One of the great regrets of my wayward years as a young music critic is giving away my promotional copy of the Buckingham Nicks album, the 1973 debut effort from the duo who went on to make superstars out of Fleetwood Mac. At the time, though, who could blame me? It tanked commercially, I didn't love it enough to even review it and I was running out of space on the concrete-block shelves in my third-floor garret apartment. It didn't take long, though, for it to become a cult item, a collectible, which only added to my dismay.
How come I missed it? Well, it was buried under an avalanche of great music that year -- Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions," Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy," the Allman Brothers' "Brothers and Sisters" and Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," along with David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane," Steely Dan's "Countdown to Ecstasy" and Billy Joel's "Piano Man," just to mention a few. Nevertheless, a seven-minute track called "Frozen Love" caught the ear of Mick Fleetwood and he invited them into what up until then was a low-profile band.
Inflating the cult status of the Buckingham Nicks album over the years was the fact that it had never been re-released on CD. That blessed event finally happened a couple months ago, thanks to Rhino Records and the resolution of disputes over who owned what on the original recording. Like someone hoping to run into an old flame at a high school reunion, I couldn't wait to find out what I've been missing. Was this truly a lost treasure?
The answer is not in the early tracks -- a couple charming but off-the-mark pop tunes (Nicks' "Crying in the Night" and Buckingham's "Without a Leg to Stand On") and some splashy Buckingham guitar in the instrumental "Stephanie." Then along comes a familiar downward chord progression and an irresistible melody. "Crystal" is more than a song. It's an incantation. It's a tidal wave of love, the water imagery rising up from somewhere deep beyond comprehension. The reason it sounds so familiar is that it also appeared on that first album they did with Fleetwood Mac, the self-titled one, and it invites you to immerse yourself in its clearwater fountains again and again and again.
I wasn't much of a fan of Fleetwood Mac either back then. When they came to the Century Theater in June 1975, right before the release of that breakthrough album, freelancer Jim Bisco was the one who reviewed them for The Buffalo Evening News, noting: "Two newer members are sexy Stevie Nicks, who handles some vocals and sways her hips to the music the rest of the time, and Lindsey Buckingham, who attracted the most attention with some dazzling feats on lead guitar."
When they returned to the Century in October, just as that new album was breaking into the Billboard Top 10, I was there. This time the place sold out fast. Even though they took the stage 50 minutes behind schedule, "they're so potent it no longer matters how late it is," I wrote. "New guitarist Lindsey Buckingham is one reason. The other is new vocalist Stevie Nicks. She's blonde like (Christine) McVie, with black veils for sleeves and a top hat. ... She buzzes and strains with intensity. 'It's about a witch,' she blurts as the dark chords rise for a chilling masterpiece called 'Rhiannon.' It zaps the full-house crowd, suddenly and unexpectedly. Even Fleetwood Mac is surprised."
