Lindsey Buckingham With Special Quest Stevie Nicks - Soundstage (2004) [Re-Up]

The finger picking master has returned! After the Say You Will tour with Fleetwood Mac wrapped up, Lindsey Buckingham assembled his band of a few of his friends and played a few shows. One show was taped for Public Television’s ultimate late night show, Sound Stage. Just for kicks and giggles, rock goddess Stevie Nicks showed up for some folk-rockin’ fun.
As I’ve said thousands of times before, Lindsey Buckingham is the most underrated guitarist ever, no doubt about it. He can play fast when he needs to, like in Say Goodbye or take on a progressive David Gilmour-style, like in Murrow Turning Over In His Grave, all without using a pick.
You can easily tell which songs are more of his style, and which ones are obviously Fleetwood Mac. Although this man created the monumental I’m So Afraid, his solo work isn’t anything like that. He writes songs for his solo albums the way Stevie Nicks writes songs for Fleetwood Mac albums; that is, folky and beautiful. The best example of anything he’s ever done on his own is probably Go Insane. The original version on his 1984 album of the same title was absolute overproduced 80’s garbage. But now, when he’s at “the best time in my life musically,” he knows the right way to play these songs. The lyrics to this song (and the poem he reads before performing) are just plain haunting, but don’t even compare to the guitar picking. He starts if off very slow, almost too slow. After the fantastic guitar solo he’s pounding on the guitar quite heavily while yelling out his powerful lyrics. “So I go insane, like I always do, when I call your name, she’s a lot like you…”
His work on the acoustic guitar is best showcased in songs like Big Love. I honestly do not know how he can move his fingers that fast. The song itself is beautiful, even though I like the electric version better. The best part of the song is the bridge. “I wake up alone with it all, I wake up but only to fall.”
One of his most famous guitar pickings is on Never Going Back Again. He’s joined by the wonderful Stevie Nicks here, just for the sake of some beautiful harmonies. Putting past differences aside, they show that the angry lyrics no longer pertain to one another. He shows that even though he’s gotten older he can still do these good old songs just as well as he did on the immortal Rumours. Say Goodbye is the other song that he does with his long time music partner. In my opinion this is one of Fleetwood Mac’s finest most beautiful songs ever. The acoustic guitar part is just plain wonderful, while the lyrics are simple perfect. “I’ll let you slip away, there was nothing I could do, won’t you say goodbye to me, and I’ll say goodbye to you.” It’s obviously about none other than Stevie, and realizing that a relationship with her could never work.
Now, Fleetwood Mac, despite being basically a soft rock band, always had a heavier side (especially in recent years). Every albums usually contained one or two hard songs that generally kicked butt. Unfortunately, because of his band, these songs suffer slightly. His band does not include a bassist and the drummer plays just percussion instruments on every song except Murrow Turning Over and Go Your Own Way. Peacekeeper does suffer from being quite softer than the regular version and the fact that it’s missing John McVie’s signature bass playing, but the guitar solo is still amazing. Heck, the harmonies between Lindsey and his male band mates sounds cool in a different way than his harmonies with Stevie. The heavy song that does not suffer however is Murrow Turning Over In His Grave. Lindsey does talk for a while about the songs meaning, obviously, the corruption of the media. The guitar playing is spooky, as is the chorus. But then something happens. The drummer starts playing the electric drum set and this song starts flying. The guitar solo is just one of those thing you don’t want to end. Lindsey has a way of keeping you excited, and making you come back for more.
Another small thing that this concert is missing is a decent crowd. The venue is tiny, and the people there seem to be bored. They don’t act entertained at all until Lindsey starts playing his lone hit, Trouble. Later in the concert Stevie starts singing a few lines from the song Frozen Love, the most popular tune from the Buckingham Nicks LP. The crowd goes nuts when she starts singing it, but then she claims not to remember any more of it. The crowd is basically mute until the final song, the rock n’ roll classic Go Your Own Way. Lindsey can’t sing like he once did, but the energy is still there (minus John McVie’s bass line). This is the best way to end the concert, since it’s probably the best song he ever wrote.
This DVD also contains a few songs from his latest album Under The Skin, which he does a good job singing. Unfortunately, another great Fleetwood Mac song Steal Your Heart Away, is not contained in the duration of the concert, but left as a bonus song. The song is sweet and beautiful, as you would know if you’ve listened to their latest album.

Tracks:
01. Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind
02. Trouble
03. Big Love
04. Go Insane
05. Down on the Rodeo
06. Peacekeeper
07. Red Rover
08. Never Going Back Again (duet with Stevie Nicks)
09. Say Goodbye (duet with Stevie Nicks)
10. Murrow Turning Over in His Grave
11. Go Your Own Way
Bonus Tracks:
12. Steal Your Heart Away
13. I Am Waiting.





Big thx to Meloman67