Buckingham Nicks

What does it sound like?:

Ah! The vicissitudes of conducting a romantic relationship in the work place. This is the long lost album by the famous star crossed lovers before they joined Fleetwood Mac. It had one single print run on release in 1973, sold very little, and this simple remaster is the first time it has been available on CD, download or streaming. There are no extras, despite one well known bootleg having twelve additional tracks. It begs the question why it has been buried all this time.

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks met at High School in California. They found themselves harmonising to a Beach Boys song at a youth event. Later Buckingham invited her to join his band, Fritz. They touched real fame, supporting Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix, learning valuable lessons in stagecraft at first hand. It took five years and the breakup of the band for them to begin a personal relationship and for them to start writing songs of their own. Tempted to record demos at Sound City Studios by Keith Elson, they dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles. Nicks earned money cleaning Olsen’s house, waiting tables and acting as a hostess. Buckingham spent his time refining his guitar technique.

Elson helped secure a distribution contract with Polydor and attracted some excellent musicians to record the album. Jim Keltner and Gary Hodges played drums, Mark Tulin from The Electric Prunes contributed some bass, and Dick Halligan of Blood, Sweat & Tears orchestrated the strings. Most important was session guitarist, Waddy Watchel, who formed a close musical relationship with the two main protagonists. The multi-tracked voices blend beautifully. They sang together, worked together, lived together, slept together, but they didn’t write much together. Only one song is a co-write. Another is a cover of an instrumental, Django. In fact, it is the contrast in writing style that keeps the listener engaged across the album; Buckingham’s spiky energy juxtaposed against Nicks’ gentle flow.

The album is pleasant on the ear, the softest of folk rock, full of ingredients that turned out to have historical relevance for Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham’s signature acoustic guitar is fully formed. Don’t Let Me Down Again could have been written for his future band, and, indeed, was performed on their 1974 tour. The riff for The Chain is recycled from Lola (My Love). Nicks’ Crystal was reworked for Fleetwood Mac’s next album, the Fleetwood/McVie rhythm section giving it much better definition. Most importantly, the finale, Frozen Love, acted as their audition. Mick Fleetwood visited Sound City Studios to discuss Elson producing the next album. Frozen Love was playing over the speakers. Having just lost a guitarist who wrote songs, Bob Welch, Fleetwood’s interest was piqued by the guitar solo. All that practise, while Nicks went out to graft, paid off. Christine McVie must have wondered where her voice was going to squeeze in to their tight harmonies.

At a time when they didn’t have two beans to rub together, Nicks bought a fabulously expensive white blouse for the cover shoot, $800 worth in today’s money. Instead, she was persuaded, reluctantly, to pose topless as a couple. Buckingham regarded the photo as art. Looking at it now, neither seems to be enjoying the experience.

Buckingham Nicks is the sound of a young man and a young woman honing their songcraft and learning how to perform in a recording studio. Using a retrospectoscope, the talent and potential are obvious. Polydor, however, lost patience very quickly and dropped them, even though there was evidence the songs they were writing for a follow up were getting stronger. Mick Fleetwood should thank his lucky stars that he stumbled across them that day.

What does it all *mean*?

Buckingham Nicks reveals the chemistry between the couple that helped propel Fleetwood Mac into mega stardom. You can hear and see the frisson between them, both thrilling and truculent, creating the sparks that fired up their entire careers.

Goes well with…

A curiosity over the jigsaw pieces that transformed a blues band into a commercial juggernaut.

Release Date:

19/09/2025

Might suit people who like…

Fleetwood Mac.

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