Buckingham Nicks (CD)

Buckingham Nicks, the only studio album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks as a duo, will be reissued for the first time on September 19. Originally released in 1973 and unavailable for decades, the album has been sourced from the original analog master tapes for its long-awaited return to vinyl, as well as hi-res digital files for its CD and digital release.

Released on September 5, 1973, Buckingham Nicks quickly faded from commercial view but never disappeared from the cultural conversation. Recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Keith Olsen, the album introduced Nicks and Buckingham’s tig­htly wound harmonies and sharply contrasting songwriting voices across 10 tracks—ranging from the folk-rock shimmer of “Crystal” to the sunbaked strut of “Don’t Let Me Down Again.”

Its legend only grew with time. In late 1974, Mick Fleetwood visited Sound City while scouting studios to record Fleetwood Mac’s next album. To showcase both his production work and the studio’s sound, Olsen blasted “Frozen Love” for Fleetwood in Studio A. The song reflected the full scope of the album’s ambition and chemistry—and immediately caught the drummer’s atten­tion.

Soon after, when Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch left the band, Fleetwood reached out to offer Buckingham the spot. 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.

Though their work with Fleetwood Mac would eclipse it commercially, Buckingham Nicks endures as a testament to what came just before: a partnership in full creative bloom. “\[We\] knew what we had as a duo, two songwriters that sang really well together. And it was a very natural thing, from the beginning,” Nicks recalls in the Rhino High Fidelity liner notes, written by longtime music journalist David Fricke.

They may have been inexperienced when they made the album, Buckingham says, “but it stands up in a way you hope it would, by these two kids who were pretty young to be doing that work.”

Track List:

1. Crying In The Night (SN)
2. Stephanie (LB)
3. Without A Leg To Stand On (LB)
4. Crystal (SN)
5. Long Distance Winner (SN)
6. Don’t Let Me Down Again (LB)
7. Django (John Lewis)
8. Races Are Run (SN)
9. Lola My Love (LB)
10. Frozen Love (SN/LB)