In 1973 there was a young couple that resided in Los Angeles that were from the remnants of a band called Fritz – who previously became popular because they opened for the likes of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, among others in the San Francisco Bay area. Though their band Fritz disbanded, band members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks secured a record deal with Polydor records.
Though the album flopped and was dropped from Polydor, it served as a springboard for both members musical careers. One day producer Keith Olson was playing Long Distance Winner to Mick Fleetwood, drummer for the popular British then-blues band Fleetwood Mac, who had endured a staggering 9 lineup changes prior to the inclusion of Buckingham Nicks. Originally Mick wanted only Buckingham. However, according to Behind the Music Remastered, Buckingham insisted on his then-girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, come as part of a “package deal.”
Buckingham Nicks’ self-titled debut album is like a beautiful diamond in the rough or even a fine wine: it gets better with age and experience. Nicks voice sounds raw as does Buckingham’s fast guitar picking on Don’t Let Me Down Again which, at one point Nicks seems to slightly scream “Baby baby don’t treat me this way.” One of the more hauntingly beautiful tracks is Races Are Run, which singer Stevie Nicks voice shines. The song itself though, in retrospect kinda foreshadows what would happen to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, who famously were one of many of the band members in the throes of a bad breakup during the recording of Fleetwood Mac’s enormously popular Rumours album in 1977. Though they have had their moments, the two are still friends to this day.
However, one of the coolest things about this album is that if it was released today, it would quite possibly be a hit in the indie world. In a perfect world this album would’ve been a hit, they would have gotten married and made more albums like this. But as time went on to successful careers: Stevie as a member of Fleetwood Mac as well as a massively popular solo career and Lindsey Buckingham as an influential guitar player.
A+
