52 years after its original 1973 release the Buckingham Nicks album is finally to get a re-release on 19th September. Long assumed to be a permanent casualty of Nicks’ and Buckingham’s toxic internecine infighting, the no frills re-release on Rhino Records will finally be available on CD, as well as on LP and streaming platforms (there are no extra tracks included). Although the original LP version still turns up regularly on eBay and has sourced many CD bootleg variants over the years, it has been so long out of print that the wheel has turned full circle and a new LP version is imminent. The last CD bootleg I bought for the predictable king’s ransom came with a professionally printed Polydor label in a fancy enhanced jewel case and could have easily passed for the real thing. Bolstered with extra tracks it sounded pretty good too.
The reissue may have been prompted by the forthcoming Apple Fleetwood Mac documentary film. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have both quoted lyrics from ‘Frozen Love’ on their Instagram accounts in recent days, and Mick Fleetwood, known to be working with Buckingham on a new album, has also posted a clip of himself listening to the song. Whether we are to assume some warming in relations between the Buckingham and Nicks factions is anyone’s guess. A reunion of sorts may be on the cards, possibly induced as much by the lure of the silver dollar as anything else.
In the meantime, this long overdue reissue of the template for Californian rock will do very nicely.
There is a not bad full cover version of the album, which came out last year, by Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham. Unsurprisingly called Cunningham Bird.
I have one of the seven CD versions that Discogs lists, a South Korean copy on a label calling itself ‘BIG PINK’ with the spine number shown as ‘BIG PINK 472’. Discogs lists it but says it’s unofficial and therefore can’t be offered on that platform. As you may realise, in practice this is a difficult policy to police.
https://www.discogs.com/release/10010259-Buckingham-Nicks-Buckingham-Nicks
It claims to have been remastered, and has a bunch of extra tracks including demos, single versions and three live tracks. It sounds fine to me. Hard to see if anyone who has one of these will be tempted by another release!
It’s already tempted me – on pre-order!
It’s blocked from sale on Discogs but you can listen to it on Discogs
I’m a fan but my bootleg vinyl copy will suffice
I think I’ll seek out Mr Retro’s tip Cunningham Bird
Often wonder about bootleg “remasters”, I doubt they have access to the original tapes so probably just boosting (or reducing) certain frequencies in Audacity and saving the file.
Is this one actually a bootleg though – I seem to recall something about it being “unofficially” released (licensed) by the original producer (Keith Olsen ?) as he was part owner. I have the Korean CD version and it certainly sounds legit.
I was coming here to say exactly this. There’s a difference between this – an “unofficial” release, or a release in a country but not licenced worldwide – and a bootleg (say a CD of a vinyl rip, or a CD of a FM capture of a live concert). But Discogs makes no differentiation between the two.
That’s a useful distinction. There are an awful lot of “unofficial” reissues of old albums on the Japanese market that fly under the lawyers’ radar: for example, you can get Pink Floyd’s “Piper” album (the original Japanese version which added “See Emily Play”) for the equivalent of a fiver, although the official Pompeii set costs a ton.
If it was never officially released on CD, then it could well be sourced from a vinyl rip initially
I seem to recall it was the producer’s safety copy of the master tape, hence all the demos and so on, and licensed only in Korea.
I see
Ah, Big Pink reissues can be bought off the shelves in Japan, whatever the legal dubiousness: I recently got their edition of Jimmy Campbell’s Half-Baked.
Here’s a link to the various packages for the album which will be available from Rhino.
https://store.rhino.com/en/buckinghamnicks.html
Somehow I feel 5,000 copies worldwide of the “Rhino high fidelity” vinyl isn’t going to be enough.
I’ve heard my pal’s import copy of Rhino high fidelity pressing of Marquee Moon and it sounds ruddy fab. But, at 46 quid, a bit of a stretch.
You’re right – it’s sold out already!!!
Yebbut. Has anyone actually mentioned if it’s any good?
After decades of being unavailable the question will be almost irrelevant for Fleetwood Mac fans, for whom it is something of an irrational holy grail, and who will buy it in droves. It’s no Rumours that’s for sure, but as a historical document it certainly has its place. It didn’t sell particularly well at the time of its original release – it will almost certainly do much better this time around. It’s not a bad album, but not a great one either, but it was perhaps unwittingly the template for much of the love-it-or-loathe-it Californian soft rock that was to follow.
It isn’t great, which you can gauge from this review of the Cunningham Bird cover.
https://www.covermesongs.com/2024/10/review-andrew-bird-madison-cunninghams-cunningham-bird.html
Good point. My recollection is that it was ok but not much more than that. I had a mate with a major Stevie Nicks infatuation and he had it – at least he didn’t pretend it was all about the music.