So much more than Mac's resident guitarist
Mum’s favourite Lindsey Buckingham splits his time and talent between Fleetwood Mac and his solo career well. Mac may be where the radio-friendly beats end up, but Buckingham’s solo work is far more expressive and off-the-wall. And I don’t just mean the percussion noises at the start of Great Day. If you want to hear his unique guitar style in all its glory, better look to electric albums like Gift Of Screws (a great difference from 2006’s acoustic Under The Skin.)
For a mainstream artist, Buckingham’s strength lies in his inability to remain static musically. 'Time Precious Time', with its multi-tracked driving guitar and echoey repetitive vocals sits just as comfortably (if that’s the right word for that track) on this album as potential Mac tracks like 'Did You Miss Me' or 'Wait For You'. It may be experimental in places, but it’s clearly Buckingham’s own self-played self-produced work, tempered perhaps by co-writing credits to his wife and son, and Mick Fleetwood and John MacVie providing the solid rhythms.
He’s clearly moved on again from both "Under The Skin", and Mac’s "Say You Will", without moving too far. This album is a good mixture of the darker side of his work (think Go Insane) and the lighter AOR that he does so well. But even the ‘soft’ rock has an edge to it here, distorted and more stripped-down. It’s a perfect showcase for Buckingham’s trademark unrelenting fretwork, but it’s not ‘a band playing with someone playing guitar over the top’. The melodic California sound of 'Love Runs Deeper' hits the right balance between guitar and rhythm (with a slight emphasis on the guitar, naturally). It’s not all a nostalgia trip, however. 'Gift Of Screws' could easily have come off any new-wave or indie band’s playlist, if it wasn’t for the unmistakable vocals.
Solo albums from an established artist are so difficult to balance between the nostalgic and the progressive, and Buckingham treads the line carefully without compromising his work in the slightest. This album is both emotional (Underground) and out-and-out rock, sensitive and distorted simultaneously. And not many people could get away with that. It should win Mr Buckingham many new fans, and increased respect from his existing ones.