One of the great lost treasures among record collectors is Buckingham Nicks, an album released over fifty years ago, long out of print, never officially released on CD and unavailable on streaming services like iTunes. Featuring a pre-Fleetwood Mac Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, the album (a commercial failure in 1973) has attained a mythical status with the LP changing hands for hundreds of dollars. Enter Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham, both Grammy winning artists, eager to work on a project together. The opportunity to re-record a largely unheard album in its entirety became too good an idea to pass up, leading to Cunningham Bird.
Instead of a note for note copy of the original record, Bird and Cunningham take liberties with the material, after all a violin will never sound like an electric guitar, and there are differences between their voices and those of Buckingham and Nicks. Produced by Mike Viola, who also handles bass and Fender Rhodes, ably assisted by Griffin Goldsmith’s drums and percussion, the differences are partially due to the times we live in and to the fact while recreation may be flattering, at the end of the day what’s the point?
Bird’s violin brings ‘Crying in the Night’ to life with staccato notes instead of Lindsay Buckingham’s guitar licks. Heralding a fresh approach to the material, the liberties taken rather than echoing the past, illustrate the intention to give arrangements a new veneer. This is Buckingham Nicks for a new generation, one not familiar with the original material and may have even missed out on Fleetwood Mac. The real surprise is just how flexible the songs are. They still weave a spell even if the instruments have changed.
Instead of the burr of Nicks’ voice, Cunningham has a sweeter, smoother tone. The rearrangements bring out the best in both Bird and Cunningham, while putting them firmly within a commercial framework, even if it’s taken 50-plus years to become commercial. Stepping out on both instrumentals, ‘Stephanie’ and ‘Django’, Bird illustrates a knowledge of how to make this music bristle with pop while exploring the depths of his violin that make him a singular figure in music today.
Cunningham is no slouch either. Both on her own, and in harmony with Bird, it’s easy to recognise why she won the Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2023. Her duet with Bird on ‘Don’t Let Me Down Again’ is really only half the story, her guitar work is first rate, even when playing a subordinate role. These are two musicians who know how to blend their instruments to create a sound that is larger than the sum of their parts.
There’s an electricity in their playing even though their instruments are acoustic. Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird have found new contexts for material that while not necessarily well known defined a generation. With a violin, an acoustic guitar and whistling, Cunningham Bird redefines this music for a generation.
