Johnny Stew
03-18-2007, 09:29 PM
Couldn't find it on the Beaver County Times' website, so I typed it out. Hope there aren't any typos!
Intimate Encounter:
Lindsey Buckingham Really Can Go His Own Way
Scott Tady
Times Entertainment Writer
Lindsey Buckingham stripped down his sound to create some of his most emotional, personal and critically hailed music. For his Wednesday show at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, Buckingham will perform five cuts off his current "Under The Skin" CD along with a string of previous solo singles and some choice hits from Fleetwood Mac.
"By the end of the show we're pinning everyone's ears back," Buckingham said. "Of course, if we don't do 'Go Your Own Way' they'd ride me out of town on a rail."
Compared to "Go Your Own Way" and Buckingham's other straightforward Fleetwood Mac contributions, "Under The Skin" songs possess a more intimate, dreamy quality. Filtering the vocals through a guitar amplifier enabled Buckingham to attain an alluringly low-fi sound.
"There's a liquidy aspect to the vocals," Buckingham said. "And I was trying to sing with a certain restraint to reel everything in a little closer."
He began imagining such a sound while on the last Fleetwood Mac tour, where one of the show-stopping moments came when Buckingham, alone in the spotlight, would strum "Big Love." The song simmered into a cataclysmic conclusion with Buckingham shredding his strings with the manic intensity of a speed-metal guitarist. Mellon Arena fans hailed his efforts with a standing ovation.
The audience response to "Big Love" put Buckingham in the mood to explore simpler song structures. He drew further inspiration by listening to classic folk albums, like Joni Mitchell's "Blue."
Harnessing the sound he wanted on his album, the 58-year-old Palo Alto, Calif., native began writing the autobiographical lyrics that depict the famously restless, iconoclastic artist savoring his first consistent taste of contentment.
"In every way, this is the best time of my life," said Buckingham, who waited until age 48 to marry and begin a family that includes three children. He met his future wife when she was assigned to photograph him. They clicked instantly.
"Kristen and I recognized in each other that both of us had been hurt a lot and there was a lot of discarding we needed to do, and could help each other do," Buckingham said.
As rock fans know, the most infamous of Buckingham's busted love affairs was with Fleetwood Mac sidekick Stevie Nicks, with whom he had been friends and a musical collaborator since high school.
The piercing lyrics on Fleetwood Mac's mammoth 1977 album, "Rumours," were sparked largely by Buckingham and Nicks' breakup occuring simultaneously with the dissolving marriage of bandmates John and Christine McVie.
Tapping into 30 years of reflection, Buckingham said "'Rumours,' in theory, was very personal, but I don't think we all felt it was at the time. I wasn't in touch with the fact that I was writing about myself. Some of the lyrics I assigned to a generic character."
But with his latest disc, which made Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2006 list, Buckingham realized from the start he was writing about himself.
In the course of an allotted 20-minute phone interview, monitored by a diligent publicist, Buckingham couldn't delve too deeply into the current band dynamics with his former Mac mates.
Buckingham said he and Nicks remain apart by "a physical and psychological distance," though believes a certain inertia will bring them back together professionally.
For decades, fans have hoped the former couple's pre-Fleetwood Mac album, "Buckingham Nicks," will be released on CD. Both Buckingham and Nicks have said they would consider remixing and re-releasing the vinyl album on CD.
"I'd say it'll happen," Buckingham said.
___________________________________________________________________________
What's Up
Event: Lindsey Buckingham concert.
Time: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Place: Byham Theater, Pittsburgh.
Tickets: $31 to $46.
Information: (412)456-6666
Intimate Encounter:
Lindsey Buckingham Really Can Go His Own Way
Scott Tady
Times Entertainment Writer
Lindsey Buckingham stripped down his sound to create some of his most emotional, personal and critically hailed music. For his Wednesday show at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, Buckingham will perform five cuts off his current "Under The Skin" CD along with a string of previous solo singles and some choice hits from Fleetwood Mac.
"By the end of the show we're pinning everyone's ears back," Buckingham said. "Of course, if we don't do 'Go Your Own Way' they'd ride me out of town on a rail."
Compared to "Go Your Own Way" and Buckingham's other straightforward Fleetwood Mac contributions, "Under The Skin" songs possess a more intimate, dreamy quality. Filtering the vocals through a guitar amplifier enabled Buckingham to attain an alluringly low-fi sound.
"There's a liquidy aspect to the vocals," Buckingham said. "And I was trying to sing with a certain restraint to reel everything in a little closer."
He began imagining such a sound while on the last Fleetwood Mac tour, where one of the show-stopping moments came when Buckingham, alone in the spotlight, would strum "Big Love." The song simmered into a cataclysmic conclusion with Buckingham shredding his strings with the manic intensity of a speed-metal guitarist. Mellon Arena fans hailed his efforts with a standing ovation.
The audience response to "Big Love" put Buckingham in the mood to explore simpler song structures. He drew further inspiration by listening to classic folk albums, like Joni Mitchell's "Blue."
Harnessing the sound he wanted on his album, the 58-year-old Palo Alto, Calif., native began writing the autobiographical lyrics that depict the famously restless, iconoclastic artist savoring his first consistent taste of contentment.
"In every way, this is the best time of my life," said Buckingham, who waited until age 48 to marry and begin a family that includes three children. He met his future wife when she was assigned to photograph him. They clicked instantly.
"Kristen and I recognized in each other that both of us had been hurt a lot and there was a lot of discarding we needed to do, and could help each other do," Buckingham said.
As rock fans know, the most infamous of Buckingham's busted love affairs was with Fleetwood Mac sidekick Stevie Nicks, with whom he had been friends and a musical collaborator since high school.
The piercing lyrics on Fleetwood Mac's mammoth 1977 album, "Rumours," were sparked largely by Buckingham and Nicks' breakup occuring simultaneously with the dissolving marriage of bandmates John and Christine McVie.
Tapping into 30 years of reflection, Buckingham said "'Rumours,' in theory, was very personal, but I don't think we all felt it was at the time. I wasn't in touch with the fact that I was writing about myself. Some of the lyrics I assigned to a generic character."
But with his latest disc, which made Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2006 list, Buckingham realized from the start he was writing about himself.
In the course of an allotted 20-minute phone interview, monitored by a diligent publicist, Buckingham couldn't delve too deeply into the current band dynamics with his former Mac mates.
Buckingham said he and Nicks remain apart by "a physical and psychological distance," though believes a certain inertia will bring them back together professionally.
For decades, fans have hoped the former couple's pre-Fleetwood Mac album, "Buckingham Nicks," will be released on CD. Both Buckingham and Nicks have said they would consider remixing and re-releasing the vinyl album on CD.
"I'd say it'll happen," Buckingham said.
___________________________________________________________________________
What's Up
Event: Lindsey Buckingham concert.
Time: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Place: Byham Theater, Pittsburgh.
Tickets: $31 to $46.
Information: (412)456-6666