Far from Bucking the trend

[MacMan]

Tom Harrison
The Vancouver Province Wednesday, June 20, 2007


IN CONCERT
Lindsey Buckingham
Where: Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville St.
When: Tonight at 8
Tickets: $45 at Ticketmaster

- - -
Only slight difference between Fleetwood Lindsey and solo Lindsey

The difference between Lindsey Buckingham, solo act, and Lindsey Buckingham, member of Fleetwood Mac, is diplomacy.

There doesn't seem to be a great difference. Buckingham's contributions to Fleetwood Mac are idiosyncratic -- his quirky songs are distinctive. His solo albums are also idiosyncratic -- quirky, distinctive and conceptual but practical, too.

In the DVD that deals with the band coming together for the Say You Will tour and album, Buckingham aggressively promotes the idea of making Say You Will a double CD. The others -- Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Stevie Nicks -- are against it, Nicks reasoning that the market for Fleetwood Mac has changed and the fans don't care and won't support a two-CD set. She is seen, though, dutifully singing a Rolling Stones song, "I Am Waiting," which is destined not to be on Say You Will. So, Buckingham lost that war, but taking his songs that didn't make it on Say You Will, including his vocal take on "I Am Waiting," he was able to complete a solo album, Under the Skin, that had been gestating for years. His fourth full-length and first in 14 years, Under the Skin is composed of what he calls "singer-guitar pieces," its grand statement being a lack of a grand statement. The songs are low-key and reflective but unmistakably Lindsey Buckingham. You get the feeling that he approaches what he does with a great deal of curiosity.

"For me, even from the beginning, there was an element of ambivalence of what the end product could be," he reasons.

That beginning was when Fleetwood was looking for a studio for the next Fleetwood Mac recording and, while hunting, heard a tape by Buckingham Nicks. When the then-current Fleetwood Mac collapsed and Fleetwood needed musicians/writers to fill out the band, he remembered the tape. Buckingham and Nicks were recruited and so began a tumultuous ride during which this '70s version of Fleetwood Mac was enormously successful. By the time Rumours was the record everybody heard in 1977-78, Nicks and Buckingham were stars, with Buckingham established as producer and an adventurous songwriter that kept Fleetwood Mac on the edge. Then came Tusk.

"I looked at Rumours and didn't want to make Rumours 2," Buckingham recalls. "That was a line in the sand I drew."

The subsequent Tusk, a sprawling, sometimes confusing, double album, wasn't as popular as Rumours but confirmed Buckingham's important role as producer. When he left the band in 1987, Fleetwood Mac appeared to have lost a rudder. When he rejoined in 1997, the band got back its sense of direction. Buckingham, though, is careful when discussing Fleetwood Mac and his role. Diplomacy.

"You can talk about the process, about working with the band or working solo," he says. "One is collaborative and political. When you're working with others, you do what's good for the whole; but if you're working on your own, you do what feels right for you."

Is he, then, as willing to heed a producer as Fleetwood Mac has heeded him?

"That's a fine line for me," Buckingham admits. "Especially now. There is an element of giving up control that I like. I think of myself as much, or more, as a stylist than a producer."

tharrison@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Province 2007

[Tee Dee]

QUOTE: "There is an element of giving up control that I like. I think of myself as much, or more, as a stylist than a producer."

I like Lindsey as a stylist, and as a concert performer. The songs from UTS have evolved on this tour and sound differently than the CD. I prefer the live versions.

(BTW, a heatfelt thanks to MacMan for posting Philadelphia song by song on the Ledge. I don't have dime, nor do I understand the technicality of Torrents. Anyhow, I am eternally grateful.)

Also, I was listening to the audio from the Little Big Town/Crossroads segment. Someone also graciously posted that. (Macman again?) I then bought the Little Big Town CD and compared the songs. Lindsey's additions were tremendous, and maybe it was just that extra guitar thrown in there that made those songs come alive.

IMHO, this year long concert tour has touched Lindsey's fans and brought about an evolution to his music....maybe it was some "trial and error" of practing his craft and seeing the effect it had on an audience. Either way, if I had one wish to close this concert tour, it would be to have an audio CD of all the songs Lindsey added...as the crowd called out a request...there was a thread listing all the songs. I only remember a few like the 20 or so seconds of Johnny Stew, Down on Rodeo, and Bwana...but I know that there were many others.

It would be cool if and when he does come out with a DVD of the Ft. Worth concert to include a CD of those "ones" that he did which weren't on the usual set list.

OK, so that is my 2 cents worth (again) and I will go back to Wonderland and my Wishing Well....

T.D.