Crying In The Night (Lefsetz Letter)

[MacMan]

From the Lefsetz Letter

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How many people want to see Buckingham Nicks? Yes, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, performing their '73 Polydor debut.

Control freak Lindsey doesn't even want the album out on CD. But it's ALL OVER the Net.

Over the last twenty four hours I've been subjected to two stories about the Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp. In "USA Today" and the L.A. "Times". What a crock of ****. Rocking isn't something you can buy, it's not a career choice, it's not something you can boil down to money and freedom, it's about PASSION, it's about having NO OTHER CHOICE! Which may be why these rockers do these gigs, for the money, because they're not prepared to do anything else in life, and when the hits dry up, so does their income.

Unless you had a ****load of hits. Which Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had. Decades ago. And, in a few years, when their Fleetwood Mac scorched earth reunion tour wears off the public consciousness, maybe they'll be able to rape and pillage in that incarnation once again. But until then...

Lindsey can make records for an ever smaller audience, trying to prove he's relevant. Stevie can do her hits along with Don Henley or another blue chip star from the era. But both are running on fumes. Time to reinvent themselves.

But what a bringdown, from being an arena act to...playing theatres?

LiveNation, AEG and TicketMaster are swinging for the fences. They're trying to cook up new ways to if not fatten their bottom lines, at least maintain them. That's the wrong strategy. They should be focusing on good music, on placating the audience.

There seems to be a concept in the big time music business that customers are pirates, rip-off artists who can't be trusted. This is patently untrue. They're FANS! The key is to tap into this fandom.

Labels count. If not, then "Crying In The Night" off the very first Buckingham Nicks album would have been a hit.

Listen for yourself.

If you've got good computer speakers, ones that don't distort, that allow you to crank it up, go to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=d2LZ_Z1IUZA

Assuming you've got piece of **** speakers, check out this link instead: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qRBB8Aecg7Y It's loud and distorted, but so is everything you're listening to, at least you'll feel the punch.

Now both of these takes are the single version, with Lindsey's electric guitar. You really want to hear the album take, with the acoustic. It's warmer, more intimate... Isn't everything played on an acoustic?

"She was that kind of lady..."

You know, the one who made your heart stop, who tied your tongue. One night she paid attention to you, maybe you slept together, maybe you even lived with her, you thought you'd met your soul-mate. Then she disappeared.

"Crying In The Night" is about her. Do you have the power to resist?

Life is a one time only gamble. If you play it safe, all you've got is regrets. But if you take a chance, will your friends pull you out of the abyss one more time?

This isn't about Stevie Nicks being delicious, or Lindsey Buckingham either for that matter. It's about two musicians willing to do ANYTHING to make it. Not going to law school, but waiting tables and practicing. Thrilled just to have a deal, to pour out their truth on wax. That was the seventies dream. And when you got the album home and broke the shrinkwrap...what came out of the speakers was your new best friend, it could SAVE YOUR LIFE!

"Crystal" was on that first Buckingham Nicks album too. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJWO49_i1w

I ALWAYS trust my first initial feeling. If you don't, you're too calculating, too locked up. Life is about feeling, about instinct. And if you ask me, "Crystal" is the best track on Buckingham and Nicks' debut with Fleetwood Mac. Hear it here in its initial incarnation.

But I don't love the original "Crystal" as much as "Frozen Love", from that same Buckingham Nicks debut. "Frozen Love" has all the mystery, all the intensity of the duo's later work with Fleetwood Mac. It's an epic, that sets your mind adrift. You listen and the rest of the world doesn't matter. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTTTg-oP_no

Don't ask me what inspired rhiannon185 to put images of Sharon Tate from "Fearless Vampire Killers" to Buckingham Nicks' music. But I'm sure she's a fan. Of an album that hasn't been available in decades. At least not legally.

But every computer-savvy fan of the long deleted album immediately downloaded every track upon the advent of Napster.

So many of those fans have now been scared away by the RIAA's tactics. But now home made videos are available on YouTube. It seems no matter how hard they try, the RIAA can't kill music. The public is just too dedicated, the music is too entrenched in their lives.

We could talk about what inspires fans to create videos to their favorite songs. We could talk about copyright issues. I'll just say this music is alive. In the hearts of fans.

Buckingham and Nicks should forget they were in Fleetwood Mac. They should forget about the coke-fueled seventies. They should just focus on the fact that they've got FANS! HARD CORE FANS! And the way you make it in the twenty first century, the way you play the music business game, is to PLACATE THESE FANS!

It's no longer about charts. It's not about gold albums, quantifications. It's about BONDS!

Lindsey Buckingham can refuse to release "Buckingham Nicks" forever, but it won't make the music unavailable, it won't keep it from the fans. The seventies are over. No music is rare. BUT THE PERFORMANCE IS!

Lindsey and Stevie should take their act on the road. If you go, you get a CD of the debut with your ticket. Otherwise, you've got to download the album on iTunes, when it becomes available the same day. Or, you can choose to get a vinyl copy instead. It's your choice. Along with your $200 ticket.

Oh, I'm not saying that should be the price. If the duo can sell out Madison Square Garden, cut the price in half. But I doubt they can play arenas in most places. Best to book theatres. And an exorbitant price is cool in this case...BECAUSE THIS IS TRULY A ONCE IN A LIFETIME PERFORMANCE! That's when you charge a lot. When it's never going to happen again.

I could talk about the press, the excitement. But that's secondary to the ecstasy of the fans in attendance. This will be the highlight they're looking for.

All you old rockers... Get out of the RIAA's pocket, stop fighting your constituency. There are riches in that thar' Web. If only you embrace your opportunities. You've got a hard core of fans. PLAY TO THEM!

Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

[David]

I usually trust my second initial feeling....
Thanks for posting this, Peter!

[Betsy]

Thanks Macman....an interesting read.

A couple of observations:

Lindsey says Stevie has the BN tapes in a vault somewhere...so he blames her. Then there is an argument that the original additional musicians can't be found...therefore without their permission, the tapes can't be released.

What is the real reason for not releasing?

Here's my guess...Lindsey's embarrassed by the primitive sound....and would want to make changes....

(Let's see...if I were a famous writer...would I want my high school essays to be the ones I read in public....?)

[Sarah]

Who knows. But if that's Lindsey's reason, he needs to get over it. Fans obviously like it, cuz he's signed about 3 billion copies of it. Who knew that many even existed?

[goldie]

Great read!! Thanks for posting!