… but that is not what this blog post is about.

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An album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks was released on vinyl in 1973. It was called, simply, Buckingham Nicks. Shortly afterwards, Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, and their debut offering was eclipsed by their new band.

“It’s hard to listen to Buckingham Nicks’ 1973 debut album without trying to imagine it as a prequel to Fleetwood Mac’s legend. It’s hard to listen to this album period, as it’s out-of-print and not available on any streaming services. Yet it’s that youthful ambition and overindulgence that make it fascinating. The best reason to cover anyone is that little part of you that thinks you might do it better. This album epitomizes excess and confidence, and it only made sense to embody that spirit ourselves. The confidence, that is, to mess with an iconic, if underrated gem.”

Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham

That Buckingham/Nicks album isn’t in the Crotchety digital-only collection. In fact, I have never heard it. But its re-imagining by Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham is now available in both digital and vinyl formats, and it’s wholeheartedly recommended here.

The album’s opening gambit is Crying In The Night, a pop song straight out of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac songbook. It’s a pleasant, radio-friendly track reflecting the apprehension of a teenage boy dipping a toe in the water of the dating game, uncertain of his own vulnerabilities. Nothing unexpected there. But this is followed by Stephanie, an instrumental featuring Andrew Bird’s classical violin duetting with Madison Cunningham’s dulcet voice over an acoustic guitar recital. This is probably not the way Buckingham and Nicks did it. And yet, to the Crotchety ear, it is the sweetest and most sophisticated track on the album.

Things start to get a little twee after that, but there are some glittering nuggets, too. Madison Cunningham’s voice on Crystal begs to be described as ‘crystalline’ – clear, smooth and sparkling. There are some scintillating harmonies, too. The production is appropriately sparse, little more than guitar, violin and vocals, although a warm bass and light percussion fill out the closing track, Frozen Love. It’s a satisfying ending.

The Crotchety Listening Panel can’t say whether Bird and Cunningham have improved on Buckingham and Nicks, but there’s no doubt that they have produced a perfectly valid work of art.

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If a parrot is a cunning bird, would a flying pig be a cunning ham? Probably not. And, anyway, we’re not likely to find out. Flying pigs are even rarer than Buckingham Nicks records.