Appreciating Lindsey a little late in the game

goyourownway · #1 04-19-2009, 11:41 AM

Hey kids.

I'm 28 and I've been a Fleetwood Mac fan since conception, I'm fairly sure. And while I love Lindsey's FM songs, I've been gay for Stevie since day 1.

I have all of Lindsey's solo albums but I guess I had never really invested as much time in his solo work as I had with Stevie's, but I have to say, the man is pretty amazing.

I've been really logging a lot of time with Out of the Cradle and Under the Skin. "Down on Rodeo" just gets better with every listen, as does "Doing What I Can". There's a depth to his work that is very simple but really distant that I think is absent in Stevie's work. Don't get me wrong, she's the end-all, but I think as I get a little older, I am becoming more and more a Lindsey fan.

I think some artists reach a point where they just chill with their body of work and don't continue to cultivate new ideas, but I'm really interested to see where Lindsey goes next.

Anyone else experienced this, or am I preaching to the choir?

David · #2 04-19-2009, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goyourownway

Hey kids.

'Sup, Giz!

Quote:

There's a depth to his work that is very simple but really distant that I think is absent in Stevie's work.

My view is that the depth in Lindsey's work consists in orchestration & arrangement & also an ability to cohere a dozen or so tracks into a unified statement of some sort: aural, thematic, etc. These strengths are virtually absent in Stevie's music. As lyricists, I rate the two of them about equally. I think Stevie's depth is (or was) in her singing & the commitment she has (or had) to stripping away the veils emotionally & intellectually for an audience (paradoxically while wearing more actual veils than most of us do).

Nico · #3 04-19-2009, 12:11 PM

Thanks so much for sharing this. I have to say that I feel very lucky, and very proud, to be a Lindsey fan. I adore him even more than I possibly could- just after seeing these last two shows and watching him in his splendor. He is mind-blowingly great. I started out as an FM fan but Lindsey's music and guitar-playing won me over big time. And after I saw him on "Live in Boston?" Forget about it. He just constantly and consistently blows me away. I love that he doesn't rest on his laurels after being in the game so long. I love that he cares and has integrity and put everything into his art. I think he is an absolute genius and I will happily stand and dance and shout and wave my arms for as long as I need to to show my love for him at any show. He's just my guitar rock daddy. I love him so...

LukeA · #4 04-19-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goyourownway

I've been really logging a lot of time with Out of the Cradle and Under the Skin.

Have you had a chance to listen to last year's release, Gift of Screws?

goyourownway · #5 04-19-2009, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeA

Have you had a chance to listen to last year's release, Gift of Screws?

Oh yes, I like it very much.

MacAttack88 · #6 04-19-2009, 06:11 PM

I agree with David that much of my enjoyment in Lindsey's music (solo or in FM) comes from the production and the arrangement end of things. Some of the things that the man does (or, more aptly, has the patience to do) in the studio really impress me, speaking as someone who has recorded my own music over the last four years. Of course, goyourownway is preaching to the choir, but it is a song we all like hearing, right guys?

wondergirl9847 · #7 04-20-2009, 11:44 PM

I found Lindsey's music at a depressing time in my life. His songs helped me through some crappy times.

Stevie's lyrics are fairy-tale-like. You go on a walk in the lovely forest while she tells you this magical story with all these cute animals around.

Lindsey's lyrics are industrial-like. I see his music as the time after a heavy rainstorm. All the bark on the trees is dark, the greenery is vibrant and there's crap all in the gutters.

What? Doesn't everyone feel that way about their music? LOL

I think there are certain times in our lives where Stevie's music fits well and other times when Lindsey's music fits better.

Like Nico, I'm a Lindsey gal, but I appreciate The Queen for what she offers.

OutsideTheRain · #8 04-21-2009, 10:46 AM

I wish there wasn't reason to compare Lindsey and Stevie, but I guess it's only natural. I for one appreciate both for very different reasons. I think it's important to note that creatively they went in very different directions from 1980-on. They made such an amazing team because they both made up for what the other one was lacking. As one person put it when asked who the best member of Fleetwood Mac was "The hands of Lindsey Buckingham and the head of Stevie Nicks.".

michelej1 · #9 04-21-2009, 01:01 PM

If I had to identify an FM-related product that is my "blankie," a comfort when I'm down, it would be Mirage. I guess it's because I was in college at the time and it's tied up with those memories and also because it was the first album released after I became a fan, so it's the first one I anticipated. I think hearing it always brings that thrill of waiting back to me.

I think it might be worthwhile to compare solo songs by the 3 songwriters. As for sheer airplay, I think I play Stevie's solo stuff a lot more than anyone else's. But when it comes to the band, I hear them in each other's songs. I don't feel only Christine when I hear Hold Me. Even without his vocals on the song, Lindsey (or his hand as you said Outsidetherain) is all over Hold Me. Same with Stevie on the earlier Over My Head. I've never separated them out.

Sara drew me to Fleetwood Mac and before I knew who Fleetwood Mac was, I might have considered Sara as belonging to the woman who sang lead on the song, but once I became a fan, I never saw it that way.

Once I actually became aware of the band and its composition (as opposed to just hearing them on the radio and not knowing who they were), I never had to like Lindsey's songs to be thoroughly amazed by his talent. It didn't matter whose FM song I was listening to. I always heard all of them and of the 5 (or 3) Lindsey would be the very last one whose contributions I'd overlook -- on his own songs or anyone else's.

Michele

David · #10 04-21-2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1

But when it comes to the band, I hear them in each other's songs. I don't feel only Christine when I hear Hold Me. Even without his vocals on the song, Lindsey (or his hand as you said Outsidetherain) is all over Hold Me.

The orchestration on "Hold Me" screams Lindsey Buckingham. The song's multilayered instrumental break is all him & his idea: the lead guitar, the dynamic range (drums <--> no drums), the interplay of strummed acoustic guitar with picked acoustic guitar (the guitar is strummed on the tonic ascending pattern & then switches to a pick pattern on the dominant), etc. It's the sort of clever, manipulative magnification of texture that Christine's 1984 solo album was in dire need of.

goyourownway · #11 04-22-2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1

Once I actually became aware of the band and its composition (as opposed to just hearing them on the radio and not knowing who they were), I never had to like Lindsey's songs to be thoroughly amazed by his talent. It didn't matter whose FM song I was listening to. I always heard all of them and of the 5 (or 3) Lindsey would be the very last one whose contributions I'd overlook -- on his own songs or anyone else's.

I didn't reach this point until I was into my teens. So while I recall vividly hearing FM being played on my parents record player (!! ... with that great gatefold Tusk album with the seperate moodboard sleeves!!!), it was Stevie who I'm pretty sure I saw first via MTV, which I was pretty much glued to from 1985, on. I didn't really put it all together until I was in high school, but by then Ms. Nicks had me under her spell -- and by the time I saw Silver Springs from The Dance, it was over. I'm still working my way back.

macpai · #12 04-22-2009, 01:29 PM

I would definitely say that I was a complete Steviephile in my early years.

And as a pop music fan, I didn't really appreciate the wonder that is Lindsey.

But since then, I've "grown" and really got into all aspects of it. And that's when you really appreciate what Lindsey has brought, to the point where it's happily overwhelming. All the parts he crafted for the beautiful Stevie and Christine songs, really making them masterworks.

And then you see them in concert and he's giving even more -- somehow!!

I'd definitely say I'm a Lindseyholic. But it's really become an admiration society for the whole band. I love Mick's beats and John's sultry bass line. And the way Stevie and Christine just dole out empowerment for women.

So I'm definitely a more well-rounded Mac fan. With Lindsey leanings.