Record of the Month / Record of the Month - Classic

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!   

Buckingham Nicks gets the first (and only?) combined Record of the Month and Record of the Month - Classic post. 

The disk, originally issued in 1973, went quickly out of print once their record company dropped them a few months after the album was released. It did get a lingering copy after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks started getting famous in Fleetwood Mac in 1976. 

That is when I snagged my copy of this disk. Since then, it's been bootlegs or poorly transferred .mp4 files on line somewhere.

At some point, the rights reverted back to the artists, each of them owning 50%, neither of them able to rerelease it without the other's permission. ....and Buckingham and Nicks aren't what anyone would call friendly to each other. 

But $$$ rules everything - and a month ago, they jointly (but separately) announced the remastered rerelease of the disk - in vinyl, CD and download. 

Hard to believe, but I still have that album from almost 50 years ago. 

I'm sure hardcore fans will trip all over themselves praising this disk, but honestly, it is just ok. Maybe better than ok, but save maybe one song, it's not a classic. I think I romanticized the idea that it was a great disk way back when. 

Nicks shows potential here, but she's in her early 20s and it sounds like it in her writing. Granted, life experience (or lack of) plays a part in the light versions of her songs. It's not a fault, it's just reality. The tunes are pleasant, but not hard hitting. 

Buckingham, who is even younger than Nicks, overall fares better. More in his playing than his songwriting or singing. 

While their inexperience somewhat shows, they always seemed to have a talent for effortless harmony. Buckingham's guitar work is pretty brilliant for someone in their early 20s. 

I'll note especially their one songwriting collaboration here (and the song that caught the attention of Fleetwood Mac), "Frozen Love".  It's a little over seven minutes long and while the song is pleasant, stick around for the extended guitar work, both acoustic and electric. It is impressive. 

A somewhat flat Buckingham tune "Lola (My Love)" would resurface in a few bars four years later in "the Chain".  Nicks' "Crystal" would be repurposed on the first Fleetwood Mack disk on which they appeared. 

"Don't Let Me Down Again" was used for the first few Fleetwood Mac tours to flesh out enough material for the newer version of the band, and it's decent here, but pretty good live. 

Obvi, the audio is remastered from 50 year old tapes, so the quality is better than what I have on my LP. 

I don't really need to purchase the digital copy here. While it is very reasonably priced, it just doesn't hold the same sentiment I once had for it.