No More Lindsey Solo

[DownOnRodeo]

Well it seems my earlier ramblings weren't too far off the mark:

Lindsey would rather continue to make records with Buckingham Nicks' Fleetwood Mac than pursue something solo (Article )

Again - you might say that he's merely saying this to seel the album OR because he can't get his solo album released without the FM brand. For all we know either case could be spot on.

But I hope most of you are coming to see that lindsey is finally happy now and has reached a point of balance with his music. Except for OOTC, his solo stuff so reactionary to the FM situation it was never as good as it should have been. Well now we're getting half the album devoted to him anyway, not to mention all the benefits of the dynamic he Mick and John have musically.

I for one really dig the BN vocal thing becuase they really do seem to bring the very best out of each other ..... But if you don't like Stevie 'barging in' on what would otherwise be Lindsey solo songs, then I guess you'll never be happy with this new situation. But so many times there's parts of his solo stuff that he's had to do the weirdest crap to his voice to get some semblance of a feminine vocal, which he seems to write for a lot, that the focus often falls on the curious effects and technology than the raw music.

Fleetwood Mac's dead - long live Fleetwood Mac!

How do you feel about Lindsey's statement/intentions?

[CarneVaca]

Rodeo, would you say Go Insane and Law and Order were never as good as they could have been if Out of the Cradle hadn't happened? In retrospect, it is hard to judge Lindsey's solo career without looking through the prism of Out of the Cradle. But I remember being absolutely enthralled with Go Insane for years and years. Though it sounds a bit dated now because of the reliance on electronic sounds, for a long time it was way cool and innovative. Of course it remains innovative, just not as fresh.

I remember when U2's "Pop" came out I went out and bought it. Listening to the song Discotheque and some others, I couldn't help thinking, "This is Lindsey circa 1984."

[strandinthewind]

I would like for both of them to do at least one more solo record because the music is different. Perhaps SYW will give LB, and to a lesser extent Stevie, the public attention needed for the record company to get behind another solo record. Having said that and with full knowledge that many differ in opinion, I must say I really do like the whole BN thing and think it has added to every former LB and SN solo song I have heard. Of course, I have not heard "Come" yet and fully wish I could have been in the studio when I am sure Stevie said something to the effect of "Linds, just exactly where in the hell am I supposed to come in on this musical diatribe?" )

[DownOnRodeo]

Rodeo, would you say Go Insane and Law and Order were never as good as they could have been if Out of the Cradle hadn't happened?

Yes it's hard to say really I guess, although I rate his best work with FM over his best work solo (much of which comprises the OOTC album).

Certainly the first two were much more reactionary given he was still escaping musically from the band. I don't even mean the music per se, which I never had the opportunity like you to appraise in its 80s context. I'm sure it was quirky even for it's 80s era, and then it has all the really retro stuff circa 1950s anyway.

OOTC we got to see what he could achieve with more focus, and starting a new direction rather than escaping from a competing situation. But it was just begging for *some* female vocal input, the rhythm section... IMO. That album is so special and magic, and indicative of this man who can create a whole record in his garage, but it will never be mainstream, and yet it was hardly avant garde either ... so there was something just a bit off. I think that was what John, Mick and Stevie will round off.

Basically I feel I will like this new "FM" album and the next one much more than I would've liked a whole Lindsey solo album (there I've said it!). He needs *some* barriers, some lines drawn.


Good to see a variety of opinion in the poll too!

[Les]

Well, not to disagree with everything you said Joe, but well, I guess I do - almost. Artistically, I don't think he does need some barriers, some lines drawn, some female input, etc. I don't believe his solo albums were never as good as they should have been. I don't think he was messing with his voice in a desperate attempt to create a female sound. I don't think he's an incomplete artist without Mick, John and Stevie to round him off. His "imbalance" and his edges are appealing in a sea of rounded sameness as far as I'm concerned. His solo albums are a different kind of statement, sound, idea, vision, etc. It just may not touch you in the way it touches...well, me.

Whether the albums were reactionary against or reconciled to the Fleetwood Mac situation is just one prism through which to see his solo work. I still regard Law & Order and Go Insane as immensely unique statements and enjoy them (and certainly Cradle) a great deal. I like seeing and understanding him without the added commentary (musical and otherwise) of the rest of the band all the time. His solo albums are HIS voice. Each album has tremendous personality, sense of humor, intellect, romance, heart. And it's not just the sound that I like, but the defiant spirit of each of the albums. I learned far more about his abilities and him from his solo work, and then was far more aware and appreciative of what he did within Fleetwood Mac from that point forward.

I'm quite melancholy about him prefering not to pursue solo work anymore, but I also understand why. If Fleetwood Mac does not continue after Say You Will, he may go back to solo anyway. But I'm in no way unhappy that he would choose to stay within Fleetwood Mac. I love what he does and brings to Fleetwood Mac and of course I love the Mac. One thing that Fleetwood Mac certainly does provide is a larger supportive structure in which decisions can be made more easily and material is released more quickly. That's a very good thing. It's just not an all good or all bad kind of situation for me. It's a decision he's made because it's right for him in probably a variety of ways, and he does seem very much at peace with it. That's pretty wonderful.

So, yeah, it's great, but ... there's a little something about it that makes me sad too.

[stefan]

There are a lot of artists playing small venues and putting out albums every year or so without standing in the spotlight of a broad public with charts and many sells and so on. But he won't do that- the OOTC result must have been disappointing.
"Unfortunately" FM was too succesful in the past- so he is used to that. I would rather have LB solo albums regularly but as it seems he is not willing and able to release them. So before not getting anything it seems O.K. when he then manages put his music out regularly with FM as platform.

[CarneVaca]

Yeah, what Les said.

I definitely rate Cradle as his best finished work, with or without Fleetwood Mac, and this is coming from someone who loves Tusk. Tusk only wasn't the quintessential Lindsey Buckingham masterpiece because it had the distraction of the other singer/songwriters. Pull Lindsey's songs out and you have what essentially is his first solo album. I'm not saying the other stuff isn't good, though I would have done without the boredom of Beautiful Eyes and Brown Eyes. In fact, Sara is one of my favorite songs.

Lindsey is a complete musical artist with or without Fleetwood Mac. I'm not sure you can say that about the others.

I too grieve for the end of his solo career, if indeed it has ended. I would have preferred a solo album to Say You Will, but I'll take what I can get. Who knows, may there will still be another Lindsey solo album at some point.

[chiliD]

Originally posted by DownOnRodeo

Fleetwood Mac's dead - long live Fleetwood Mac!

Nice to see SOMEBODY reads my posts (whether on this board or others)...and borrows freely from them.

[CarneVaca]

Hmmm.... I've been thinking. If Stevie quits the band after this tour and Lindsey stays, why, that would be just as good, maybe slightly better, than a solo venture.

[strandinthewind]

Stevie has always said she would not be the one to leave and, therefore, break up FM. In fact, she kept coming back to FM and never left FM until about 1990, which was way after LB left in 1987. So, I do not think Stevie will leave if LB does not leave. But, you never know!!!

[chiliD]

Stevie DID leave (in 1990) and Fleetwood Mac stayed together...what makes her think that if she left NOW anything different would happen?

Fleetwood Mac as a trio...now THAT would be "breaking new ground" for THIS band. They've never been less than a quartet.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by chiliD
Stevie DID leave (in 1990) and Fleetwood Mac stayed together...what makes her think that if she left NOW anything different would happen?

I think the difference there is that Christine had announced she would no longer tour, and by the time Mick & Stevie had their tug of war over "Silver Springs," Rick had announced his departure as well... so I'm guessing it was VERY easy for Stevie to sever ties at that point.
(Not that she ever really did, as she still contributed to the new tracks on 'The Chain,' and she appeared with the band at President Clinton's inaugural gala.)

If Lindsey stays in Fleetwood Mac, the only way I see Stevie ever leaving, is if their relationship turns absolutely miserable and intolerable.
Hell, she may even stay then, so as not to be the one to leave.


Anyway... to answer Joe's question.... I think I'd prefer Lindsey alongside Fleetwood Mac.
To me, it's the best of both worlds.
I realize many people feel that his work is "watered down" within the confines of a group environment, but it seems to me that, for the most part, the band defers to Lindsey's choices and ideas anyway.
Lindsey's stamp is all over Fleetwood Mac's albums, so it's not like his personality and creativity would be stifled in any major way.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Lindsey's solo albums (though not necessarily every track on them), but I think I'd always find more enjoyment in a collaborative effort, than I would in a one-man-band situation.

Even with 'Out Of The Cradle'... which is practically a flawless album... I still can't help but listen to certain tracks and wonder how much more amazing they would have been with the input of the other Maccers.

So, I look at it this way... if Lindsey stays with Fleetwood Mac, and abandons any future solo recordings, we're bound to get more for our money.

His output would most likely increase, as he wouldn't have to shoulder the burden of playing EVERY instrument, and fiddling endlessly with his various pieces of equipment, in order to get some of the sounds and voices he's seeking.

And my hope would be, that there would no longer be gaps of 8 - 10 years between his releases... so we'd therefore have a lot more music from him.

Plus, Lindsey himself seems VERY enthusiastic about the idea of working with his bandmates again... including Stevie. As he has mentioned several times wanting to write with her, from the ground up, for any future albums.

If Lindsey's happy about that scenario, then I am too.

[stefan]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew

Even with 'Out Of The Cradle'... which is practically a flawless album... I still can't help but listen to certain tracks and wonder how much more amazing they would have been with the input of the other Maccers.

Not at all imo!

[chiliD]

OotC DID have two flaws...

...it didn't have Mick & John as the rhythm section.

That's the only thing that keeps the album from being absolute "perfection"...and what kept his subsequent tour from sounding "just right". Just imagine...Lindsey's OotC touring band, except with Mick & John on drums & bass instead. WOW!

[misterbug]

lindsey puts so much work into crafting each song that i feel working on both FM and LB albums would cause him to spread himself too thin. just like when i have two papers due the same day, either they're both B papers, or one's an A and one's a C. i'd rather see lindsey devoting all of his time to one or the other. and if i had to choose between LB and FM albums, i'd pick the latter. the FM brand means more commercial success, ergo more airplay, interviews, etc.