Lindsey Buckingham

stufisher · September 2022

I started a thread a few days ago about Andy Summers and it led me to a whole new world of appreciation.

Well, I've just stumbled upon this:

and it has completely done in my brain. I always thought this was a straightforward thing to play and never give it a thought when I hear it on the radio ... but now I want to be able to play this.

Is Paul David's exaggerating? Is Lindsey Buckingham just a genius? Are there other Fleetwood Mac tracks with such intricacies?

Does anyone play this? What tips have you got for learning it because I surely ain't no high quality finger-pickin acoustic player.

All comments muchly appreciated.

Ta.

LPManic · September 2022

Without clicking the video I guess this is Never Going Back Again?

The trick for me was after memorising the fingering to not to think about it and let my thumb and fingers fall into the rhythm of the song. Keep repeating a certain section until you lock into the rhythm, rather than thinking "right, thumb A string, index finger, middle finger, thumb D string" etc etc. You will get it wrong a million times but then suddenly the different parts will come together and you'll stop thinking it and start playing it.

LPManic · September 2022

And just to add, some of the Beatles songs on the White Album are good basic but challenging fingerpicking songs to learn as well. Dear Prudence and Julia and there might be others I can't remember.

Tannin · September 2022

Yes, Lindsay Buckingham is just a genius. It is quite difficult to play some of his stuff rather badly. It is really effing hard to play it properly. And - as Paul points out in the video, then the bastard goes and bloody sings at the same time!

sjo89 · September 2022

The Likes of Buckingham, McCartney, Knopfler etc. are all pretty much self taught players who learned in relative isolation of "conventional" technique, meaning that each of theirs is very idiosyncratic and unique. What feels completely natural and automatic to them feels very alien to the rest of us. Take the Money for Nothing riff for example; virtually impossible to exactly replicate what Mark did there. Or Blackbird (which most people play wrong btw) with Paul's weird flicky index finger technique.

Buckingham, from a technique standpoint, is relatively conventional in that it's all based in travis picking i.e. the thumb pounding away on the 1/8th note pulse constantly and the fingers filling in the gaps. What makes him tricky is his constant and subtle variation of the rhythm from one phrase to the next and his syncopated stabs he likes to throw in. Take the chorus of his acoustic version of Big Love as an example.

Oh, and the fact he does it all whilst singing incredibly over the top

Sambostar · September 2022

So we do this cool sliding thing that sounds a bit like Jackass intro tune

Townes Van Zandt Pancho and Da Lefty is another good one to learn the technique and easier.

CaseOfAce · September 2022

sjo89 said:

Buckingham, from a technique standpoint, is relatively conventional in that it's all based in travis picking i.e. the thumb pounding away on the 1/8th note pulse constantly and the fingers filling in the gaps.

This bears repeating - anyone coming to Buckingham using Travis picking will discover Buckingham pounds away using thumb on the 1&2& etc.... WHILST using fingers - not just the usual alternating thumb on each beat (1, 2, 3, 4 ) of the bar. Particularly evident on his Big Love solo acoustic thing he does live.

He's a complete force of nature. One of those players I just sit back and listen to without intending to appropriate.
Interesting rig as well.. Turner Model electrics, 2 Boss pedals - a delay and an overdrive, Mesa Recto for his electric, trace elliot amp for his acoustic and his nylon stuff is direct to house?
All that and lead, harmony vocals, production skills and songwriting. Yowsah!

Chris.B · September 2022

All that skill and creativity but he was still sacked from Fleetwood Mac. I wonder if we will ever know the true reason.

stickyfiddle · September 2022

Chris.B said:

All that skill and creativity but he was still sacked from Fleetwood Mac. I wonder if we will ever know the true reason.

I’m pretty certain he’s a colossal controlling bellend. But also a genius. They’ll have him back for one more tour I reckon.

Chris.B · September 2022

stickyfiddle said:

I’m pretty certain he’s a colossal controlling bellend. But also a genius. They’ll have him back for one more tour I reckon.

You may well be right, I've seen a couple of documentaries about the band and there are some interesting personalities involved. Few bands have such a fascinating history from the Peter Green days through to the present day.

guitarjack66 · September 2022

stickyfiddle said:

Chris.B said:

All that skill and creativity but he was still sacked from Fleetwood Mac. I wonder if we will ever know the true reason.

I’m pretty certain he’s a colossal controlling bellend. But also a genius. They’ll have him back for one more tour I reckon.

Probably true of most successful bands though,I imagine. I'm sure musicians dont al, tend to hear things in the same way and can get very precious if others arent on their wavelength.

Pickie · September 2022

Love the timeliness of this thread: it'll be my first time seeing him play live next week in London and I'm so stoked!

Lindsey Buckingham is pretty much the reason I got back into guitar playing. Big Love and Never Going Back Again were the first new songs I learnt after years of atrophy, because I had the same reaction as OP in that I find nothing more curiosity-spiking / motivating than people saying a song is at best "difficult" and at worst "impossible."

Blueingreen · September 2022

Chris.B said:

All that skill and creativity but he was still sacked from Fleetwood Mac. I wonder if we will ever know the true reason.

Like a lot of cases of egos in band politics, he couldn't accept where the power actually was.

Once a band gets that big and all leading separate lives, a major tour will start with negotiations, often involving lawyers. The harsh reality for other FM members is that, whatever each individual contibuted or thinks they contributed, Stevie Nicks is by far the one the public is most interested in seeing. People are not buying FM tickets to hear Dreams sung by a session singer. FM without Lindsey Buckingam is a far bigger draw than FM without Stevie.

Lindsey regarded himself as the most important member of the band and thought his voice should carry more weight than it did. Stevie disagreed. Obviously they have history and some of it was no doubt personal. Lindsey bluffed on the basis that he didn't think the band would tour without him. Everybody else knew what side their bread was buttered and sided with Stevie.

roberty · September 2022

Just had a go at that, it's quite fun. I might try and get it up to speed

That Travis thumb pattern should be automatic after a while, the syncopation on the high strings is tricky but not beyond reach

soma1975 · September 2022

I think Lindsey is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. Probably top 5 or at least top 10 for me.

But he's not as good a guitarist as Stevie Nicks is a singer and frontperson and the public (and band) agree.

Nobody cares about what he comes up with now. They just want the hits and those parts have already been written and can be copied. NOBODY sounds/is like Stevie Nicks and if she can't be fucked with putting up with his bullshit he is gone.

LPManic · September 2022

After looking at this thread, I went back and listened to Rumours again for the first time in years. Pure magic. It must be in the top 10 albums ever. Maybe even top 5?

soma1975 · September 2022

LPManic said:

After looking at this thread, I went back and listened to Rumours again for the first time in years. Pure magic. It must be in the top 10 albums ever. Maybe even top 5?

Greatest pop album of all time.

TheBigDipper · September 2022

CaseOfAce said:

sjo89 said:

Buckingham, from a technique standpoint, is relatively conventional in that it's all based in travis picking i.e. the thumb pounding away on the 1/8th note pulse constantly and the fingers filling in the gaps.

This bears repeating - anyone coming to Buckingham using Travis picking will discover Buckingham pounds away using thumb on the 1&2& etc.... WHILST using fingers - not just the usual alternating thumb on each beat (1, 2, 3, 4 ) of the bar. Particularly evident on his Big Love solo acoustic thing he does live.

He's a complete force of nature. One of those players I just sit back and listen to without intending to appropriate.
Interesting rig as well.. Turner Model electrics, 2 Boss pedals - a delay and an overdrive, Mesa Recto for his electric, trace elliot amp for his acoustic and his nylon stuff is direct to house?
All that and lead, harmony vocals, production skills and songwriting. Yowsah!

Slight derail. Another person doing something similar is Richard Thompson. He uses a flatpick and fingers 2,3 &4. The acoustic version of "When The Spell Is Broken" is a perfect example.

stufisher · October 2022

Just been watching this footage on iPlayer ... yep, it's nearly 25 yo but feq me some of this stuff is timeless.

If you go straight to 39'19" on the timeline then you'll be rewarded with some astounding all round musicality and ability ... the man's an uber-artist

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0014bg7 via @bbciplayer ;

markslade07 · October 2022

stufisher said:

Just been watching this footage on iPlayer ... yep, it's nearly 25 yo but feq me some of this stuff is timeless.

If you go straight to 39'19" on the timeline then you'll be rewarded with some astounding all round musicality and ability ... the man's an uber-artist

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0014bg7 via @bbciplayer ;

Blimey...how the bloody hell does he play that while singing! Jeez!

guitarjack66 · November 2022

soma1975 said:

I think Lindsey is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. Probably top 5 or at least top 10 for me.

But he's not as good a guitarist as Stevie Nicks is a singer and frontperson and the public (and band) agree.

Nobody cares about what he comes up with now. They just want the hits and those parts have already been written and can be copied. NOBODY sounds/is like Stevie Nicks and if she can't be fucked with putting up with his bullshit he is gone.

Sex (appeal) sells.

DrCornelius · November 2022

guitarjack66 said:

soma1975 said:

I think Lindsey is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. Probably top 5 or at least top 10 for me.

But he's not as good a guitarist as Stevie Nicks is a singer and frontperson and the public (and band) agree.

Nobody cares about what he comes up with now. They just want the hits and those parts have already been written and can be copied. NOBODY sounds/is like Stevie Nicks and if she can't be fucked with putting up with his bullshit he is gone.

Sex (appeal) sells.

Its the only reason I ever get into any bands

DaveJames · November 2022

I was watching sting do a live version of blackstar, and his thumb was going twenty to the dozen, fuck knows what he was doing.

brojangles · November 2022

@stufisher - I learned this during the lockdown in 2020. (This and a guitar arrangement of the prelude from the first Bach cello suite - I've always played with a pick and thought I'd try some fingerstyle stuff.) It took me a few months to get it right and I still can't sing the chorus while playing it. The solo bit that LB plays these days is really fun to play. The main thing is just endless repetition and programming it into your right hand until it starts doing it automatically. There's also a nasty left-hand chord position shift/stretch in the bit between the lines in the verse. And some nasty syncopated picking in the chorus. But it's totally doable from a standing start with a bit of patience. I don't recommend doing it in a pandemic lockdown, though, because your family may start wanting to kill you. I used this guy's video lesson because I find it impossible to deduce phrasing/rhythms from tab: https://www.jerrysguitarbar.com/guitar-video-lessons/individual-songs/fleetwood-mac-never-going-back-again/

guitarjack66 · January 2023

DrCornelius said:

guitarjack66 said:

soma1975 said:

I think Lindsey is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. Probably top 5 or at least top 10 for me.

But he's not as good a guitarist as Stevie Nicks is a singer and frontperson and the public (and band) agree.

Nobody cares about what he comes up with now. They just want the hits and those parts have already been written and can be copied. NOBODY sounds/is like Stevie Nicks and if she can't be fucked with putting up with his bullshit he is gone.

Sex (appeal) sells.

Its the only reason I ever get into any bands

Its another of the many reasons I dont!

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