Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham

 

Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham

By

Jesse E. Mullen

You’ve co-led a massively successful group on and off for 43 years. You’ve written numerous hit songs, spearheaded a change in sound for your group, and have helped influence modern production techniques, while also surviving personal turmoil within your band. But what happens when that turmoil finally catches up with you?

As was the story of Lindsey Buckingham leading into 2018. The guitarist and songwriter was as famous for his chops on his instrument and studio prowess as he was for his breakup with Fleetwood Mac bandmate Stevie Nicks. That breakup inspired the timeless 1977 album Rumours, but it also left a lot of lingering tension.

This tension eventually led to Buckingham leaving the group for 10 years in 1987 but appears to have boiled over in a more permanent fashion in 2018. According to Buckingham, Nicks informed him – via Fleetwood Mac’s manager – that she “never [wanted] to share the stage” with Buckingham again.

This (allegedly) led to an ultimatum – either Fleetwood Mac fire Buckingham or Nicks would depart. The group apparently chose the former. Whatever truth to this there is, the result was the same. Buckingham was out of Fleetwood Mac.

With time to spare – following a solo tour and an excellent greatest hits box set entitled Solo Anthology – Buckingham put the finishing touches on a solo record which he intended to release in either 2019 or 2020. But a pair of issues put the brakes on his plans.

Buckingham underwent emergency open heart surgery in February 2019, which put him out of commission for the better part of a year. Further complications arose when it was revealed that one of Buckingham’s vocal cords was damaged when he was intubated during the procedure, leading to questions about the future of his singing voice.

2020 led to another complication in the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, delaying the release of the album further. One must be asking: could anything else go wrong for Buckingham from 2018 onwards? On a more personal level, the answer was sadly “yes.”

Buckingham’s wife filed for divorce in June of 2021. However, it was later reported that the couple were working on their marriage. Personal anecdotes aside, it would be easy to assume that the next Lindsey Buckingham album would be a dour affair. But then again, this was also an artist famous for finding dry humor in his relationship woes – see: “Second Hand News” and “Big Love.”

Buckingham’s new album, the self-titled Lindsey Buckingham was finally released in September 2021. The album artwork certainly would support the theory of a dour affair, with a po-faced Buckingham mugging for the camera in a black and white image – in line with the sepia-toned Gift Of Screws cover from 2008.

The resulting music resembles that album, at least on a surface level. Screws featured Buckingham at his most pastoral to date on “Time Precious Time,” as well as his most chugging melody since “Trouble” from 1981’s Law and Order in “Did You Miss Me.”

Conversely, Lindsey Buckingham also features many of the production techniques which made Tango In The Night a classic. Varispeed (pitch shifted) backing vocals, sequenced keyboards, drum machines, and “uhh-ahh(s)” are all reprised to great success. But Buckingham proves he is willing to update his sound for modern times.

“Swan Song” features syncopated techno beats and staccato vocals looped into infinity, while Buckingham shreds away on one of his glorious, fingerpicked guitar solos. Interestingly, this track originated from a session Buckingham was producing for Medicine’s Brad Laner. Laner – who primarily works within the shoegazing genre – handed Buckingham a copy of demos he had recorded, with hopes that Buckingham would find them interesting – and possibly cover one.

One of those songs intrigued Buckingham enough that he did just that – partially. “Mind’s Eye” was a song from those sessions which formed the basis for the chorus of “Swan Song.” Consequently, Laner has a co-writing credit and a share of all royalties earned. (Life lesson – sometimes it really helps to put yourself out there.)

“Power Down” mixes baggy beats with the new wave pop Buckingham has pursued in his solo career to great success. Buckingham plays the part of a lover left behind, saying he “called your name but no one was listening.” It’s one of a few hints that not all was right in his life at the time.

The other, “Santa Rosa,” deals with distance between a couple, with Buckingham warning his lover “that world is gonna close you” if she leaves. That Buckingham marries his lyrics to a major-key acoustic country groove makes it one of the melodic highlights of the album, even if it is one of the more solemn moments here.

However, not all is doom and gloom. “I Don’t Mind” shares the wisdom of an older man in a relationship – it deals with an aging couple accepting each other’s flaws. It might be the most Fleetwood Mac-like song on the album – Buckingham’s varispeed harmonies even sound a bit like Christine McVie. Layers of acoustic guitars and Buckingham’s drum machine programming add further color to the sonic landscape of the track.

“Scream” features a rising and falling vocal melody and chord progression that manages to recall “Go Your Own Way,” while some of the vocal production resembles the simulated female backing vocals from “Caroline.” It’s chorus of “I love you when you scream” is open to interpretation, as it could either have a sexual connotation or a sexual one – or both.

Elsewhere, “On The Wrong Side” bolsters a tune that is catchy, singable, and melodic while also featuring a bit of a bard lyric. Buckingham sings that he’s “out of pity” and “out of time.” Could this be directed at his wife? Or at Nicks and his impending removal from Fleetwood Mac? Only Buckingham knows for sure.

Given Lindsey Buckingham’s troubles over the past few years, it’s hard not to read the lyrical tea leaves on these songs. However, their actual meaning doesn’t at all affect the quality of the material. With Lindsey Buckingham, Buckingham (the artist) has delivered some of the finest moments of his solo career.

Reprise/2021

 

 

Mojave 3 – Excuses For Travellers

 

Mojave 3 – Excuses For Travellers

By

Jesse E. Mullen

Editor’s Note: I’ve previously covered Mojave 3 on my blog, but Excuses For Travellers is simply too good not to review

You’ve formed an excellent band from the ashes of another great band. You’ve successfully made two albums exploring the sounds of slowcore, alt. country, and evoking the vastness of the Mojave desert. What do you do next? Make another excellent album.

So was the story of Mojave 3 in the spring of 2000. The Reading quintet had released two albums of dreamy slowcore, 1995’s Ask Me Tomorrow and 1998’s Out of Tune. They took the glacial soundscapes of Slowdive and distilled them into even more minimalist music.

When the band went to record their third album in 1999, there were no major shifts in the lineup or style of music. What had changed however, was the almost memoir-like quality of Neil Halstead’s songs.

When Excuses For Travellers was released in May of 2000, it must have felt like a statement of purpose for the group. Opener “In Love With A View” recounts the beginning of a romance amidst a winter storm. The song gradually builds over the course of six minutes until Simon Rowe lets loose a blistering guitar solo.

Halstead’s harmonies with Rachel Goswell were always a major hallmark of the band’s sound, and they are omnipresent here. But where they make the biggest impact is on “My Life In Art.” A glorious seven-minute epic with glacial, 12/8 drumming by Ian McCutcheon, lesser groups would flounder attempting to sustain interest of fans.

But like Red House Painters before them, Mojave 3 are more than up to the task. Halstead spins a Dylanesque tale about human existence, from the trials of a homeless man to an author struggling to write a book. Halstead takes the lead vocal until the second verse, where Goswell joins him in harmony.

When the two mesh, it is a match made in heaven. If Halstead himself should ever write a book, he’d be well advised to title it My Life In Art. And I would be remiss not to mention the sonic qualities which producer Mark Van Hoen bring to the table.

His dry drum production mixed with the reverb on the vocals, guitars, vibraphones, and trumpets gives the album a sound rarely heard outside of the work of The American Analog Set. Speaking of production touches, one of the most (subtly) sonically dolled-up tracks is Goswell’s “Bringin’ Me Home.”

The lyrics tell a tale of a relationship gone sour, and Goswell finds refuge in the seaside of Devon. Although it seems to be a deeply personal song, she allowed for production “bells and whistles” such as vibraphone, xylophone, and bullet-mic’d backing vocals which made her sound like she was underwater. 

The overall effect is a sonically adventurous track which recalls what Broadcast were doing at the time. And as Goswell’s only lead vocal on the album, it is a welcome change of pace. But there was also another pleasant surprise on the album.

“Trying To Reach You” had been played live by Mojave 3 since April of 1996. Yet they had apparently never recorded a satisfactory version in the studio. That is, until Excuses For Travellers.

Previously, the acoustic-based arrangement had been a live favorite with fans. But here, the song is fully fleshed out with banjos, pedal steel, Goswell’s harmonies, and McCutcheon’s brushstroke drums. In this arrangement, the song gains new life, making the four-year wait well worth it.

Speaking of new arrangements, the American release of Excuses For Travellers substitutes the acoustic fingerpicked version of “Prayer For The Paranoid” for an electric, full-band version. While this alternate arrangement lacks the intimacy of the acoustic one, it more than makes up for it in majesty.

The vocal harmonies of Goswell and Halstead when they sing “These days are cold/And I'm missing you” add a poignance and emotional weight that was missing on the previous take. McCutcheon is again an MVP, with steady powerful drumming in waltz time.

The pedal steel is also a welcome addition to the track. It has a similar effect to what it does on Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You.” It broadens the arrangement and helps to bring back some of the sadness that was lost by electrifying the track. 

While Mojave 3 are well-loved amongst those who know them, they don’t have the critical attention of their contemporaries. Still, their first three albums are as close to perfection as can be found in all of slowcore. And Excuses For Travellers is quite possibly the best of the bunch.

4AD/2000