How and why I became a Lindsey Buckingham fan

[secret love]

Buongiorno a tutti!

This thread is just me reflecting on how I started out as a Nicks fan and gradually moved away from her to be more loyal to Liddy Buck instead.

Stevie attracted me with her smoky voice and her physical beauty.

Lindsey's music sounded frenzied and paranoid, especially on Say You Will. His physical appearance also repelled me a little bit because to be frank, he looks a bit creepy until you get to know him better...by listening to him speak in relaxed environments on radio and on film.

I would still be more loyal to Stevie, were it not for her focusing on 24 Karat Gold instead of being in the studio with Lindsey, Christine, Mick and John earlier this year, in 2014.

Stevie has lost my loyalty because of her blatant, undisguised selfishness and narcissism. An interviewer asked her once about her singing abilities now and she agreed with the interviewer that she sings better now than she did in the seventies and went on to add that she could teach voice.

Sorry, Stevie, but you sounded so much better in the 1970's than you do today. You still have a great singing voice and can hold a tune, just like Judith Durham of The Seekers fame in Australia.

Lindsey has never been as narcissistic or as self-obsessed as his ex-girlfriend. He has especially over the last ten years revealed himself as a very mellow, relaxed and smooth kind of guy. His music has become more mature, more inward-looking and reflective than self-obsessed. His songs are reflecting on his life and extrapolating that to his audience - he writes songs that most ordinary people can probably identify with on some level.

Songs like Hard Advice and I Don't Care are just perfect examples of why I no longer feel any loyalty towards Stevie Nicks' solo work.

Hard Advice is a song with a great instrumental track but the lyrics only reveal a story about advice that would not have been difficult to take for a well-grounded individual. I am a writer myself, although I have not been fortunate enough to be published yet. I have experienced writer's block, just like Stevie has. The difference between me and her is that I push through it on my own. I don't wait for Tom Petty to come around, hug me and smile, then say "Go and write some real songs! Stay out of music stores! Don't buy that doll!"

I Don't Care is another song with an excellent underlying instrumental track and I happen to enjoy the lyrics written over that track by Stevie Nicks. However, I am sure that there are a lot of people including myself who are yet to find love at all (I'm only 21), or who have been searching for love to no avail for years. To sing a love song about how she pushes away someone who cares deeply about her just illustrates her selfishness, in my view.

Anyway - does anyone else have a story of which individual band member they most identify with and, has it always been that way for you?

[Macfanforever]

Stevie is going nowhere for me because I'm a lifelong fan of hers.Lindsey on the other hand is the best guitar player that I know which surpasses Jimi Hendrix and others .

He can play anything and sing anything.

[Danigirl]

As I saw them live earlier this month, it hit me, Stevie is an entertainer, Lindsey is a musician. Each of the two respectively lean on those terms heavily. I was taken aback at how the sold out crowd went wild for Lindsey, when I thought Stevie would be garnering much of the loud applauds. I realized that it was Lindsey which carried the show, not Stevie as I had naively thought. The simple fact is that a true musician who is forever pushing their limits and strives to stay creatively relevant, will "age gracefully" in terms of their art, an entertainer who uses ones physical and emotional attributes will wear out. For me, I'm not so much a fan of one more than the other, but the respect as an artist is not equal among the two, there is no competition.

[Say You Will]

It was Stevie's music that first drew me to FM back in 1975. Rhiannon and Dreams. Only later did I realize Lindsey was behind the production. When Rumours came out and I heard Second Hand News and Never Going Back Again I was hooked.
Been a Lindsey fan since. Even named my daughter after him

I do like Stevie's music, have most of her Solo Stuff. I think she peaked on Say You Will..

I am getting frustrated with her dragging her heels on a new album. She always has some excuse. Now that Christine is back I can only hope for one last album with all five of them..I still very much want Stevie to be a part of the Band..

[SorcererJP]

Back in the 80's and early 90's, when Lindsey was not in the band, I was into Stevie and her solo work. Lindsey's music and songs (especially his solo-work) did not come to me. Creepy somehow.

Then in 2009 I attended their concert in Antwerp (row 4 on his side) and the first three rows were invited the stage. Well, I couldn't count so I ended up right below his microphone-stand.

Had the time of my life. This man is a very skilled musical genius. An entertainer pur sang.

At the 4 concerts that followed in 2009 and 2013 I went to his side as well. Was cured from my Stevie-addiction :-)

Going to see them in Amsterdsm twice this summer. Planning on dividing the nights. One night at Stevie's side the other one and Lindsey's....