Buckingham Nicks reissue revives a forgotten gem as Joy Crookes returns with Juniper

The re-release of Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 duo album by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, is being issued by Rhino, bringing it to vinyl, CD and streaming for the first time in decades. The new edition arrives amid renewed interest in the pair’s relationship and potential Fleetwood Mac reunion chatter sparked by cryptic Instagram posts that referenced lyrics from Buckingham Nicks. The reissue itself, however, appears to be the project driving the renewed attention, showcasing the early pairing that helped foreshadow the famous Mac saga.

Buckingham Nicks formed after the pair met in high school in California, becoming lovers and musical partners before joining Fleetwood Mac in 1974. The album’s sound hints at the tensions and chemistry that would later define Rumours, with Nicks delivering poetic storytelling and Buckingham offering a more matter-of-fact guitar-driven approach. Key tracks such as Crying In The Night and Crystal illustrate their complementary sensibilities, while the topless cover shot—controversial for its day—remains a point of fascination in retrospect. The reissue reproduces the original LP sleeve, despite Nicks later saying she felt “like a rat in a trap” during the shoot with photographer Jimmy Wachtel, whose brother Waddy Wachtel contributed guitar on the album.

The music on Buckingham Nicks features the couple’s intertwined talents, with Nicks’s lyrical, evocative voice pairing with Buckingham’s crisp guitar work. Not every moment has aged perfectly—Buckingham’s Lola (My Love) and two instrumental pieces feel optional in retrospect—but the set also includes more sustained moments of promise, such as the ballad Crystal and the cautionary tale Long Distance Winner, which foreshadow the personal and artistic conflicts that would later spill into Rumours. Drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Wachtel contribute to a texture that would become a touchstone for the duo’s future work and for Fleetwood Mac’s evolving sound. The release has been described by critics as a neglected gem that offers a rare glimpse of greatness, a formative document that underscores how the seeds of Rumours were sown in the duo’s initial creative interactions.

Joy Crookes’ Juniper, her second album, arrives four years after Skin and marks a bold return for the South London artist. The record cements Crookes’s status as a rising star in full bloom, pairing intimate, blues-tinged performances with collaborations that broaden her scope. The album features duets with Vince Staples and Kano, and three tracks co-written with Athlete’s Joel Pott, alongside a high-profile collaboration with Sam Fender on Somebody To You. Critics praise her ability to marry confessional storytelling with glossy, evolving arrangements, a blend that keeps the focus on her distinctive voice and perspective.

On Juniper, Crookes leans into bittersweet confessionals rather than wallowing in heartache, delivering a poised, bluesy vocal on Brave that sits atop piano and lush strings. Mathematics, the Kano duet, showcases her knack for pairing raw emotion with contemporary urban textures, while Forever leans into candid balladry. Away from romance, she skewers industry hypocrisy on I Know You’d Kill, a northern soul–tinged track that rounds out a record built on resilience. The set also reaffirms her willingness to play with tradition, as expressed in Carmen, a string-drenched number that interpolates Elton John’s Benny And The Jets with Elton John’s blessing.

Crookes has spent years building toward this moment, and Juniper reflects a broader confidence in her artistry. Her forthcoming tour kicks off on November 3 at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin, with Joy Crookes poised to translate the album’s emotional breadth to a live setting. The project’s reception, like Buckingham Nicks’ reissue, underscores a broader trend in Culture & Entertainment: audiences are increasingly drawn to both revisited, formative works and bold, contemporary statements that push an artist’s boundaries.

Taken together, the Buckingham Nicks reissue and Joy Crookes’ Juniper illustrate a music landscape that values both roots and reinvention. They remind listeners that the paths to later successes—whether in Fleetwood Mac’s lineage or Crookes’s evolving repertoire—are often traced through intimate, overlooked beginnings that re-emerge with renewed relevance.