Lindsey Buckingham discusses the most “dysfunctional” Fleetwood Mac album
Fleetwood Mac may epitomise the quintessential sound of 1970s California, marked by numerous classic crossover hits, but the band’s name has also become synonymous with rock and roll dysfunction. They navigated through hedonism, romantic entanglements, and creative differences with a flair that few could match. The group’s history is a complex and tumultuous journey, filled with conflicting accounts and major conflicts that underscore the challenges they faced together. This blend of musical brilliance and personal turmoil has cemented their legacy as icons of their era.
Although 1977’s Rumours is the group’s best-loved album and one of the era’s most influential records, full credit goes to the band, given that the material was born out of great strife. In one of music’s most heavily mythologised chapters, the recording sessions were marred by the inner-band romantic relationships breaking up and heavy drug usage, creating an emotional morass that characterised the lyrics and music.
According to former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, the ex-lover of vocalist Stevie Nicks—about whom she wrote ‘Dreams‘—Rumours is the definitive album crafted under acrimonious circumstances. However, according to Buckingham, the 1977 effort wasn’t the group’s most dysfunctional album. Per his account, that was 1987’s Tango in the Night.
While Tango in the Night is celebrated as one of Fleetwood Mac’s finest later albums, producing standout tracks like ‘Little Lies’, ‘Everywhere’, and ‘Seven Wonders’, it, like the record released a decade before it, was born out of significant struggle. Lindsey Buckingham was at the helm throughout the album’s production, guiding the band through the creative process despite the underlying challenges. This LP not only showcases some of their most memorable songs but also highlights their ability to produce exceptional music under heavy pressure.
Tango in the Night was produced by Buckingham and the band’s longtime collaborator Richard Dashut, who had worked on every album since Rumours. Regardless of it being ten years since Fleetwood Mac’s magnum opus, the members were still in hard-partying mode, and according to the guitarist, he was the only one who wasn’t hitting things quite as destructively.
As he’d released his second solo effort, Go Insane, in 1984, Buckingham took the opportunity of being left to his devices by the others, who weren’t contributing much, to develop his craft and apply a more synth and electronics-heavy style to the record. Strangely, it felt empowering.
Speaking to Vulture in 2021, Buckingham not only named Tango in the Night as Fleetwood Mac’s most “dysfunctional” album but also dubbed it “a harbinger of dysfunction”. It felt like a significant triumph finishing the record as it took well over a year to record, with things so marred by hedonism that he claims Nicks was only on hand for three weeks at most, with him still puzzled how they got anything out of her. Elsewhere, drummer Mick Fleetwood stayed in a trailer in his front yard for months as he didn’t want to drive home at night with his brain frazzled.
It was less than ideal, Buckingham recalled. He said: “Obviously, the whole subculture of rock and roll was living that life to some degree or another. Many people were beginning to hit the wall and realising they had to come out the other side and pivot away from that. That was just about to happen with Mick and Stevie in particular, and to a lesser degree, Christine. But it didn’t happen yet. So they were really sort of hitting a critical mass.”
Despite people’s chaotic lives, which made recording a real tribulation at points, the dysfunction also streamlined proceedings for Buckingham, as the strung-out members were happy with whatever he put down. It was also a massive success after release, a testament to him. However, after so long working in such fraught circumstances, he knew he could not continue. Tango in the Night arrived in April 1987, but later that year, Buckingham quit; he could not face touring in such a manner. His next appearance with the band was in 1993 at Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
