Songs From The Small Machine DVD

[elle]

http://www.powerofpop.com/?p=9377

Lindsey Buckingham: Songs from the Small Machine, Live in LA (Eagle)
Producer. Singer-songwriter. Guitarist. Legend.

Whether as part of mega-band Fleetwood Mac or on his own as a well-respected solo artist, Lindsey Buckingham always delivered the goods. This DVD documents a show Buckingham performed in April 2011 in support of his last album, Seeds We Sow.

Consisting of two parts, the show opens with Buckingham literally solo with his acoustic guitar – the highlights being Trouble and Big Love – before Buckingham transforms into full band mode.

This is where the show truly takes off as familiar Fleetwood Mac tracks like Tusk, Go Your Own Way and key solo songs like Seed We Sow and Under the Skin get a solid airing. Spine-tingling moments abound with shimmering vocal harmonies, dynamic guitar work as well as Buckingham’s well worn tunes.

There is an excellent interview with the man himself as he shares about his musical history – from Buckingham/Nicks to Fleetwood Mac and beyond. Buckingham has intriguing insights concerning the success of Rumors, the story behind the making of Tusk and his writing process.

For true scholars of rock n roll, this is an essential one to take note of.

[michelej1]

December 8, 2011 Blogcritics.org
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/music/article...#ixzz1g3n4dl9s

Music DVD Review: Lindsey Buckingham - Songs From the Small Machine - Live in L.A.


The most striking thing about Lindsey Buckingham's new Songs From the Small Machine - Live in L.A. concert DVD, is the revelation of just how amazing — yet underrated — a guitarist Buckingham really is.

Both with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, Lindsey Buckingham most often gets his props — and rightfully so — as a songwriter, and perhaps to a slightly lesser degree as a singer. But on this DVD, and particularly on the five solo acoustic songs that open the set, Buckingham really lets things rip on the guitar.

Thankfully, the camera work here wisely zeroes in on all the action. There are several close up shots that reveal Buckingham's intricate style of hard finger picking. But the best stuff comes when Buckingham is strumming like a maniac on songs like "Big Love," and especially during an intense version of "Go Insane," where he essentially turns the pop song inside out.

Who said acoustic sets at a rock concert were supposed to be for bathroom breaks? Don't tell that to Lindsey Buckingham.

By the sixth song, the shiny pop gem "Under The Sun," Buckingham is joined by his band for several songs from his great new Seeds We Sow album. Calling these "new songs from the small machine" (as opposed to the "big machine" that is Fleetwood Mac, and hence the DVD title), Buckingham likewise shows his gift for writing intelligent, well crafted pop and especially his ear for a great hook, to be as sharp as ever here. If anything, songs like "Stars Go Crazy" and "That's The Way Love Goes" are just a natural extension of the same smart pop sensibilities of his work with the "big machine."

But even on theFleetwood Mac songs, Lindsey Buckingham finds new ways to keep things fresh. On "I'm So Afraid," the already bluesy song takes on an even more foreboding tone, thanks to an even slower arrangement, and a beautifully haunting vocal from Buckingham. The song also serves as the launchpad for another stratospheric guitar solo, and the camera once again captures Buckingham's unique picking technique up close.


The arrangements on other Fleetwood Mac classics like "Go Your Own Way" and "Never Going Back Again" are more familiar sounding. But Buckingham's strong vocals and guitar playing still make them standouts. The whispered vocal delivery on "Never Going Back Again" is particularly sweet. On "Go Your Own Way," he projects his vocals to the crowd at L.A.'s intimate Saban Theater as though he were playing a sold out arena.

The only bonus feature on Songs From the Small Machine - Live in L.A. is a new Lindsey Buckingham interview. But the concert itself is beautifully filmed — especially when the closeups reveal a few of the master's secrets. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix is likewise flawless and squeaky clean.
In short,Lindsey Buckingham's Songs From the Small Machine - Live in L.A. is another home run from the fine folks at Eagle Rock.

[michelej1]

Canada Free Press
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/43121

Eagle Rock Unleashes Classic Rock Concerts on Blu-ray
- Jim Bray Saturday, December 10, 2011

Fans of Fleetwood Mac undoubtedly know Lindsey Buckingham. He, with Stevie Nicks, joined the band in time for them to become monster hit makers in the 1970’s. He’s a heckuva guitarist in his own right and has a good singing voice, too.

I was never a Mac fan (heck, I’m writing this on a PC!) so wasn’t too interested in this disc, but I’m glad I watched it. Buckingham does songs from his Mac and non-Mac career, peppering the concert with anecdotes shared with the audience. The show kicks off with some acoustic performances, and then his band joins him for most of the rest of the disc. Songs include “Shut us Down,” “Go Insane,” “Trouble,” “Never Going Back Again,” “Big Love,” “Tusk,” “Stars are Crazy,” “End of Time,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Go Your Own Way,” and “Seeds We Sow.”

Alas, once again the video here isn’t as good as Eagle Rock’s best, with a lack of detail on longer shots (though close ups are good). And as usual, you get the three choices of audio tracks and, as usual, the DTS-HD is the best, offering a beautiful mix. There’s no center channel on tap, though; this is a four channel presentation.

[elle]

http://rockandrollreport.com/pigsht-...medium=twitter

PIGSHT: The small machine that could
Posted on December 16, 2011 by Gary Pig Gold

For all intents and purposes, Lindsey Adams Buckingham has lived a charmed life.

Raised in the comfy Bay Area opulence of 1950′s Atherton, California, a handsome, athletic golden boy suddenly and forever sidetracked by his elder brother’s Elvis and Buddy Holly 45s. He quit the school water polo team, moved with his guitar into a local hotshot band called Fritz, left for L.A. with their singer Stevie, produced with her the magnificently understated Buckingham Nicks album, was soonafter asked to join Fleetwood Mac with whom he helped craft a 40-million-plus-selling album called Rumours and, by 1978 at the age of twenty-nine finally found himself at the very tip-top of his game.

For all intents and purposes, that is.

But Lindsey’s next creation was a great big deluxe Christmastime four-vinyl-sider called Tusk. It was, to hijack a Neil Young analogy, the sound of a band steering off the middle of the road and heading straight for the ditch. Costing over a million dollars to make then selling less than a fifth of what Rumours had, the anticipated blockbuster was considered a failure, and its prime architect was to take the blame – and the fall, only reluctantly being allowed to occupy the Big Mac driver’s seat ever again.

Of course as we can all plainly see, and even more easily hear from a 21st Century perspective especially, Tusk was in fact only the kind of “failure” Pet Sounds had been for the Beach Boys, or Around The World In A Day for Prince. Realizing as much before most everyone else had however, Lindsey promptly struck fully out on his own with a grand little album called Law and Order in 1981 and has ever since led a kind of dual musical life, dividing his time between solo projects and Fleetwood Mac “reunions.” Or, as he himself calls it, the “small machine” and the “large machine.”

Obviously it’s the former on joyous display throughout Eagle Rock Entertainment’s Songs From The Small Machine: Live In L.A., a two-hour-plus, 19-song DVD of the show Lindsey and his compact combo have recently been touring with in support of the new Seeds We Sow album.

I had the pleasure of attending both a recent concert of Lindsey’s, and even more enjoyably – and quite revealingly – an intimate lecture/performance by the man alone held last month in New York City’s 92nd Street Y, I kid you not. Both settings showed a man who in many ways remains the awestruck kid who long ago lost himself within “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Peggy Sue.” Or, as he himself explains by way of introducing Live In L.A.‘s “Trouble,” “Before there was a band, before there was any commercial success, before there was songwriting, production, there was a young boy listening to his older brother’s records and teaching himself to play guitar. I guess as I evolve and mature as an artist, one of the things that I come to appreciate is that you must look for what is essential. You must look for the center. And, for me, it becomes increasingly apparent that that center is, and has been, the guitar.”

Lindsey of course, like most things he does both on stage and off, never fears to take his guitar playing to vividly wild extremes. The five-song, totally LB-only prelude which opens his show not surprisingly finds Lindsey delicately whispering upon his fretboard one moment, then thrasing his instrument like a deranged, prancing ostrich the next (an engagingly terrifying contrast he often brings to his songwriting itself; witness “That’s The Way Love Goes” later on in the set). Remember, though, that this is a man who in another time and place dared follow “Never Going Back Again” with “The Ledge.”

He is also a man who considers himself more a song stylist than a song writer; a subtle but meaningful distinction perfectly illustrated at Lindsey’s recent Y lecture as he performed an utterly sublime version of the Rolling Stones’ “I Am Waiting.” As Lindsey explained, that song, along with “She Smiled Sweetly” (the final track on Seeds We Sow) represent to him the Stones at their absolute creative peak under the guidance of the brilliant Brian Jones who, like Lindsey, specialized in styling a song with exotic musical and tonal textures. Lessons, no doubt learned early by the young Buckingham via Aftermath and Between the Buttons, which remain apparent throughout the man’s recorded work to this day.

Conversely on the concert stage however, it’s Lindsey’s “small machine” (as in bass/keyboardist Brett Tuggle, guitarist Neale Heywood, and drummist Walfredo Reyes “the groovin’ Cuban” Jr.) who are relied upon to provide perfect instrumental/vocal accompaniment, be it by channeling Brian Wilson and his Friends during “All My Sorrows,” the Quiet Beatle’s “I Need You” A-chord for “Turn It On” …or simply by getting wisely out of the way as their fearless leader’s four-and-a-half-minute (!) guitar solo plows “I’m So Afraid” to its illogical conclusion.

All four guys also treat the crowd-pleasin’ classics “Tusk” (just as delightfully silly as ever – even without USC’s Marching Trojans) and “Second Hand News” (what better way to salute Buddy Holly’s 75th anniversary?!) with due respect yet renewed enthusiasm. But, say what they often will about that large machine, the small one still must rely upon the Big M’s “Go Your Own Way” to get the inhabitants of Beverly Hills’ Saban Theatre completely out of their seats and up on their feets as this particular show, and DVD, draws to a close. It is my prediction that as Fleetwood Mac tours become less frequent in the years to come, Lindsey will lean more and more heavily upon his long-ago work with the large machine to ensure a feasible small-m touring career. I mean, even Paul McCartney more or less performs nothing more than a Beatles tribute show nowadays, doesn’t he?

“For myself, I know that I have made quite a few bold choices,” Lindsey says introducing “Seeds We Sow” Live In L.A. “Choices that were not always popular. But I think time does have a way of revealing things.” Songs From The Small Machine surely reveals an adult child still reflecting upon his brother’s record collection but still active, still flourishing and still reveling in the now. And still painting from, as he likes to call it, the far left side of his palette. The days of forty, or even four-million-selling albums may be long gone for one and all. But you just watch, and listen: I bet Lindsey outruns, and outlasts, them all.

After all, that’s still how they do it in L.A.

http://www.eagle-rock.com/product/EV303739/

www.GaryPigGold.com

[Lindsfan]

Originally Posted by elle

http://rockandrollreport.com/pigsht-...medium=twitter

PIGSHT: The small machine that could
Posted on December 16, 2011 by Gary Pig Gold

For all intents and purposes, Lindsey Adams Buckingham has lived a charmed life.

Raised in the comfy Bay Area opulence of 1950′s Atherton, California, a handsome, athletic golden boy suddenly and forever sidetracked by his elder brother’s Elvis and Buddy Holly 45s. He quit the school water polo team, moved with his guitar into a local hotshot band called Fritz, left for L.A. with their singer Stevie, produced with her the magnificently understated Buckingham Nicks album, was soonafter asked to join Fleetwood Mac with whom he helped craft a 40-million-plus-selling album called Rumours and, by 1978 at the age of twenty-nine finally found himself at the very tip-top of his game.

For all intents and purposes, that is.

But Lindsey’s next creation was a great big deluxe Christmastime four-vinyl-sider called Tusk. It was, to hijack a Neil Young analogy, the sound of a band steering off the middle of the road and heading straight for the ditch. Costing over a million dollars to make then selling less than a fifth of what Rumours had, the anticipated blockbuster was considered a failure, and its prime architect was to take the blame – and the fall, only reluctantly being allowed to occupy the Big Mac driver’s seat ever again.

Of course as we can all plainly see, and even more easily hear from a 21st Century perspective especially, Tusk was in fact only the kind of “failure” Pet Sounds had been for the Beach Boys, or Around The World In A Day for Prince. Realizing as much before most everyone else had however, Lindsey promptly struck fully out on his own with a grand little album called Law and Order in 1981 and has ever since led a kind of dual musical life, dividing his time between solo projects and Fleetwood Mac “reunions.” Or, as he himself calls it, the “small machine” and the “large machine.”

Obviously it’s the former on joyous display throughout Eagle Rock Entertainment’s Songs From The Small Machine: Live In L.A., a two-hour-plus, 19-song DVD of the show Lindsey and his compact combo have recently been touring with in support of the new Seeds We Sow album.

I had the pleasure of attending both a recent concert of Lindsey’s, and even more enjoyably – and quite revealingly – an intimate lecture/performance by the man alone held last month in New York City’s 92nd Street Y, I kid you not. Both settings showed a man who in many ways remains the awestruck kid who long ago lost himself within “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Peggy Sue.” Or, as he himself explains by way of introducing Live In L.A.‘s “Trouble,” “Before there was a band, before there was any commercial success, before there was songwriting, production, there was a young boy listening to his older brother’s records and teaching himself to play guitar. I guess as I evolve and mature as an artist, one of the things that I come to appreciate is that you must look for what is essential. You must look for the center. And, for me, it becomes increasingly apparent that that center is, and has been, the guitar.”

Lindsey of course, like most things he does both on stage and off, never fears to take his guitar playing to vividly wild extremes. The five-song, totally LB-only prelude which opens his show not surprisingly finds Lindsey delicately whispering upon his fretboard one moment, then thrasing his instrument like a deranged, prancing ostrich the next (an engagingly terrifying contrast he often brings to his songwriting itself; witness “That’s The Way Love Goes” later on in the set). Remember, though, that this is a man who in another time and place dared follow “Never Going Back Again” with “The Ledge.”

He is also a man who considers himself more a song stylist than a song writer; a subtle but meaningful distinction perfectly illustrated at Lindsey’s recent Y lecture as he performed an utterly sublime version of the Rolling Stones’ “I Am Waiting.” As Lindsey explained, that song, along with “She Smiled Sweetly” (the final track on Seeds We Sow) represent to him the Stones at their absolute creative peak under the guidance of the brilliant Brian Jones who, like Lindsey, specialized in styling a song with exotic musical and tonal textures. Lessons, no doubt learned early by the young Buckingham via Aftermath and Between the Buttons, which remain apparent throughout the man’s recorded work to this day.

Conversely on the concert stage however, it’s Lindsey’s “small machine” (as in bass/keyboardist Brett Tuggle, guitarist Neale Heywood, and drummist Walfredo Reyes “the groovin’ Cuban” Jr.) who are relied upon to provide perfect instrumental/vocal accompaniment, be it by channeling Brian Wilson and his Friends during “All My Sorrows,” the Quiet Beatle’s “I Need You” A-chord for “Turn It On” …or simply by getting wisely out of the way as their fearless leader’s four-and-a-half-minute (!) guitar solo plows “I’m So Afraid” to its illogical conclusion.

All four guys also treat the crowd-pleasin’ classics “Tusk” (just as delightfully silly as ever – even without USC’s Marching Trojans) and “Second Hand News” (what better way to salute Buddy Holly’s 75th anniversary?!) with due respect yet renewed enthusiasm. But, say what they often will about that large machine, the small one still must rely upon the Big M’s “Go Your Own Way” to get the inhabitants of Beverly Hills’ Saban Theatre completely out of their seats and up on their feets as this particular show, and DVD, draws to a close. It is my prediction that as Fleetwood Mac tours become less frequent in the years to come, Lindsey will lean more and more heavily upon his long-ago work with the large machine to ensure a feasible small-m touring career. I mean, even Paul McCartney more or less performs nothing more than a Beatles tribute show nowadays, doesn’t he?

“For myself, I know that I have made quite a few bold choices,” Lindsey says introducing “Seeds We Sow” Live In L.A. “Choices that were not always popular. But I think time does have a way of revealing things.” Songs From The Small Machine surely reveals an adult child still reflecting upon his brother’s record collection but still active, still flourishing and still reveling in the now. And still painting from, as he likes to call it, the far left side of his palette. The days of forty, or even four-million-selling albums may be long gone for one and all. But you just watch, and listen: I bet Lindsey outruns, and outlasts, them all.

After all, that’s still how they do it in L.A.

http://www.eagle-rock.com/product/EV303739/

www.GaryPigGold.com

Another really nice review I'm so happy for Lindsey that both his CD, and his DVD have been so well received!

[elle]

[guess the author overlooked #100... and some other facts... ]

http://www.popculturebeast.com/2012/...medium=twitter

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

DVD Review: Lindsey Buckingham "Songs From The Small Machine: LIVE in L.A."


Rolling Stone recently released its list of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all-time. For me there was one glaring omission... Lindsey Buckingham! Yes, Lindsey F**king Buckingham!

Buckingham isn't just the genius behind Fleetwood Mac's rise to multi-platinum pop success, he is an amazing guitarist and solo artist in his own right. In fact, Buckingham's spot in the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up, which includes Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie along with founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, was so crucial that when he left the band in 1987 it took 2 guitarists to fill his spot.

So, how did Rolling Stone Magazine sadly and wrongly forget about Lindsey Buckingham?!?! I have no idea. But what I can tell you is this... if there is any doubt that Buckingham should be on that list then watching his new concert DVD release "Songs From The Small Machine: LIVE in L.A." It will prove what real guitar fans have know for years... Buckingham IS amazing!

Using a two-hand picking technique, Buckingham is all over his instrument in a way that will have viewers wondering where he ends and his guitar begins. No other musician becomes one with his instrument like Buckingham does.

"Songs From The Small Machine: LIVE in L.A." was filmed last year at The Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles. It finds Buckingham performing songs from his solo catalogue, along with Fleetwood Mac classics, plus some tracks from his at that time unreleased CD "Seeds We Sow." The first few songs feature Buckingham on stage solo. This is where his playing shines the most as he intricately recreates songs that give the feel of a whole band performance.

The 16 song set list is great for the diehard fans but is missing many great Buckingham tunes such as " Go Insane," "Holiday Road," "Countdown" and "Did You Miss Me."

As a bonus the DVD also includes a CD of the entire show and I highly recommend the whole package for guitar fanatics everywhere. Not on the list of top 100 guitarists of all-time?! Please ... Buckingham has more talent in his picking fingers than 3/4 of the musicians on Rolling Stone's biased list.

Watch, listen and learn about a true guitar hero with "Songs From The Small Machine: LIVE in L.A."

Drumroll please... 8 out of 10 guitars

[bangdrum]

^^Yikes! I'm glad the reviewer likes the music, but it's pretty bad if you can't remember which songs are on the DVD or where it was filmed.

[elle]

http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/film/4683...vision-dvd-cd/


LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM: SONGS FROM THE SMALL MACHINE (Eagle Vision DVD/CD)


Lindsey Buckingham: Go Your Own Way

play

Aside from Stevie Nicks whose fan base is loyal and huge (but whose last album In Your Dreams was patchy to the point of being often awful), few people these days would care much for what former members of Fleetwood Mac might be up to.

But with Lindsey Buckingham you would always make an exception and tune in.

He helmed some of Mac's most interesting material (notably pushing them from stasis and complacency for Tusk) and his solo career has always been interesting. His Gift of Screws album in 2008 found him in fine, dark form -- and the more recent Seeds We Sow forms the backbone to this two hour-plus live DVD filmed at the Saban Theatre in Beverley Hills early in 2011 which finds him opening solo on acoustic guitar then bringing on a small backing band.

Beautifully filmed (allowing his high forehead and halo of Art Garfunkel-like hair to be captured in their glory) and crisply recorded, this cleverly constructed set goes back to a brittle and angry version of Go Insane (from '91) and Trouble (his first solo hit back in '81) before spotting in a quiet version of Never Going Back Again (from Mac's Rumours) classic Mac Material with the band (Secondhand News, a tough call on Tusk though) then heading in to the new material.

With the band he swerves Macwards again for Go Your Own Way before returning to his solo material like Turn It On and Treason (written with George W Bush in mind).

Buckingham gets into a little wishy washy LA-speak in places when introducing songs (much appreciated by his audience however) but this is a concert you wish you'd been there, and not just for the music but because the theatre looks gorgeous.

The accompanying CD drops three of the tracks (among them Go Insane, Turn It On and Treason) for space reasons.

There are still Buckingham fans out there and this is mostly for them, but his songcraft is undiminished and much more grounded and tougher emotionally than what you might think if you only heard Fleetwood Mac as a smoothly oiled FM radio pop machine.

Like the sound of this? Then check out this.

By Graham Reid, posted Jan 19, 2012

[elle]

http://www.examiner.com/rock-music-i...machine-review

DVD Review: Lindsey Buckingham - "Songs from the Small Machine"

Brian Campbell, Buffalo Rock Music Examiner
January 20, 2012

Lindsey Buckingham: Songs from the Small Machine

Eagle Vision

While Lindsey Buckingham might get all of the credit in the world, and the loads of accolades that come with it, for helping to drive Fleetwood Mac to worldwide superstardom, he never really gets the credit he deserves for his solo career, one that allowed him to flex his songwriting muscles. Luckily for you, well, luckily for all of us, we now have visual documentation of such with Lindsey Buckingham: Songs from the Small Machine, a Buckingham solo concert filmed at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA. Predictably, there are a couple of Fleetwood Mac works tossed into the set, including “Tusk” and “Go Your Own Way,” the latter which should have you up and out of your chair and dancing along – just like the crowd literally dancing in the aisles on this night. But the former is not to be missed as the USC Marching Band makes an appearance to lend a hand to the proceedings. “Shut Us Down” is ridiculous and should leave you scratching your head as to how Buckingham is this good with a guitar in his grasp – something also highlighted by the brilliant close up camera shots of his playing. A 30-minutes interview makes up the bonus material, and while it doesn’t really offer anything new and anything you haven’t heard before – hearing Buckingham talk about his history with Fleetwood Mac is definitely something worth seeing for yourself. While you probably know Buckingham from his time in Fleetwood, after checking out Lindsey Buckingham: Songs from the Small Machine it might be time to start recognizing his ability to survive on his own.

Grade: B+

[elle]

[this same article, accompanied by different video, was posted somewhere else by the author in dec 2011 - see above]

http://gometric.typepad.com/gometric...hat-could.html

Lindsey Buckingham: The Small Machine That Could

by Gary Pig Gold

For all intents and purposes, Lindsey Adams Buckingham has lived a charmed life.

Raised in the comfy Bay Area opulence of 1950's Atherton, California, a handsome, athletic golden boy suddenly and forever sidetracked by his elder brother's Elvis and Buddy Holly 45s. He quit the school water polo team, moved with his guitar into a local hotshot band called Fritz, left for L.A. with their singer Stevie, produced with her the magnificently understated Buckingham Nicks album, was soonafter asked to join Fleetwood Mac with whom he helped craft a 40-million-plus-selling album called Rumours and, by 1978 at the age of twenty-nine finally found himself at the very tip-top of his game.

For all intents and purposes, that is.

But Lindsey's next creation was a great big deluxe Christmastime four-vinyl-sider called Tusk. It was, to hijack a Neil Young analogy, the sound of a band steering off the middle of the road and heading straight for the ditch. Costing over a million dollars to make then selling less than a fifth of what Rumours had, the anticipated blockbuster was considered a failure, and its prime architect was to take the blame – and the fall, only reluctantly being allowed to occupy the Big Mac driver's seat ever again.

Of course as we can all plainly see, and even more easily hear from a 21st Century perspective especially, Tusk was in fact only the kind of "failure" Pet Sounds had been for the Beach Boys, or Around The World In A Day for Prince. Realizing as much before most everyone else had however, Lindsey promptly struck fully out on his own with a grand little album called Law and Order in 1981 and has ever since led a kind of dual musical life, dividing his time between solo projects and Fleetwood Mac "reunions." Or, as he himself calls it, the "small machine" and the "large machine."

Obviously it's the former on joyous display throughout Eagle Rock Entertainment's Songs From The Small Machine: Live In L.A., a two-hour-plus, 19-song DVD of the show Lindsey and his compact combo have recently been touring with in support of the new Seeds We Sow album.

I had the pleasure of attending both a recent concert of Lindsey's, and even more enjoyably – and quite revealingly – an intimate lecture/performance held in New York City's 92nd Street Y, I kid you not. Both settings showed a man who in many ways remains the awestruck kid who long ago lost himself within "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Peggy Sue." Or, as he himself explains by way of introducing Live In L.A.'s "Trouble," "Before there was a band, before there was any commercial success, before there was songwriting, production, there was a young boy listening to his older brother's records and teaching himself to play guitar. I guess as I evolve and mature as an artist, one of the things that I come to appreciate is that you must look for what is essential. You must look for the center. And, for me, it becomes increasingly apparent that that center is, and has been, the guitar."

Lindsey of course, like most things he does both on stage and off, never fears to take his guitar playing to vividly wild extremes. The five-song, totally LB-only prelude which opens his show not surprisingly finds Lindsey delicately whispering upon his fretboard one moment, then thrashing his instrument like a deranged, prancing ostrich the next (an engagingly terrifying contrast he often brings to his songwriting itself; witness "That's The Way Love Goes" later on in the set). Remember, though, that this is a man who in another time and place dared follow "Never Going Back Again" with "The Ledge."

He is also a man who considers himself more a song stylist than a song writer; a subtle but meaningful distinction perfectly illustrated at Lindsey's recent Y lecture as he performed an utterly sublime version of the Rolling Stones' "I Am Waiting." As Lindsey explained, that song, along with "She Smiled Sweetly" (the final track on Seeds We Sow) represent to him the Stones at their absolute creative peak under the guidance of the brilliant Brian Jones who, like Lindsey, specialized in styling a song with exotic musical and tonal textures. Lessons, no doubt learned early by the young Buckingham via Aftermath and Between the Buttons, which remain apparent throughout the man's recorded work to this day.

Conversely on the concert stage however, it's Lindsey's "small machine" (as in bass/keyboardist Brett Tuggle, guitarist Neale Heywood, and drummist Walfredo Reyes "the groovin' Cuban" Jr.) who are relied upon to provide perfect instrumental/vocal accompaniment, be it by channeling Brian Wilson and his Friends during "All My Sorrows," the Quiet Beatle's "I Need You" A-chord for "Turn It On" …or simply by getting wisely out of the way as their fearless leader's four-and-a-half-minute (!) guitar solo plows "I'm So Afraid" to its illogical conclusion.

All four guys also treat the crowd-pleasin' classics "Tusk" (just as delightfully silly as ever – even without USC's Marching Trojans) and "Second Hand News" (what better way to salute Buddy Holly's 75th anniversary?!) with due respect yet renewed enthusiasm. But, say what they often will about that large machine, the small one still must rely upon the Big M's "Go Your Own Way" to get the inhabitants of Beverly Hills' Saban Theatre completely out of their seats and up on their feets as this particular show, and DVD, draws to a close. It is my prediction that as Fleetwood Mac tours become less frequent in the years to come, Lindsey will lean more and more heavily upon his long-ago work with the large machine to ensure a feasible small-m touring career. I mean, even Paul McCartney more or less performs nothing more than a Beatles tribute show nowadays, doesn't he?

"For myself, I know that I have made quite a few bold choices," Lindsey says introducing "Seeds We Sow" Live In L.A. "Choices that were not always popular. But I think time does have a way of revealing things." Songs From The Small Machine surely reveals an adult child still reflecting upon his brother's record collection but still active, still flourishing and still reveling in the now. And still painting from, as he likes to call it, the far left side of his palette. The days of forty, or even four-million-selling albums may be long gone for one and all. But you just watch, and listen: I bet Lindsey outruns, and outlasts, them all.

After all, that's still how they do it in L.A.


[they provided Hejira's recording of I Am Waiting from 92Y]