrumentals, pop anthems, rockers and even some classical pieces. The best track though is the poignant “Street Of Dreams,” a slowly building ballad that ends with Buckingham’s cascading guitar to the shimmering backdrop of his rain room (yes, Buckingham actually had a rain room at that time!)

10) “Steal Your Heart Away,” Say You Will (2003)

Buckingham, of course, isn’t all about experimentation and blistering guitar solos, he’s also written some of the most perfect pop songs and “Steal Your Heart Away” from the Mac’s last studio album, Say You Will, is just a feel-good melodic love song. This is from the line-up after Christine McVie left and, although this song is one of many gems on the double album, it’s one of the few that actually features McVie’s backing vocals which makes it all the more special.

11) “Shut Us Down,” Under The Skin (2006)

“Shut Us Down” is one of those Buckingham songs that is not only moving, but leaves you marveling at just how he is managing to play all those notes on his guitar. If there’s any doubt that it is not real and all studio trickery, you only need to seek out any live performance to see he is indeed playing every part all by himself and it’s always incredible. I also urge you to try and find the longer version that is on the Elizabethtown soundtrack because that extra minute is utterly wonderful.

12) “Wait For You,” Gift Of Screws (2008)

The original Gift Of Screws album is another Buckingham solo project that became a Fleetwood Mac album, in this case Say You Will. He eventually decided the title was too good not to use and, although the 2008 release of Gift Of Screws is a very different version to the one originally intended in 2000 there are a few remaining tracks that made it on the record and “Wait For You” is one. Featuring a cool, bluesy riff with a chorus that recalls his Tusk days and complemented by Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass,  it’s one of the highlights of the album.

13) “One Take,” Seeds We Sow (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrRsYf784f0

Buckingham’s last solo album, Seeds We Sow, is his most raw, leaving big production behind in favor of a no-frills approach. “One Take” is Buckingham at his angry, snarling best, with the aggressive lyrics leading up to a fantastically crazed guitar solo.

14) “It Takes Time,” Extended Play (2013)

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

So strange to think the Extended Play EP, which is mainly a Buckingham-driven affair and was only released digitally, could be the last time we hear Buckingham Nicks sing together on a studio release.  This is one song on the EP though that doesn’t feature Nicks’ vocals and is instead a piano-driven ballad that Mick Fleetwood revealed in an interview is Buckingham’s apology to Nicks. It’s certainly one of Buckingham’s most beautiful songs and sad that it’s hidden away on a mostly forgotten EP.

15) “On With The Show,” Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (2017)

Buckingham and McVie’s duo album, released last year, was a Mac album in everything but name, with all members present apart from Nicks. It’s a shame it wasn’t released under the Mac banner, just as Say You Will was a Mac album sans McVie, and if the new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac records again, that no doubt will be a Mac album too. It’s a joy to hear McVie and Buckingham sing together once again but this track is so poignant now given what’s happened recently, with Buckingham warmly singing “As long as I stand/ I will take your hand/ I will stand with my band/I will stand with my band.” A sad ending to the Buckingham years of Fleetwood Mac.

Did we miss your favorite deep track from Lindsey Buckingham? Let us know in the comments!

Sharon Lacey

Sharon Lacey has spent most of her career as a home entertainment journalist, but has always loved writing about music ever since her first pop review was published in a UK mag at age 15. She lives in London and still loves going to see live bands, old and new, which she writes about on her blog The Boho Dance.