Lindsey Buckingham's earliest solo works are getting a box set from Rhino this summer.
True to its name, 20th Century Lindsey will feature remastered versions of the three albums the Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist issued during the 20th century - 1981's Law and Order, 1984's Go Insane and 1992's Out of the Cradle - plus a newly compiled disc of eight rarities. The set showcases Buckingham's restless creative spirit that fueled a good portion of Fleetwood Mac's discography, blossoming into wild and sometimes unexpected territory on his own.
Law and Order continued the New Wave tyro style Buckingham had meticulously cultivated on the Mac's ambitious Tusk in 1979. Having been told in no uncertain terms by his bandmates that their next album would likely be more back to basics, Buckingham sought wide open sonic spaces, playing nearly everything and offering every voice on the album. (Fleetwood did contribute drums to "Trouble," Buckingham's sole Top 10 hit, and Christine McVie lent harmonies to the album cut "Shadow of the West.") After Fleetwood Mac's Mirage in 1983, Buckingham was back in the studio for Go Insane, another mostly self-contained affair (co-produced with Richard Fordyce and executive produced by Roy Thomas Baker, with Buckingham performing and programming nearly everything) that was inspired by everything from the dissolution of his relationship to singer Carol Ann Harris to the passing of Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys.
Buckingham didn't return to solo recording until 1992's Out of the Cradle, and things had changed for him considerably: after driving much of Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night in 1987, Buckingham left the band for nearly a decade. Out of the Cradle was a reunion with co-producer Richard Dashut, who'd worked on nearly every one of Buckingham's projects since 1975's pre-Mac effort Buckingham Nicks. Together, they gravitated toward a less programmed, more acoustic sound on songs like "Countdown," "Wrong" and "Soul Drifter" and even a few choice covers (The Kingston Trio's "All My Sorrows," Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific number "This Nearly Was Mine").
The eight tracks on 20th Century Rarities offer some crucial entries in Buckingham's '80s discography, including immortal soundtrack cuts for National Lampoon's Vacation (the unforgettable theme "Holiday Road") and Back to the Future (the nervy "Time Bomb Town"). There's also a few rare remixes of "Go Insane" and "Slow Dancing" that were predominantly issued in Europe, and a rare reunion with former creative and romantic partner Stevie Nicks - "Twisted," off the soundtrack to the 1996 action disaster flick Twister - that anticipated Buckingham's second tenure in the band, from the 1997 live reunion The Dance until his second departure from the group in 2018. (Lindsey has been quite active since then, releasing another four solo albums in the 21st century - perhaps a hook for a second box set in the future?)
20th Century Lindsey is available on four CDs or LPs on August 16. Pre-order links and the full track breakdown is below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases at the following links.)
20th Century Lindsey (Rhino, 2024)
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. (TBD) / Amazon Canada (TBD)
Disc 1: Law and Order (Asylum 5E-561, 1981)
- Bwana
- Trouble
- Mary Lee Jones
- I'll Tell You Now
- It Was I
- September Song
- Shadow of the West
- That's How We Do It in L.A.
- Johnny Stew
- Love from Here, Love from There
- A Satisfied Mind
Disc 2: Go Insane (Elektra 60363, 1984)
- I Want You
- Go Insane
- Slow Dancing
- I Must Go
- Play in the Rain
- Play in the Rain (Continued)
- Loving Cup
- Bang the Drum
- D.W. Suite
Disc 3: Out of the Cradle (Reprise 26182, 1992)
- Instrumental Introduction to:
- Don't Look Down
- Wrong
- Countdown
- All My Sorrows
- Soul Drifter
- Instrumental Introduction to:
- This is the Time
- You Do or You Don't
- Street of Dreams
- Spoken Introduction to:
- Surrender the Rain
- Doing What I Can
- Turn It On
- This Nearly Was Mine
- Say We'll Meet Again
Disc 4: 20th Century Rarities
- Holiday Road
- Dancing Across the U.S.A.
- Go Insane (Extended Remix)
- Slow Dancing (Extended Version)
- Time Bomb Town
- Soul Drifter (Radio Remix)
- On the Wrong Side
- Twisted - Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks
Tracks 1-2 from National Lampoon's Vacation (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) - Warner Bros. 23909, 1983
Track 3 from Mercury U.K. 12" promo MERX 168, 1984
Track 4 from Mercury European 12" 880 304-1, 1984
Track 5 from Back to the Future (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) - MCA Records 6144, 1985
Track 6 from Reprise promo CD single PRO-CD-5956, 1992
Track 7 from With Honors (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Maverick/Sire/Warner Bros. 45549, 1994
Track 8 from Twister (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Warner Sunset 46254, 1996
BILL says
For people like me, who already own the albums as well as the recent compilation, this is a waste of time. The rarities might be of interest, but not when it is not available separately.
Larry Davis says
This is a great companion piece to the "Solo Anthology"...with the first 2 solo albums finally remastered (the original CDs sounded tinny & horrible and the packaging outdated)...a followup box with the remaining solo albums would be most welcome as well...
Stew says
I've been waiting for something like this. The original CDs of 'Law and Order' and 'Go Insane' sound pretty bad compared to the mastering used on the tracks taken from them on 'Anthology'. I read somewhere those are the masters being used for this set. Disc 4 is icing on the cake. Can't wait.
Gallet says
FWIW, the average DR value for this collection is 12, while the value for the solo anthology is 8.
James Milner says
Just for info, the remastering on this set is by Bernie Grundman and not Stephen Marcussen who did Anthology. Excellent sound as you would expect from one of the kings of mastering.