Lindsey Buckingham - “Under the Skin”
On the opening track of his new album Lindsey Buckingham sings about reading a review in a newspaper - “said I was a visionary but nobody knew/and that’s been a problem/feeling unseen.” The man has a point. When I told my brother Tony, I was going to review this album his response was “Lindsey who?” and he’s not exactly a musical philistine, just not a Fleetwood Mac fan.
Buckingham is Mac’s best kept secret and that’s not just a crime it’s a sin. While Peter Green is an instantly recognisable name (I’m sure Tony would have known him) the man who replaced him in the band and who’s probably had an even bigger influence on their sound and certainly their success is virtually unknown outside the bands fanbase.
One of the reasons for this of course is the fact that he’s not exactly prolific. This collection of 11 songs is his first solo release since Out of the Cradle in 1992. That makes this something of an event, at least for fans. Being one of them, my expectations were high but my initial feeling was one of disappointment. Stripped down to just acoustic guitar and vocals but with his usual over the top production style it just didn’t seem to gel. The hooks didn’t hook, where were the catchy tunes of old?
