It’s hard to choose an appropriate term for Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s infamous, passionate yet volatile relationship without diminishing it down to the far too reductionist label of ‘situationship.’ With Buckingham claiming that the pair have been “a musical couple forever,” and Nicks recently admitting to having given Buckingham “more than 300 million chances,” it was somewhat surprising that 19 September welcomed a reissuing of Buckingham Nicks, 52 years after the album’s original release. Recorded prior to any Fleetwood Mac fame, this was Nicks and Buckingham’s first collaborative project, born from what once was a blossoming relationship between two now universally recognised musical icons.
The more I listen to Buckingham Nicks, the more I realise its eerily prophetic nature. From the album’s opener, insisting “She’ll leave you crying in the night” and the closer affirming “I’m always going to be able to reach you,” the bittersweet romance of the album mirrors the ambiguity that would characterise the following 50 years of Nicks and Buckingham’s musical partnership. ‘Stephanie’, for example, is an enchanting, instrumental ode to Nicks (born Stephanie Lynn Nicks), and despite its lack of lyrics, Buckingham’s admiration for his muse is evident from this simple, unassuming guitar-led melody. And then ‘Crystal’ seems like Nicks’s response; a musical reverie exploring the beauty of her overwhelming affection to Buckingham. Yet, as soon as we get to the sixth track, ‘Don’t Let Me Down Again,’ the tension previously made clear on ‘Crying in the Night’ makes its return. And the pairing of such a groovy melody alongside Buckingham’s plea of “baby don’t treat me so bad” reinforces the album’s inherently oxymoronic nature.
A particular mention is also owed to the album’s 7-minute-long closing track, ‘Frozen Love’. Both singers harmonise on this song and alternate verses with lyrics exploring the complexities of their relationship. The track eventually builds to a beautiful crescendo of intensifying, overlapping instrumentation, leaving the album on a melodic high. ‘Frozen Love’ is the song that fascinated Mick Fleetwood and secured both Nicks and Buckingham’s entrance into Fleetwood Mac. And for good reason: it’s the album’s masterpiece. Despite not being the most polished album as a whole, with overall instrumentation sometimes falling short of what the two proved they were capable of on Rumours, Buckingham Nicks is a musical relic that documents the start of one of the tensest creative partnerships in music history.
“Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham” by Bumperke at Dutch Wikipedia is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.