Short interview with Lindsey

SNLB · #1 01-21-2007, 10:39 PM

...from lasvegasweekly.com. Here is the link:

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2007/01/18/noise.html

...and here is the article:

Three Questions with Lindsey Buckingham

The sometime Fleetwood Mac man revealed a couple of newsy bits in his recent Weekly interview: The Mac will tour in 2008, most likely sans Christine McVie again, and 1973's famed Buckingham Nicks LP should finally makes its way onto CD in the next couple of years. A few other points of discussion:

It's only been three months since the release of your most recent album, Under the Skin—your first solo disc in 14 years—and you're already at work on a follow-up?

Yes, we have some material that we need to sort of deconstruct, a lot of songs. I'm touring behind Under the Skin this month, in March, half of April and during June and July, and in between and during the fourth quarter of 2007 we'll be getting that album all finished up. People have been saying it's a rock album, but I don't know what it's gonna be. [Under the Skin] is not a huge radio album, obviously. It's one of those things that's gonna coast along selling a couple of thousand a week and by the time we get to the middle of the summer maybe we will have sold 150,000 or 200,000 albums, and I would be very happy with that. Then it will just be a question of whether we wanna do that again or [something bigger]. The [rock concept] is just a whole different game, stepping up to a set of expectations with radio and other parts of the machinery. I really don't know. But Under the Skin is sort of an art album—I didn't put it out there to try to go platinum.

Speaking of art albums, Tusk has gone from an ill-received, so-called "flop" to a benchmark of experimental pop during its 27-year lifespan. Do you feel a sense of vindication at that?

It certainly wasn't well-received over at Warner Bros. [laughs]. Tusk was an exhilaration and a disappointment, and I never doubted that it was the right thing to do. We came off of Rumours, which was sort of this Michael Jackson level of success, way beyond the music, and were being asked to make Rumours 2. But all this [new] stuff was coming over from England and America and it was very inspiring to me as someone who was producing and trying some different approaches. I always imagine the Warner Bros. executives sitting in the board room listening, and going uhhhhhhhhh? [laughs]. The real disappointment was that a year later when it didn't sell 16 million albums but as a double album only sold whatever it was—three?—the band said, "We want you to produce, but you can't do it that way anymore." Well, it's very hard to backtrack, so that was the reason I started making solo albums —the left side of the palate, all those things that were suddenly disallowed in a band situation. Tusk was the point of departure, the point at which I drew a line in the sand and began to define myself the way I still define myself. And now you have Mick [Fleetwood] and probably even Stevie [Nicks] saying that's their favorite album.

Word is Warner execs also weren't too excited over the direction you took on Under the Skin. True?

It wasn't that they didn't like it, but I had a lot of material and some of it was more rock, some with Mick playing drums. And I think their idea was to combine some of the songs from Under the Skin with some of the rock songs and basically make a more normal album. In theory that gives them more to work with in terms of radio—if radio's even something that exists for me at this point. But that just didn't feel authentic to me. I didn't think it was making much of a statement. They're just at a point where, with the Tower Records of the world closing, their model continues to break down. And at companies like Warner, the people who have the jobs have to answer to someone who's more bottom-line oriented. I think about Fleetwood Mac and all the incarnations they went through until they found Stevie and myself. After Peter Green left, [Warner chairman] Mo Austin kept them on the label while they did album after album that were sort of non sequiturs, as people floated in and out of the band. Mo just let them stay on the label. That would not happen today. There would not have been a Fleetwood Mac in today's climate.

Spencer Patterson

stefan · #2 01-22-2007, 04:33 PM

Hello, is everybody sleeping? This is a great interview/article. Thank you for posting.
Seems like UTS doesn`t sell that bad. I wouldn`t have expected 150000-200000 sold copies, if that`s true and I am glad about it.
Deconstructing the songs. If it doesn`t take too much time- I am all for it. We know the GOS songs for so long now and get them served in little bits on the official albums SYW and UTS. I long for new stuff and if the songs I already know get a fine alteration that sounds quite interesting. Go for it LB!

wondergirl9847 · #3 01-22-2007, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNLB

most likely sans Christine McVie again

Most DEFINITELY sans Christine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNLB

...if radio's even something that exists for me at this point.

Honey, radio doesn't exist for anyone good anymore. Sigh...

shackin'up · #4 01-22-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stefan

Hello, is everybody sleeping? This is a great interview/article. Thank you for posting.
Seems like UTS doesn`t sell that much. I wouldn`t have expected 150000-200000 sold copies, if that`s true and I am glad about it.
Deconstructing the songs. If it doesn`t take too much time- I am all for it. We know the GOS songs for so long now and get them served in little bits on the official albums SYW and UTS. I long for new stuff and if the songs I already know get a fine alteration that sounds quite interesting. Go for it LB!

No stefan, I'm awake and that deconstructionquote hit me immediately. I was working though and meanwhile I was fantasizing about that. I can picture a great folkpopalbum with semi-acoustic versions of Twist of fate, Gift of screws, Shuffle riff, Gotta get away (that one already fits in such a description), Deep dense, Given Thing and Steve's Riff on it. I bet he's got an idea of recording with his current liveband . There's enough backingvocaltracks in the GOS-batch, so he can pull some out, bring more space in those songs by filling in acoustic guitartracks for some electric and leave the definate ones. I would be devastated if Mick's exquisite drumtracks were pulled out and replaced by electronic percussion though. And have have a feeling that he wants to. Electronic folk is getting focking hip in the indiefield right now.

But I'm sure he will surprise us with some weird stuff again. He wants to cash the critical acclaim. So he can say to his children: "look, kids, A lifetime of believing in your principles works if you push it to the ultimate limits. I'm a visionary and at last the world knows".

chiliD · #5 01-22-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNLB

After Peter Green left, [Warner chairman] Mo Austin kept them on the label while they did album after album that were sort of non sequiturs, as people floated in and out of the band.

Considering the sound of each Fleetwood Mac album AFTER Rumours were non-sequiturs, as well...and mostly from the same damned lineup. So, wtf is he talkin' about, Willis?

shackin'up · #6 01-22-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiliD

Considering the sound of each Fleetwood Mac album AFTER Rumours were non-sequiturs, as well...and mostly from the same damned lineup. So, wtf is he talkin' about, Willis?

You're right Chili, but hey, you get his point. He was talking about how the brand stayed alive by support of the label. In these times impossible. And don't forget: Tusk sold at least as much as all those Post-Green/pre-BN-albums together.

stefan · #7 01-23-2007, 02:08 PM

Editing myself- I meant UTS doesn`t seem to sell that bad. Instead of that I wrote "that much". But if the mentioned numbers are right, I would call that quite a success for that solo record. So let the next ones roll on.

danax6 · #8 01-23-2007, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shackin'up

You're right Chili, but hey, you get his point. He was talking about how the brand stayed alive by support of the label. In these times impossible. And don't forget: Tusk sold at least as much as all those Post-Green/pre-BN-albums together.

This sort of ties in with what I asked Lindsey on the website's Q&A (when can we expect some answers, damnit?). With the world we live in these days it doesn't seem possible anymore to keep one great band going, unless they are on top of their game 24/7, which is basically unheard of. All bands go through ruts, and it used to be that the audience would still hang on, knowing there would be better days, but in this day and age, when people don't even take the time anymore to buy a frikkin' album, the audience quickly loses interest and moves on the next thing, so a lot of stuff gets lost in the shuffle. It's all one hits and computer produced now. It's more about quantity than quality and the latter is slowly deteriorating, with bands not feeling inspired to bring out new material because of all these reasons. So I asked him how he sees the future of the music industry and whether in 40 or 50 years people will still remember bands from these days like we remember The Stones or The Beatles.

Peestie · #9 01-23-2007, 04:32 PM

I'm liking the sound of this "deconstructing" thing. Hopefully the album will be released as intended and not get abandoned or butchered for a Mac album.

face of glass · #10 01-23-2007, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peestie

Hopefully the album will be released as intended and not get abandoned or butchered for a Mac album.

But then this is Lindsey and no one really knows what his final intentions are. Least of all the man himself.

Carolina Girl · #11 01-24-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNLB

...Yes, we have some material that we need to sort of deconstruct, a lot of songs. I'm touring behind Under the Skin this month, in March, half of April and during June and July, and in between and during the fourth quarter of 2007 we'll be getting that album all finished up. People have been saying it's a rock album, but I don't know what it's gonna be. [Under the Skin] is not a huge radio album, obviously. It's one of those things that's gonna coast along selling a couple of thousand a week and by the time we get to the middle of the summer maybe we will have sold 150,000 or 200,000 albums, and I would be very happy with that. Then it will just be a question of whether we wanna do that again or [something bigger]. The [rock concept] is just a whole different game, stepping up to a set of expectations with radio and other parts of the machinery. I really don't know. But Under the Skin is sort of an art album—I didn't put it out there to try to go platinum.

Why does the "rock" concept need to be bigger, with expectations of radio or anything else? Why not release the rock material with the same mindset as UTS, on his own terms, as his creative outlet and to get the songs to the fans that want them, regardless of any expectations of radio or sales.