BUCKINGHAM NICKS: Buckingham Nicks (Rhino)
Verdict: Glimpses of greatness
THE rumour mill went into overdrive back in July when Stevie Nicks and her estranged Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham posted two cryptic messages on Instagram.
They contained lyrics from a song, Frozen Love, by their early 1970s band, Buckingham Nicks, but that didn’t stop fans from speculating that another reunion of the famously combustible Fleetwood Mac could be on the cards.
Alas, that reunion — which would have been the first since the death of keyboardist Christine McVie in 2022 — has yet to materialise. But the apparent thaw in relations between Nicks and Buckingham suggests it isn’t wholly out of the question, especially as the pair are jointly overseeing today’s re-release of an album they made as a duo in 1973… a reissue that turned out to be the real reason behind those enigmatic posts.
Their tempestuous relationship is the stuff of legend. Having met at high school in California, they became lovers and musical partners in Buckingham Nicks before joining Fleetwood Mac in 1974, rejuvenating the British blues band by adding their Californian harmonies to the mix.
Baring all: Stevie Nicks was unhappy at being photographed topless with partner Lindsey Buckingham for the cover of their first (and only) collaborative album, Buckingham Nicks
They went on to chronicle their crumbling romance on 1977’s classic Rumours, with Buckingham writing Go Your Own Way about Nicks; and Nicks responding by penning Dreams and Silver Springs about him.
Many of the building blocks of Rumours (and the self-titled Fleetwood Mac album that preceded it) are present on this reissue, a much sought-after collector’s item that is now available on vinyl (£30), CD (£11) and streaming services for the first time in decades.
The reissue also features the same LP sleeve as the 1973 original, despite Nicks’s unhappiness with being photographed alongside Buckingham in the nude. The arty black and white picture that resulted is tasteful enough, although Nicks later said she felt ‘like a rat in a trap’ during the shoot with photographer Jimmy Wachtel – whose younger brother, legendary session man Waddy Wachtel, plays guitar on the album.
As for the music, vocalist Stevie and guitarist Lindsey pool their talents superbly, with their contrasting writing styles (hers poetic, his more matter-of-fact) offering a glimpse of what was to come.
‘She’s a tarnished pearl, she’ll take your money, she’ll wreck your world,’ sings Nicks on Crying In The Night, the cautionary tale of a femme fatale that displays the melodic flair that would later make her a superstar.
Crystal, a pastoral ballad written by Stevie and sung by Lindsey, is another indication of the pair’s natural chemistry.
Recognise them? A young Buckingham and Nicks, in a photo taken by Jimmy Wachtel – brother of legendary session guitarist Waddy Wachtel…who played on the 1973 album
On the up: Buckingham and Nicks with the rest of Fleetwood Mac in 1975. They joined forces with the British band at the end of 1974.
Before the bust-up: Nicks and Buckingham performing with Fleetwood Mac in Stockholm in 2013. In 2018 they fell out and he left the band, to be replaced by Neil Finn
It’s not all hippie hearts and flowers. Nicks sings of the challenges of living with Buckingham on Long Distance Winner (‘you burn brightly, in spite of yourself’). The guitarist, foreshadowing the soap opera that lay ahead, gives his side of the story on Don’t Let Me Down Again: ‘Baby, baby, don’t treat me so bad / I’m the best boy that you ever had.’
Not everything stands the test of time. Buckingham’s Lola (My Love) is throwaway, and the album’s two guitar instrumentals are superfluous, despite one, Stephanie, being a love letter from Lindsey to Stevie, who was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks. But, with extra musical muscle coming from drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Wachtel (who would go on to play the memorable ‘16th-note’ guitar riff on Stevie’s Edge Of Seventeen), there’s plenty to admire on an album that made so little impact in the 1970s that it was soon deleted, with the band subsequently being dropped by their record label – and Nicks going back to her old job as a waitress.
It’s heartening that the pair seem to be back on speaking terms. Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac for a second time in 2018 after a fallout with Nicks (he’d previously quit in 1987), but that now appears to be forgotten.
What happens next is anyone’s guess, but this neglected gem is a timely reminder of the opening steps on the road to Rumours.
JOY CROOKES: Juniper (Insanity)
Verdict: Rising star in full bloom
Her career has been a slow-burning one since she was shortlisted for the BRITs Rising Star Award in 2020, so it’s fitting that Joy Crookes has named her second album after a resilient evergreen plant that survives for a long time in testing conditions.
It’s been four years since the 26-year-old South Londoner released her first album, the Mercury-nominated Skin, and lesser artists might have slipped from view in the intervening period.
But Crookes, the daughter of a Bangladeshi mother and Irish dad, is made of sterner stuff, and she pulls off an impressive return on Juniper, which boasts an impeccably-crafted but emotionally-open set of songs.
There are duets with rappers Vince Staples and Kano, three tracks co-written with Athlete’s Joel Pott, and an energetic collaboration with Sam Fender on Somebody To You.
Impressive return: South London’s Joy Crookes took four years to release her ‘difficult’ second album, Juniper. But it was worth the wait, according to Adrian Thrills
‘I get tired of carrying this weight on my mind,’ she tells us on Brave, her poised but bluesy singing augmented by piano and lush strings on a song about a new relationship.
Opting for bittersweet confessionals rather than heavy-hearted laments, she’s again in her element on Mathematics — the duet with fellow Londoner Kano — and candid ballad Forever.
Away from affairs of the heart, she takes a playful swipe at music industry hypocrisy on northern soul stomp I Know You’d Kill, before debunking traditional notions of beauty on the string-drenched Carmen, interpolating Elton John’s Benny And The Jets (with Elton’s blessing) in the process.
It’s been a long four years since her debut, but she’s making up for lost time.
Joy Crookes opens her Juniper tour on November 3 at 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (joycrookes.com).
