Lindsey Buckingham Unveils New Material at L.A. Show

Billboard.com
by Phil Gallo

Lindsey Buckingham unveiled the songs that will be on his September studio release, "Seeds We Sow," in an intimate concert Friday night (Apr. 22) that was filmed for broadcast and a DVD. Telling the audience at the 1,500-seat Saban Theater in Los Angeles, "I may have made my best work yet," Buckingham offered six songs from "Seeds We Sow" in a 19-song set that began with "Shut Us Down" and ended with the title track of the new album.

Throughout the evening, the Fleetwood Mac guitarist, singer and songwriter alternated between acoustic and electric guitar, playing solo and with his three-member band. There was never a moment, however, when his skills as a lead and rhythm guitarist were not the defining feature of a song, whether it was the still-hypnotic "Trouble," a grungy rendition of "Tusk" or a new tune with echoes of R.E.M. and the Psychedelic Furs.

"You must look for what is essential, what is the center, and that center is the guitar," he told the audience. "That child still lives within me."

Fleetwood Mac classics "I'm So Afraid," "Go Your Own Way" and "Second Hand News" made it into the set, alongside solo gems such as "Turn It On" and "Go Insane." In talking about his life as a father and husband, the 61-year-old Buckingham also drew a distinction between his hitmaking run in the 1970s and 80s and his self-financed new work.

"I live and work in two worlds," Buckingham explained. "On one hand, the big machine is Fleetwood Mac and other entities... and on the other hand, there's a small machine, the solo work." He went on to draw a comparison between studio movies and independent films, relating it to his world. "It is the small movies that feed the heart and allow us to take risks."

"Seeds We Sow" is Buckingham's third studio album in five years, a steady pace for a man who went nearly 14 years between solo releases. Formerly with Warner Music Group, Buckingham has not decided on how the new disc will be distributed.