ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Cunningham Bird’ Honors Illusive ‘Buckingham Nicks’ Album

As the legacy of Fleetwood Mac expands to a new generation, the pre-Mac release from arguably its two most iconic members has taken on a near-mythic status. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s 1973 debut LP Buckingham Nicks was largely unheralded at the time of its release, but its pop sensibilities and performances hint at the staggering worldwide success they would soon achieve in Fleetwood Mac.

For myriad reasons, primarily having to do with the tumultuous relationship between Buckingham and Nicks, Buckingham Nicks doesn’t exist in the digital media age. There has never been a CD release; it’s not available on streaming platforms. To find the 10 songs that make up the record, you’d have to track down an original or bootlegged copy on vinyl or listen to an iffy rip on YouTube – until now.

Multi-instrumentalist and all-around musical wizard Andrew Bird paired up with rising star and exceedingly talented singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham for Cunningham Bird, their interpretation of Buckingham Nicks. If the original album and its inaccessibility serve as a snapshot of the combustibility of the Buckingham-Nicks relationship, Cunningham and Birds’ replaces that tension by highlighting their own prodigious abilities and underscore the ambition and possibilities of the classic rock totems’ first project.

Cunningham, Bird and producer Mike Viola peel back the 1970s production of Buckingham Nicks and deliver a stripped down presentation of the songs. Even without the heavy sonic accouterments, the essence remains. With Bird and Cunningham’s distinct voices and phrasings and Bird’s violin replacing layers of electric guitar on “Crying in the Night,” Nicks’ original melody remains intact and as indelible as ever. The same holds true of Buckingham’s “Don’t Let Me Down Again,” which maintains the stampede-like rhythm and finds Bird putting his own spin on Buckingham’s guitar solo.

While it’s fun to hear relatively straightforward renditions of those tracks and “Races are Run,” where Cunningham Bird deviates from the script is fascinating. Instead of trading lead vocal duties depending on the song, Cunningham and Bird largely share them. While the drama behind Buckingham and Nicks’ lives is inextricable from their material and its performances, imbuing it with a palpable tension, Bird and Cunningham just harmonize really well together. Because of that, “Long Distance Winner” sounds less like biting criticism and more like a lament.

The boldest change comes on “Lola (My Love).” Buckingham’s version is a crudely-horny blues stomper. Cunningham sings it on this record, and completely recontextualizes it as a ballad more in line with Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” making for a more thoughtful listen than the original.

In a world where Buckingham Nicks is largely unavailable, Cunningham Bird is a more than worthy (and widely accessible) substitute. While it doesn’t replace the original album, nor does it intend to, it’s a superb pairing of quality material with gifted musicians.

Cunningham Bird is out today on Loma Vista Recordings.