In the early 1970s, singer/songwriters
Stevie Nicks
and
Lindsey Buckingham
decided they were through with trying to make a band happen and decided to strike out as a duo. Their skills as vocalists and writers --
Buckingham
also played a mean guitar -- landed them a record contract and they laid down an album with producer
Keith Olsen
at the helm. Made up of almost equal amounts of songs penned and sung by each of the pair, the album sank like a stone despite their winning visual appeal and the strength of the songs and recording. One person who did hear the record and got excited was
Mick Fleetwood
of
Fleetwood Mac
. They were looking to hire a new guitarist, and
seemed to fit the bill. He agreed to join but only if
Nicks
could come aboard too.
Fleetwood
agreed and the rest is well-known history. Interestingly, even though the band and both
became million-selling rock icons, it took until 2025 for the
Buckingham Nicks
album to be officially reissued. It might lead one to think that the album was below par or other some kind of embarrassment. That's not the case; in fact, it's on par with the first
album and a few of the songs compare quite nicely to some of
Mac
's best loved classics. The duo and
Olsen
craft a sound that's slick and smooth but roughed up by
's guitar -- which both jangled in fine folk-rock form and snapped and spit like a rock & roller -- and
' raspy and one-of-a-kind vocals. The pair already sound joined at the hip; their harmonies feel pre-ordained and their tunes slot together like two sides of a broken heart. The poppier songs jump out first --
' lovely bit of Laurel Canyon soul, "Crying in the Night," shows off a light vocal touch, and
's "Don't Let Me Down Again" is a rippling rocker with some fine, lightning-fast guitar work -- but the soft rock ballads prove just as hooky in a more restrained way.
's "Without a Leg to Stand On" puts
America
Bread
to shame,
' "Long Distance Winner" and "Races Are Run" foreshadow some of her timeless
songs while also keeping one foot in the late-'60s singer/songwriter scene. Most impressive is the lengthy "Frozen Love," which lasts a long time but never gets boring thanks to the mood the duo create with their winding harmonies and
's vibrant guitar work on both acoustic and electric. It's easy to see what caught
's ear, and once he realized the deal he was getting by having both artists in his group, he must have been elated.
were no doubt overjoyed to have the
's built-in audience, and said fans were obviously thrilled when the duo's magic revitalized the band in ways no one could have imagined. To say it all started here is no understatement. This is an album filled with magic and promise, along with top-notch songcraft and performance. It deserves more than footnote status and perhaps once it is circulated again, people will embrace it as they should. ~ Tim Sendra