Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie (also referred to as simply Buckingham McVie) is a studio album by Fleetwood Mac vocalists Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, released on June 9, 2017.[1][6] Four of the five "classic members" of Fleetwood Mac are featured on the album; vocalist Stevie Nicks is the sole member absent.[7] The album sold over 22,000 units in the United States in its first week and debuted within the top 20. It proved to be even more successful in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at No. 5. In November 2017, the album was also certified silver with sales exceeding 60,000 units.
Background
A few months after McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014, she and Buckingham met at Studio D at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles, where the band recorded the Tusk album in 1979. Fleetwood Mac's rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie played drums and bass for the sessions.[8] Originally, the intention was not to record a full album, but rather to develop some of McVie's demos.[9] After two months, they had recorded eight songs, including "Carnival Begin", "Too Far Gone" and "Red Sun".[10] Some of Buckingham's material originated from recording sessions involving himself, Fleetwood, and John McVie prior to Christine McVie's return to Fleetwood Mac.[11] Recording was put on hold when Fleetwood Mac began preparations for their On with the Show tour.[12] Over a year after the completion of the concert tour, the two decided revisit the songs from the initial recording sessions.[9]
During the album's early stages, McVie sent Buckingham raw demos to work on remotely. McVie also helped Buckingham develop his own compositions. "She would write lyrics and maybe paraphrase the melody — and come up with something far better than what I would have done if I'd taken it down the road myself."[13] Two of those songs, "Red Sun" and "Too Far Gone", started off in this fashion.[14] The lyrics to "Red Sun" were inspired by a trip McVie took to Africa, during which she wrote the words "When the red sun kisses the sea" on a beach. McVie then combined these lyrics with a chord progression and melody that Buckingham created.[9]
In 2015, Mick Fleetwood was still hopeful that Stevie Nicks would contribute songs for the project, stating that "My inclination is, the music will not be wasted. It will come out one way or another. I truly hope and I quietly believe it will be Fleetwood Mac, and Stevie will do some lovely stuff, and within the next couple of years we will get that done."[15] However, Nicks revealed in 2016 that she was still undecided about recording another Fleetwood Mac album.[16] McVie and Buckingham ultimately decided to proceed as a duo without Nicks.[17] Work on the album resumed at the end of 2016, more than two years after the initial recording sessions.[18]
"Sleeping Around the Corner", the album's opening track, was previously included as a bonus track on the US digital edition of Buckingham's 2011 solo album, Seeds We Sow.[19] McVie took an immediate liking to the track, prompting Buckingham to finish the song.[4] Unlike other songs on the album, "Sleeping Around the Corner" did not feature Fleetwood or John McVie on drums and bass; Buckingham handled those instruments instead.[20] Another song, "Love Is Here to Stay", emerged from Buckingham's home studio; its lyrical themes addressed developments in Buckingham's personal life. "What had changed was I had got married and had kids and had a whole new set of things to write about. [This song] gets back to a single guitar doing the work of a whole track."[21] McVie wrote "Game of Pretend" about a therapist who helped her overcome a fear of flying. "Carnival Begin" was also an autobiographical song that related to McVie rejoining Fleetwood Mac.[22]
Release
On March 24, 2017, McVie announced that the album would see a worldwide launch on June 9, 2017, and would be available for purchase on "iTunes and vinyl – it will be available everywhere".[6] The complete track list was released on April 11, 2017, with Buckingham releasing this joint statement: "We were exploring a creative process, and the identity of the project took on a life organically. The body of work felt like it was meant to be a duet album. We acknowledged that to each other on many occasions, and said to ourselves, 'What took us so long?!'"[1] "In My World" was also released as a single on April 14 through streaming and digital services.[1] While the single failed to make the UK Top 100, it did reach number 86 on the sales chart.[23]
"Feel About You" was released on April 27 as a promotional single. Co-written by both Buckingham and McVie, Rolling Stone described the track as "bubbly pop-rock" in nature with a "jangly, infectious chorus".[3] Buckingham confessed that "Feel About You" was primarily McVie's composition, but he altered it enough to warrant a co-writing credit.[24]
Buckingham and McVie released a mini behind-the scenes documentary in May discussing the development of various tracks, including "On With the Show" and "Carnival Begin". McVie reflected on her experience in the studio coming out of her sabbatical from the music industry:
"For me, this is all a fresh beginning... I've rediscovered my love for writing and my love for music. It seemed to have evolved quite organically because I've been sending Lindsey some rough demos, and he's refined them and shaped them into some of our best material ever."[25]
Live performances
Buckingham and McVie performing in 2017
On April 11, 2017, a 14-date North American tour was announced.[1] Eight of the album's ten tracks were played live, with the rest of the set list consisting of Fleetwood Mac songs and Buckingham solo cuts.[26] Their performance in Woodinville, Washington took place just three days after Fleetwood Mac's joint performance with Earth, Wind & Fire and Journey at Classic West.[27]The Wallflowers opened for the band on select nights.[28] In June, the band appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform the album's first single, "In My World".[29]
Some extra North American shows were later added in August, including one in Los Angeles and another in New York City.[30] Another North American leg began in October, which saw the addition of 22 more shows.[31]
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a score of 72, based on 20 reviews.[32] Thom Jurek of AllMusic singled out the first three songs as "absolute knockouts". He labelled "Red Sun", "Love Is Here to Stay", and "Carnival Begin" as the other standouts.[33]The Guardian praised Buckingham's guitar work on "Love is Here to Stay" and "Carnival Begin" and said that "McVie’s undimmed gift for melody illuminates every song."[34]Rolling Stone wrote that the album was "another memorable chapter in rock's longest-running soap opera, with both Lindsey and Christine thriving on the dysfunctional vibes."[37]
PopMatters believed that Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie should be perceived as a duet album rather than a duets album, adding that McVie was largely inaudible on Buckingham's compositions.[36]Paste thought that the album was not "nearly as caustic or wistful as the band's '70s material", but said that "the songcraft is still there all these years later".[35]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 17 on Billboard 200 with 23,000 equivalent album units, 22,000 of which were in traditional album sales. The chart ranking is higher than either of the two artists' solo projects.[7] UK sales exceeded 19,000 units, which was enough to vault the album to the No. 5 spot.[38] It debuted at No. 3 in the Sales Chart.[39]
Track listing
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Length
1.
"Sleeping Around the Corner" (lead vocals: Buckingham)
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