Buckingham goes his own way in fine form

By ANDREW MARTON

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Live at the Bass Performance Hall -- Lindsey Buckingham
WEA/Reprise
90 minutes
$13.99 (on Amazon)
*** out ot 5 stars

Watching Lindsey Buckingham's first solo concert DVD, Live at the Bass Performance Hall, you reach the conclusion that the essence of his former band Fleetwood Mac was not Stevie Nicks' witchy-woman stylings, Christine McVie's blues-tinged singing, or even the granite back-beat of drummer, Mick Fleetwood and bassist, John McVie, but Buckingham's pioneering guitar work.

Released today, this concert DVD offers all 16 songs from Buckingham's Jan. 27, 2007 performance at Bass Hall, the Fort Worth stop on the guitarist-singer-songwriter's first extended U.S. solo tour in almost 14 years.

Whether on a nylon-string classical guitar, a steel-string acoustic or his trademark acoustic-electric guitar, Buckingham eschews the standard pick in favor of all five fingers of his right hand. There are close-ups of Buckingham's hands as they nimbly perform his distinctive guitar calisthenics.

All this intricate guitar work cocoons Buckingham's equally original vocals. Whether it's on the six cuts from the 2006 CD, Under the Skin, or songs dredged from his early solo period (the country-shuffle Holiday Road, Go Insane, Trouble) or, even further back, from the Fleetwood Mac catalog (Second Hand News,I'm So Afraid, Go Your Own Way, and Tusk), Buckingham's voice is in fine form.

As he moves from barely whispered verses to primal-scream choruses, you are reminded of how enigmatic and avant-garde he remains.

Hardly a Mr. Entertainment when it comes to amiable stage patter, Buckingham, helped by his backing trio, hits the concert's high points with the protracted guitar jams at the end of Fleetwood Mac's I'm So Afraid and Go Your Own Way. On each, Buckingham's left hand explores the outer limits of the fret-board while his right index finger flicks out one serrated note after another. Each solo ends with Buckingham in full mad-scientist mode, head thrown back, mouth agape, as he bangs his fists on the guitar.

The Bass Hall's crisp acoustics enhance the singer's embroidered harmonies, and the proximity of the stage to the audience creates an intimacy that he clearly relishes.

Buckingham seems so at home at the Bass that when he delivers the by-now-requisite "see ya next time" farewell, you believe he will make a return trip to Cowtown.

Lindsey Buckingham 4 stars

DVD Spotlight
By Kevin O'Hare

Lindsey Buckingham, "Live at The Bass Performance Hall," (Reprise) 4 stars.

Somehow Lindsey Buckingham managed to do the impossible, which was to be generally underrated while playing in one of the most popular bands in the world.

That band, Fleetwood Mac, put Buckingham on the map, but it's his far-too-infrequent solo endeavors that have featured some of the best music of his life.

The incredibly gifted guitarist, songwriter and singer is spotlighted on this, his first live solo DVD, which was filmed in Fort Worth, Texas, during his first U.S. solo tour in nearly 14 years.

As one might expect, the musicianship is impeccable, with Buckingham fronting an understated three-piece ensemble while spinning through 17 songs from his solo career as well as from his days with Fleetwood Mac.

Six songs are from his latest solo disc "Under the Skin," including quiet standouts like "Not Too Late," and the shimmering, harmony-backed full-band workout "Castaway Dreams." He also offers some intriguing reinterpretations of his own vintage work, like the decidedly-different versions of "Go Insane," and Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk," and "Go Your Own Way." In addition, he shows his passionate vocal style and stunning acoustic guitar work in a torrid take of "Big Love," while blazing away with equal intensity of several electric numbers, such as "So Afraid," which starts mildly before building toward an explosive ending.

Stevie in the May '08 Issue of "Q" Magazine

Stevie Nicks will be included in a free 70 page special titled "Women in Music" that will be included with the May, 2008 issue of UK Music Magazine Q. The May, 2008 issue with Madonna on the cover should be on UK newstands at the beginning of April.

Stevie Nicks: the first lady of Fleetwood Mac tells all.

Fleetwood Mac gig just Rumours

The Winnipeg Sun
By JANE STEVENSON

Turns out those reports last week of Sheryl Crow hooking up with Fleetwood Mac next year might have been a bit premature.

Crow told Sun Media yesterday that while it's something she would like to do, given her long friendship with Stevie Nicks -- which dates to when they worked together on Nicks' 2001 album, Trouble In Shangri-La -- it's still an idea that's in the early stages.

"We don't even know -- all that stuff is rumours," she said. "We are just in the middle of figuring out if we want to collaborate, and what we're going to be doing, and what that's going to look like."

Still, Crow said she's enthusiastic about the possibility. After all, she wore a "full shag" hairstyle in high school in the '70s, emulating Nicks' famous feathered 'do.

"Oh, my gosh. It would be so much fun. And I'm a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac -- the band and the people, obviously the music. And also I just love Stevie. I grew up really idolizing her, and then when I got to work with her, like, 10 years ago, I think I was stunned by how much of an artist she really is -- a fully-realized artist, not just a songwriter."

Nicks is on a spring/summer solo tour, including one Canadian date so far -- at Casino Rama north of Toronto on June 18. Crow also plans to hit the road in July and August, with Canadian dates expected in September.

Stevie Nicks looks toward summer with new solo dates

March 20, 2008 By Tjames Madison
LiveDaily Contributor

Stevie Nicks has lined up an abbreviated schedule of solo dates for late spring and early summer as talk heats up of new developments on the Fleetwood Mac front.

The veteran singer, who mounted a co-headlining tour last year with Chris Isaak, as well as her own solo trek last summer, will play two dates in April and three in June, with the first coming April 18 in Reading, PA. The Grammy-award-winning singer's latest release, "Crystal Visions ... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks," is a collection of songs from her three-decade career as a solo artist and member of Fleetwood Mac. The CD, which hit stores last Spring, features several previously unreleased live tracks and a couple of dance remixes, while the DVD comprises 13 videos with voiceover commentary by Nicks. The DVD also includes never-before-seen home video filmed during the making of Nicks' five-times platinum "Bella Donna" album, according to a press release.

Nicks' most recent solo album is 2001's "Trouble in Shangri-La" and her latest with Fleetwood Mac is 2003's "Say You Will."

Fleetwood Mac made news earlier this month when singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow told an AOL-affiliated music website that she's planning on joining the band sometime next year. It is currently unclear what role Crow will play in the band or when the group and its new collaborator would tour or record together. "We definitely have plans for collaborating in the future and we'll see what happens," Crow reportedly said. Crow essentially would replace Christine McVie, who has retired from touring, in the group.

New Live Lindsey Buckingham Tracks

Check out 3 live tracks from Lindsey's upcoming DVD/CD release on March 25th "Live At The Bass Performance Hall". Second Hand News, Go Your Own Way and Holiday Road are up to stream at his official site: Lindseybuckingham.com

I'm looking forward to this coming out for a couple of reasons. First, it's an official release, and second, there apparently is a 45 minute documentary included with the package on the making of his last cd "Under The Skin". THAT should be interesting to watch.