Though Lindsey Buckingham never matched the solo commercial heights of his Stevie Nicks bandmate, he quietly built a deeply personal body of work across seven solo albums — some released during his time with Fleetwood Mac, others during his years away.
In a 2006 interview with MOJO, Buckingham reflected on Under The Skin, one of his most intimate records. Written, recorded, and mixed in hotel rooms during a Fleetwood Mac tour, the album was born out of long stretches of downtime. With only a few shows per week — allowing Nicks time to rest her voice — Buckingham found himself creatively restless. Walks in the park and hotel TV could only fill so many hours. So he turned inward.
The result was a stripped-down, acoustic-leaning album that leaned heavily on voice and guitar, featuring only minimal contributions from bandmates John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Buckingham described it as both a departure and a return — reconnecting with the simpler, more intimate approach he loved on records like Blue by Joni Mitchell. Sparse. Pure. Personal.
But when looking back at his early ’80s solo efforts — Law and Order (1981) and Go Insane (1984) — he was far more critical. While Go Insane involved famed producer Roy Thomas Baker, known for his work with Queen, Buckingham admitted the experience was chaotic. He joked that he’d need “a big joint” to sit through those albums today — quickly adding with a laugh that he’s long since cleaned up.
For Buckingham, the journey of his solo catalog reflects something deeper than chart success. It’s the story of an artist constantly searching — sometimes polished, sometimes raw — but always unmistakably himself.