Q&A with Lindsey Buckingham - Montreal Gazette

[Mari]

oh god, you´re killing me here!!

[Matt Lucas]

Hello all---

It's been a while since I've checked in, but I stopped by The Ledge today to see if there's any news about the supposed "rock album" that Lindsey is going to release this year. [Yeah, right.] I fully expected there to be no news at all...and I wasn't disappointed! *grin* [If I missed something, PLEASE let me know!]

But what I DID find was this...a GREAT interview with Lindsey. It's wonderful to see an interviewer really use every minute of his/her time with Lindsey to ask some thoughtful answers that produce equally thoughtful responses. Really, the only thing missing for me was more information about Lindsey's creative process. I'd love to hear HOW he writes his songs, with some specific examples [i.e. how a song like "Street of Dreams" or "Trouble" or "Countdown" was written, taking us through the process step by step]. I'd like to know what he contributed to the couple of tunes he's co-written with others over the years ["Mystified" and "You and I (Pt. 2)" come to mind].

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^^^
I love LB, but he does come off like a snotty nosed brat sometimes

Hah! Well, I don't know about him being a brat, but it's obvious that the man has a pretty strong ego. When you quit a band and are replaced by TWO guys, and then the band, which had previously been at the top of the pop/rock world under your direction, basically disappears over the course of a couple of years, that probably only adds to your ego.

Billy Burnette and Rick Vito are each talented guitarists. I don't think FM would have asked them to join if they weren't. But I also suspect that they received an invitation because neither one...well...to be blunt, neither one was probably as high maintenance as Lindsey. Both Billy and Rick had experience playing in a number of bands as supporting musicians, and neither one was as eclectic as Lindsey, meaning the band probably expected Billy and Rick to fit in, go with the flow, and not complain too much. Billy was likely chosen because of his prior work with members of FM. They were dependable journeymen. It was probably also clear at the time that the ladies would be the main focus, and, though Billy and Rick submitted their own songs and contributed to Stevie's and Christine's, it's obvious that neither of the guitarists was considered a true front-person of the band. And, if this was true, I'm not saying that I'd blame anyone for taking that approach. I mean, after years of Lindsey running things from a sound/production standpoint, the others were probably ready for something different. There was probably some ego going on with the band at the time as well. "We'll show HIM for leaving us...!" That sort of thing.

Having said all of that, I agree with Lindsey. I know, it sounds mean and petty. I respect Billy and Rick as musicians, but I think they're more generic. I mean, even though they're each good guitarists [and Billy, for one, has written many good songs], you don't often see either of them listed among the great ones. It's probably a case of them basing their respective styles on other famous guitarists, as opposed to someone like Lindsey, who has one of the more unique playing [and, for that matter, writing] styles in rock music. Lindsey is a pretty unorthodox rock guitarist, to say the least.

Originally Posted by danax6

That said, I am not sure if 'generic' is an insult and if it even pertains to what they did on stage. Now, I am not a music expert, but did BB and RV really play the guitar lead on the FM songs that differently from the way Lindsey played it prior to that? In the studio Lindsey might have been more daring than the post-1987 line-up, but on stage (aside from maybe stuff like Not That Funny) he didn't go way left or right of 'generic' all that much either, right?

Good point. I know a lot of people who would argue that Lindsey himself, through his association with FM, played in one of the most generic bands of the past 30 years. I should point out that, while I don't agree with that view, I can actually see that point, too. I mean, for years, FM was synonymous with FM radio hits. Of course, in my opinion, every once in a while...a good band actually becomes successful! That was certainly the case with FM.

mattl

[strandinthewind]

Interestingly, LB had Ray Lindsey come onstage for GYOW since, I think, the Tusk tour.

Also, LB sure did not shy away from the four or so additional guitarists and who knows how many synth tracks on The Dance and SYW tours.

Finally, LB himself faded into commercial insignificance and obscutity without FM. I think he was still a good artist, but I think a alot of FM's work after TITN was artistic as well. And, La Nicks was still way more commercially relevant even with SA than he was with OOTC And, I think OSOTM had artistic merit, though it was in no way as commercially successful as her previous solo stuff.

So, in the end, whatever ego boost he may have gotten was shcecked by the above three

Thus, my conclusion that he can be a snotty nose brat at times