Long Distance Winners

June 8, 2009 4:36 PM

Before Fleetwood Mac, there was Buckingham Nicks. Their seminal s/t album (1973) has never been released on CD.

"So Keith [Olsen] and I started working together. This was in like ‘68, ‘69 probably. And that’s - from then on that’s when things started happening. That’s where Keith one day came and said, 'I’m bringing this couple down from North California, named Stevie and Lindsey. And I want you to play on their record.' I played on the Buckingham Nicks record. The three of us became very tight, tight friends. We were always together. And then I got my record deal, and they got theirs. And we all got mutually screwed at the same time." - Waddy Watchel

Buckingham Nicks (1973)
mp3s donated by Tom Moncrieff, former bassist for Buckingham Nicks.
1. Crying in the Night (S. Nicks)
2. Stephanie (L. Buckingham)
3. Without a Leg to Stand On (L. Buckingham)
4. Crystal (S. Nicks)
5. Long Distance Winner (S. Nicks)
6. Don't Let Me Down Again (L. Buckingham)
7. Django (J. Lewis)
8. Races Are Run (S. Nicks)
9. Lola My Love (L. Buckingham)
10. Frozen Love (S. Nicks, L. Buckingham)

More music of Buckingham Nicks, including two live sets donated by Gary Hodges, former drummer of the band. (/index)

And for some counterbalance, Fleetwood Mac before Buckingham & Nicks.

posted by ageispolis (33 comments total)

Would it be bad if I bought it only for the album cover?
posted by Joe Beese at 4:37 PM on June 8, 2009

Would it be bad if I bought it only for the album cover?

Nahhh...You can put it right next to your copy of
No Secrets. We'll understand.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:44 PM on June 8, 2009

Well, except that Fleetwood Mac debuted in '67.
posted by klangklangston at 5:01 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Jim Keltner - drums
Jerry Scheff - Bass

Downloadinated.

I don't remember any of these songs except for Long Distance Winner, which actually used to get radio airplay -- probably on KLOL in Houston -- I moved a lot in those days, so I'm not sure.

It seems like they had another song on the radio back then that's not on this album, or maybe I'm crazy. I can hear a 10-second snippet of it in my head, but that's about it. All I can recall about it is that it contained the word "California" in the chorus, and was a bit more rocked up than anything on this album. Am I making this up or something?
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:05 PM on June 8, 2009

funny, I've had a CD of this for years. home burned by a friend. I just assumed he had the CD.

I listen to it occasionally ... and certainly don't hate it, but in my humble opinion, the Buckingham-Nicks genius doesn't really shine through until their first album with Fleetwood Mac (the one called "Fleetwood Mac").

And, of course, the cover is nice.
posted by philip-random at 5:12 PM on June 8, 2009

Huh. I went to snoop around the iTunes store, & they seem to have pulled a bunch of Fleetwood Mac off the store. I bought Bare rees a few years ago, & it's gone. I also bought Hypnotized from Mystery to Me, & it's gone, too. Most of their early catalog, in fact -- blotto. Did the label ditch ITMS when they went to un-protected AAC files or something?
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:22 PM on June 8, 2009

No doubt that this pales in comparison to their subsequent LPs with Fleetwood Mac, but this is a pretty strong record in its own right, and it's clear in listening to it what a huge portion of the classic Fleetwood Mac sound was due to Lindsey and Stevie. They both had such an amazing ear for melody and pop song structure.

"Crystal" made it onto their debut with Fleetwood Mac, and there are couple of Lindsey gems on here ('Don't Let Me Down Again' being chief amongst them).

philip-random, AFAIK, all the mp3 copies floating around on the net are vinyl rips, some of pretty good quality too!
posted by pziemba at 5:24 PM on June 8, 2009

Oh, sweet. Thank you.
posted by Muirwylde at 5:25 PM on June 8, 2009

I've never heard this, but Keith Olsen had earlier involvement with the Curt Boettcher-led band, the Millennium, who were great and remain largely unknown. But one of the interesting things about the band is that their 1968 album Begin features songs like "To Claudia On Thursday," which sound strikingly like something off Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. Check it out and you will hear how ahead of its time it was.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 5:26 PM on June 8, 2009

Used to be one of my favorite ablbums at the time, still in my vinyl collection. Thankee Kindly.......
posted by Pressed Rat at 5:29 PM on June 8, 2009

Thanks, I'd never heard this.
Wow, "Stephanie" is totally "Never Going Back Again" from Rumors.
For the most part I like Lindsey Buckingham's acoustic-y layered stuff but I've always thought that when he gets all FM Rock Star on the electric tracks it sounds really dated.
posted by chococat at 5:34 PM on June 8, 2009

So weird. Just last night I was thinking of dragging this album out of storage and digitizing it, but remembering that it was so played and probably very scratchy. Always liked this one better than the more homogenized production of the Fleetwood Mac albums.

Thanks so much for this link! Lots of memories.
posted by gallois at 5:35 PM on June 8, 2009

Devils Rancher, I just did the same thing, This post reminded me - I have this mixtape thing going in my head that required "Oh Well" to flesh it out. I thought I had it, but no. And not in i-tunes nor a copy in the extensive collection at my local library.

HMMMM.
posted by readery at 5:36 PM on June 8, 2009

What I would like to hear is any recording of the Dolly Parton covers they once did around LA with Waddy Wachtel, who hung out with them all the time during their salad days. He's on "Buckingham Nicks."
posted by raysmj at 5:49 PM on June 8, 2009

Great album and an excellent example of both artists and fans getting screwed by the current state of music distribution. I will definitely be downloading some songs tonight.
posted by TedW at 5:57 PM on June 8, 2009

Following on from the great self-titled album, some Buckingham Nicks rarities in the form of Leftovers 1970 - 1974 including three live tracks from Tuscaloosa Alabama.
posted by Sailormom at 5:57 PM on June 8, 2009

I'd like to put in a plug for Lindsey Buckingham's 2006 solo album, Under the Skin. It is submlime. I saw him in 2006 at Bass Hall in Ft Worth. Dude's got range like a mofo. And in case anybody doubts Buckingham's guitar prowess, have a look at this. There is a torrent of some demos from the late 90s and early 2000s call Gift of Screws (not to be confused with the studio release from last year). Has some interesting Rolling Stones covers on it. Apparently he and Stevie are/were big fans.
posted by punkfloyd at 6:17 PM on June 8, 2009

Tthe pic on the ~In the Pines~ site that sailormom linked to is an outtake of the photo used on the Buckingham Nicks album cover and in imho a better picture. Ahem. Especially of Stevie Nicks.
posted by Muirwylde at 6:18 PM on June 8, 2009

"Don't Let Me Down Again" was in Fleetwood Mac's concert repertoire in the seventies and was recorded on the (pretty bad) live album.

And yeah, just about any Lindsey Buckingham is worth a listen. Stevie Nicks...well, not so flawless a track record, but she's recorded about twice as much solo, so it balances out.
posted by Epenthesis at 6:44 PM on June 8, 2009

I have had this on CD for years, too. Also thought it was burned from a friend's copy of the original.

Devil's Rancher, you might be thinking of the song "Gold" which is a Stevie duet with John Stewart. The first lines are something like, "When the lights go down on this California town..." and then I don't remember. It came out sometime in the seventies.
posted by Bueller at 7:03 PM on June 8, 2009

you might be thinking of the song "Gold" which is a Stevie duet with John Stewart. The first lines are something like, "When the lights go down on this California town..." and then I don't remember. It came out sometime in the seventies.

That's it -- I'd always thought it was a Buckingham Nicks song pre-FM. Thanks!
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:09 PM on June 8, 2009

Stevie Nicks - What the hell is she saying?
"Contains all her greatest hits like Nmnmrh, Nm Nm and the incomparable Ngrrrh!"
posted by 445supermag at 8:20 PM on June 8, 2009

The '69 version of Fleetwood Mac, with their best ever single.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:33 PM on June 8, 2009

This is fantastic timing A friend and I were just talking about this album yesterday, and how it's not available on CD. She still has her vinyl copy.
posted by notashroom at 8:54 PM on June 8, 2009

Great album and an excellent example of both artists and fans getting screwed by the current state of music distribution.

Well, no.

Lindsay Buckingham actually controls the rights to this recording (perhaps in tandem with Stevie Nicks, but he's the one who has actually discussed this) and it's him (or them) who have not allowed the reissue of this album, not "the current state of music distribution," whatever that means.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 9:20 PM on June 8, 2009

I listened to this the other day, still like it, still no idea why Lindsey keeps it from being re-issued.

Of course it's no Somebody's Gonna Get (Their Head Kicked In Tonite) (link to more famous cover) which finally saw light of day on CD as an extra track...
posted by inthe80s at 9:21 PM on June 8, 2009

At least one of the songs -- Crystal -- was re-recorded by Fleetwood Mac. Any of the others re-recorded as well?!
posted by markkraft at 10:22 PM on June 8, 2009

@445supermag Thanks! I remember that from the radio from 1990/1991 and I've been telling people about it since then. Amazing to hear it again!
posted by stevil at 10:23 PM on June 8, 2009

This is fantastic - thanks!
posted by lunit at 5:38 AM on June 9, 2009

You can hear it here too - although you cannot download it. [Only seems to play on Windows media]. But you can hear it straight through.
posted by Rashomon at 2:01 PM on June 9, 2009

Basically, when these two joined Fleetwood Mac it became Buckingham Nicks, for all intents and purposes. It lost most of the Mick Fleetwood/John & Christine McVie flava and Peter Green was long gone. I prefer the pre-BN sound, myself, although I cannot deny the craft of their pop stylings.
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:04 PM on June 9, 2009

I don't understand.
Have this on cassette tape, but the mechanism always squeaked. So I hunted it up on eBay, and sure enough found one from europe. Sounds just like the tape (minus the squeak), with the correct cover art, including the poor engineering on one track. Looked authentic. Anyone else see that? Was I a sucker for a pirate?
posted by ghen at 6:57 PM on June 9, 2009

Oh yeah. Django was for years played on NPR segments as an outro.
posted by ghen at 6:58 PM on June 9, 2009