Red Bank, NJ

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Lindsey Buckingham at the Count Basie on Thursday

Lindsey Buckingham stays true to writing love songs
1:47 PM, Oct. 28, 2011

"Seeds We Sow," Lindsey Buckingham's latest album, is the rawest of his career. / FILE PHOTO ~

Written by
Ed Condran | For NJ Press Media

Lindsey Buckingham
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 3)
WHERE: Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank
TICKETS: $35, $45 and $ 59.50
INFORMATION: 732-842-9000

Lindsey Buckingham didn’t have to go his own way, at least permanently, to record consistently as a solo artist.

The talented singer-songwriter still comes back for Fleetwood Mac reunions.

“It’s hard to imagine us without Lindsay,” Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks said. “There’s no one quite like him. He has a lot of music in him.”

Buckingham, 62, is proving that. After releasing three solo albums in a quarter century, Buckingham has crafted a troika of discs in half a decade.

“Seeds We Sow,” his latest effort, which dropped last month, is a bit of a departure for Buckingham. It’s the rawest album of his career. Some of the songs sound like demos. It’s refreshing to hear songs, warts and all, in a producer’s era, in which virtually every cut is cleaned up. Buckingham’s tunes are still elegant and intimate, but it’s nice to hear them without unnecessary sheen.

“It’s good to do things a little differently at times,” Buckingham said. “You don’t want to keep repeating yourself.”

But what Buckingham does repeat is welcome. He continues to write terrific love songs, which are hardly ubiquitous these days.

“It’s true,” Buckingham said. “There aren’t as many love songs out there today. But it’s something I’m compelled to do.”

That’s been one of his strengths going back to Fleetwood Mac’s ’70s hey day. “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Stars Are Crazy” are perfect examples of new strong love songs from Buckingham. All of the songs work well unadorned. Buckingham’s new direction coincided with a move from his longtime major label home, Warner Brothers, to his own label, Mind Kit Records.

“This is a great time for a recording artist to venture out on his own,” Buckingham said. “I don’t have to rely on anyone else to do what I want to do.”

All Buckingham needs is some free time from his main gig with Fleetwood Mac.

“I told the band that I needed to put up a boundary,” Buckingham said. “I need to do some things on my own.”

Buckingham has been inspired by his wife and three young children, who are 13 and under.

“They reinvigorated me,” Buckingham said. “I think I’ve been more creative since I’ve had these children and watched them grew up. It certainly has had an effect on me.”

Expect Buckingham to toss in some Fleetwood Mac favorites.

“That’s always fun,” Buckingham said. “But the most fun I’m having right now is creating new material and going out and touring behind it.”