DVD Review: Buckingham Earns Respect
By Scott Smith
Times Record
"The women ruined Fleetwood Mac.”
That ongoing, mean-spirited joke that claims Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie sabotaged the artistic integrity of one of rock’s most-loved groups is frustrating and puzzling. Those who pass that tired joke along are commenting on the skyscraper-level success Fleetwood Mac enjoyed immediately after Nicks and guitarist-singer Lindsey Buckingham joined the group.
But those armchair critics, while leaning on that anti-Nicks sentiment, really are missing the point entirely. Yes, Fleetwood Mac originated as an all-male blues band in the late 1960s before becoming co-ed chart-toppers in the mid- and late-1970s, but the Buckingham-Nicks version was — and still is — just as daring and critical as almost any punk-rock band.
A quick spin of Fleetwood Mac’s beautifully flawed LP “Tusk” — the LP is jagged, nervy and completely different than its safer, bazillion-selling predecessor, “Rumours” — reveals Buckingham to be as much as a lone-wolf, do-it-yourself artist as Johnny Rotten, the late Joe Strummer or any leather-jacketed Ramone.
The same can be said of Buckingham’s new DVD, “Songs from the Small Machine — Live in L.A.,” which gives sharp focus to Buckingham’s immaculate guitar playing. Filmed on the front end of his recent “Seeds We Sow Tour,” the DVD presents some of the most unique — and wildly inspired — finger-picking from any guitar player.
Buckingham’s six-string tapestries are jaw-dropping on his trademark, one-man version of “Big Love,” and his fingers and right thumb also succeed in aweing fans on more recent work like “Seeds We Sow,” “Under the Skin,” “Shut Us Down,” “In Our Own Time,” “Stars Are Crazy” and “End of Time.”
The Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer also breathes new venom into Fleetwood Mac’s “Second Hand News,” a still-impressive track that contains a galloping rhythm and the best lyrics ever about romantic adventures found in tall-grass fields.
Format: DVD/CD combo
Studio: Eagle Vision
Rated: Not rated
Running Time: 142 minutes
Grade: A
Other formats: Blu-ray and stand-alone DVD
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