52 Years Later, ‘Buckingham Nicks’ Illustrates How Rock Icons Stevie Nicks And Lindsey Buckingham Found Their Sound
For fans of Fleetwood Mac, the 1973 album Buckingham Nicks has always been an essential part of the story of the band.
As the first album ever recorded by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, who were dating at the time, listeners can hear the origins of the sound that would go on to become the defining trait of the British band they joined in late 1974.
However, Buckingham Nicks hasn’t always been the easiest to find.
In the days of streaming, bootlegs of the album have surfaced online, but it’s never been formally reissued… until now.
On Friday, September 19, Rhino Records released the album anew, remastered and available on streaming platforms for the very first time. It’s also made the album available on CD and vinyl, ensuring physical media collectors will be able to include this storied album on their shelves.
The Mysterious Announcement Of The Reissued Album
On July 17, music fans were looking for answers as Stevie Nicks posted the words, “And if you go forward…”
These words were met by her former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham posting, “I’ll meet you there.”
Together, these phrases completed a lyric to a song they recorded together in 1973, titled “Frozen Love,” which was included on their first album, Buckingham Nicks. The song, at times, sounds like a precursor to Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” which was featured on their 1977 album Rumours.
Stevie and Lindsey both shared a timelapse video of a billboard being put up in Los Angeles featuring the cover art for Buckingham Nicks, which famously features Stevie and Lindsey naked from the chest up.
The date of September 19 was written beside the album art, and the artists announced the reissue of the long sought after album was available to preorder.
Hear the song that started it all, “Frozen Love,” here:
Related: Mysterious Posts Made By Stevie Nicks And Lindsey Buckingham Spark Rumors
About ‘Buckingham Nicks’
Before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the British band Fleetwood Mac, the two American artists were boyfriend and girlfriend.
Speaking on their 1973 album Buckingham Nicks, Stevie said, “[We] knew what we had as a duo, two songwriters that sang really well together. And it was a very natural thing, from the beginning.”
While Buckingham Nicks was not a significant success for them, but the album attracted the attention of Mick Fleetwood, drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac.
At this time, Fleetwood Mac had recorded nine albums already, but when the band’s guitarist, Bob Welch, left the band, Fleetwood was in need of a replacement.
Hearing the song “Frozen Love” on Buckingham Nicks inspired Fleetwood to seek out the talents of Lindsey Buckingham.
“Fleetwood reached out to offer Buckingham [Bob Welch’s] spot,” a press release recalled. “Instead of agreeing, Buckingham insisted that he and Nicks were a package deal. Fleetwood agreed, and on New Year’s Eve 1974, the two officially joined Fleetwood Mac — launching one of the most celebrated chapters in the band’s history.”
52 years later, Buckingham Nicks returns, with Rhino noting that “the album introduced Nicks and Buckingham’s tightly wound harmonies and sharply contrasting songwriting voices across 10 tracks,” including “Crystal,” “Frozen Love,” and “Crying In The Night.”
The reissued album “has been sourced from the original analog master tapes for its long-awaited return to vinyl,” writes Rhino Records in a press release.
Stream the album Buckingham Nicks on Spotify, here; and on Apple Music, here.