Boston Herald article

[Livia]

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musi...ticleid=161850

Fleetwood Mac’s creative leader comfy in own ‘Skin’
By Christopher John Treacy
Thursday, October 12, 2006

Lindsey Buckingham wasn’t about to let his commitment to Fleetwood Mac derail another solo project.

The 57-year-old singer, songwriter and guitarist - who plays the Orpheum tomorrow - has a new CD, ‘‘Under the Skin,” his first solo release since 1992. He’s abandoned his own projects before to record and tour with Fleetwood Mac, but not this time.

‘‘The reality is that it’s been my choice to do that in the past, yes,” Buckingham said, calling from Washington, D.C.

‘‘In the case of (2003’s) ‘Say You Will,’ how could I refuse? The challenge of producing a new Fleetwood Mac studio album and surviving the inherent drama was too intriguing to pass up. Honestly? It almost happened again, but the material for ‘Under the Skin’ is too personal for a band release.”

Buckingham actually recorded two discs, the other being a more typical electric set, but resisted Warner Bros.’ suggestion he merge the two into one release.

‘‘I held the line to preserve the feel of this song cycle,” he said.

His new songs contrast gentlemusic with the pained realizations of his lyrics, which explore unfulfilled potential, restlessness and growing old.

‘‘The disc lacks aggressiveness, but there’s definitely that dark underneath,” he said. ‘‘The songwriting was informed by my marrying (photographer Kristen Messner) eight years ago and the three children we’ve had since. I didn’t even have my first child until I was 48.

‘‘But I couldn’t do it any earlier. I watched other busy artists have kids and then become unavailable to them; I couldn’t deface the process of parenting by being so unfair. It’s a harsh reality, but the looming priorities of an artist are definitely narrow and obsessive.”

‘‘Under the Skin” is easily the most accessible of Buckingham’s four solo discs, which pursue the pop experimentation that made ‘‘Tusk,” Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 follow-up to the bazillion-selling ‘‘Rumours,” both a creative triumph and a commercial disappointment.

‘‘My need to have a solo career is rooted in the outcome of ‘Tusk,’ ” Buckingham said. ‘‘When it didn’t sell, the band was like, ‘Well, we’re not going to make another one of those.’ But there’s something to be said for my having walked the line with this huge commercial machine while simultaneously thumbing my nose at the whole enterprise.Over time ‘Tusk’ has earned respect. Now I have people like Mick Fleetwood coming to me and saying, ‘I couldn’t see it at the time, but now that’s my favorite.’ ”