This week's RTÉ Radio 1 Album of the Week is the eponymous debut album from Fleetwood Mac stalwarts Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie.
What we say: While the on-off Mac reunion is on hiatus, key songwriting talents Buckingham and McVie release their first album as a duo, and guess what? It sounds pretty much like a Fleetwood Mac album. And a pretty decent one at that. Christine's ex John and Mick Fleetwood make cameo appearances, leaving this one Stevie Nicks short of a full-blown Mac Attack. McVie, who recently rejoined the music game after a 16-year hiatus in the English countryside, has always been the quiet hero of the band - hence everything they've release since she left being rather rubbish. Here, she's given a chance to shine - her knack for a transcendent melody remains fully intact. It's a bit strange in parts - Buckingham likes to push the sonic envelope - but dig deep and there's enough mellow gold here to soundtrack your summer.
What she says: "I had sent Lindsey a couple of demos of songs that I’d written and he did his Lindsey thing in his studio, made sense of them, and played them to me. I loved them. He said, "Why don’t we go into a proper studio and cut them?" That was the chrysalis of – the birth of – this album. Little did I think I’d end up doing a Lindsey/Chris album, but here we are."
What the critics say:
'When McVie jumped back in the game for the Mac's last tour, the songbird regained her hunger to write. And Buckingham remains one of the all-time great rock & roll crackpots, from his obsessively precise guitar to his seething vocals. They bring out something impressively nasty in each other, trading off songs in the mode of 1982's Mirage – California sunshine on the surface, but with a heart of darkness.' (Rolling Stone)
'This dichotomy between the album’s two bandleaders makes the album an authentically interesting listen instead of a throwaway reunion effort. Though most of the musical gestures recall snippets of old Fleetwood Mac staples, this record still takes place in its own odd musical universe, where synths, guitars, and tones seemingly produced by broken toys or found kitchen items become indistinguishable.' (Spin)
'Nicks’ airy-fairy-gypsy shtick is missing, but if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. This is a Fleetwood Mac album in all but name. A bit of Tusk grit would have been welcome, but this is bright and shiny adult pop from start to finish. If they had released this in 1989, it would have been absolutely massive.' (Hot Press)
Listen to Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie below, via Spotify:
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