Lindsey Buckingham Album: “Soundstage Presents Lindsey Buckingham”

If you like Lindsey Buckingham, or his Fleetwood Mac songs, at all, buy this. If you're one of those diehards who think half the songs have been done better, you're probably right. Everyone has a favorite performance. You should STILL buy it. Why?

1. "Murrow (Turning Over In His Grave)" performed for most likely the first and last time ever. Anyone who thinks LB isn't up-to-date should listen to this song, too.

2. The unreleased Gift Of Screws demos: "Down On Rodeo", "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind", and "I Am Waiting". These are almost relics; at the time this was recorded, LB was possibly going to use studio versions of those on his "upcoming" solo album (which ended up becoming FM's Say You Will). Now, they'll probably never be heard again. "Down On Rodeo" has some amazing guitar parts...

3. "Trouble". Yes, you've heard the album version. This version is BETTER.

If those 3 reasons don't work, Buckingham Nicks fans may want to consider that Stevie (in her over-touted, but still good, guest spot) sings a line from "Frozen Love".

You will not regret it if you buy this. Lindsey Buckingham is, if anything, possibly MORE passionate about his music than ever.

Whether or not you're a long time fan of Fleetwood Mac and Lindsey Buckingham's musical abilities as I've been, consider doing your eyes and ears a favor by adding Image Entertainment's latest Soundstage release on Blu-ray:

] to your home video library. I've long enjoyed the DVD of this same title

since its initial release back in December of 2005. So when Image Entertainment announced a Blu-ray version, there wasn't a moment's hesitation in placing my order with the possible exception of not having the 2 bonus tracks ("Steal Your Heart Away" & "I Am Waiting") that were included on the DVD. Image Entertainment pre-release information on their website did not list either song on the track listings, nor were any bonus content revealed with the running time given as 58 minutes, shorter than the 63 shown for the DVD.

After Eagle Rock's reference quality Blu-ray release last November of Lindsey's:

] which had the benefit of being a 6 year newer recording, neither my great familiarity with many of the other Image Entertainment/Soundstage Blu-ray releases nor heightened personal expectations properly prepared me for the first notes I heard this afternoon from my 7.1 audio system. It's normal practice for me to start at the beginning of any new acquisition and sample it from start to end. Since I was both very familiar with this particular concert and surprised to find both bonus tracks listed on this Blu-ray's rear printed slipcover, "Steal Your Heart Away" was thus watched first.

What an impressive soundstage (pun intended) and from just four musicians! Better yet, Image Entertainment/HD Ready offered the two bonus tracks with the same DTS Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio encode as used for the main concert performances unlike some of their other releases (i.e.

] bonus tracks: "25 or 6 to 4," "Even a Fool Can See") where the extra tracks are offered only with DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo encodes. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too! The difference in sonic immersion is quite dramatic especially using "Steal Your Heart Away" as a starting point. Thanks much Image/HD Ready and I certainly hope this represents your new audio quality standard for all future Soundstage releases.

Returning to the balance of the main titles, song after song that Lindsey performed continued to impress sonically especially when one considers on nearly half of the entire set, similar to how he began on

] is just Lindsey and his lone guitar. Even his duet with Stevie Nicks remained strictly a two part harmony with Lindsey's guitar providing the complete musical accompaniment. Throughout the entire performance, the lossless audio mix was typically powerful, immersive, with each instrument clearly distinct within the entire audio mix. Truly amazing when you consider how small the ensemble group performing was.

My only minor nitpick with the entire audio mix came on Lindsey's signature and my own personal favorite performance of "Go Your Own Way" to close out his set. On my first listen, I thought it sounded thin particularly with all 4 musicians performing in comparison to his solos until I added in +5 db above my typical reference listening level. Much better but then that's also a testament to just how good the other tracks were mixed. Listening to the other tracks first probably just spoiled me when I finally reached this last song.

The visuals are rendered with a 1080i/60 MPEG-4 encode that will be most familiar and comparable to other Soundstage performances also recorded in what I would presume are the studios of WTTW in Chicago. Very even, bright studio lighting consistently producing accurate flesh tones that are usually warm, stable and featuring superb HD level detailing especially on the close ups of the individual performer's faces. Wide shots from the rear cameras usually match the overall expected clarity though there were a few instances where I felt one of the cameras didn't have a lens with a similar sharpness resulting in images that I felt were slightly soft. Every once in a while, one can also catch a camera a little out of focus but understanding how difficult their tasks are during any dynamic concert recording, the small number of times this occurs can certainly be overlooked and ignored. Blacks are deep with great detail and little crush. The stage is lit with mostly primary colors of red, blue and green with no banding anywhere I noticed. Not the absolute sharpest concert recording I've ever seen but certainly matches their previous releases so again, no complaints.

Taking everything in consideration, my thanks to Image Entertainment and Soundstage for another reference Blu-ray I will repeatedly enjoy in the years to come representing much value for the $15 invested. All my encouragements to continue releasing the entire catalog of Soundstage concerts on Blu-ray along with many of the DVD concerts (i.e.

;

) previously issued by Image Entertainment. If all of the upgrades were this dramatic in sight and sound improvement, I won't be the only customer wanting.

Lindsey is a pleasure to watch and listen to. Like another reviewer here, I fully agree that Lindsey is so under-rated as a guitar player. Oooooo, and when that familiar FM guitar sound comes in, I feel all cozy inside. I see Lindsey as both FM and an experimental solo artist, of which are both displayed here on this DVD. Great form, Lindsey!

Too bad Stevie didn't hang around longer.

I've always been a Fleetwood Mac fan having seen them 2 years ago in Worcester, Mass. and Boston, Mass. Both shows were awesome! Looking forward to their next Concert Tour which I hope is this year. They don't miss a beat. What would make this Concert complete would be the return of Christine McVee. Anyone that purchases "Soundstage" will not be sorry, it's great. Lindsey outdoes himself and Stevie was the appropriate guest.

Great performance, leaves one (read:me) longing for a solo album. It's unfortunate that we only get two songs from the always-in-production solo album: "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind" and "Down On Rodeo." Nice to see Big Love and Go Insane paired up again; taken together, a total tour-de-force of the fingers. Stevie Nicks comes out for two songs, the stronger of which is most certainly Say Goodbye, where their voices line up just right. And Red Rover was far more interesting here than on the 2004 Fleetwood Mac tour. We're waiting for that album, Lindsey ...