Lindsey Buckingham: Songs from the Small Machine, Live in L.A.

It's easy to think of the headliner merely as “Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac,” but while he's certainly the band's creative driving force, the guitarist-singer has also had a fruitful solo career that spans a full three decades, from 1981's Law and Order to 2011's Seeds We Sow. It's his output from these half dozen side projects—what Buckingham refers to as “the small machine”—that forms the core of this 19-song 2011 concert. The first five numbers, drawn from both solo and group catalogues, are performed solo, with most significantly re-imagined (“Trouble” and “Go Insane” are slower and more dramatic than the recorded versions, while “Never Going Back Again” has a Baroque-sounding intro), and all showcase the guitarist's bravura acoustic playing. A second guitarist, bass player, and drummer-percussionist are on hand for the remainder of the show, which again balances Buckingham's solo material with some very familiar Mac hits. Buckingham compares his solo work to the more adventurous indie films that blockbusters make possible, and songs like “All My Sorrows” (an ancient Kingston Trio standard with gorgeous vocal harmonies), “Under the Skin,” “Illumination,” and the breathtaking “Stars Are Crazy” have nuances that Fleetwood Mac records—as good as they are—tend to lack. And yet, “small machine” notwithstanding, there's always room for “Go Your Own Way,” “Second Hand News,” a rocking “Tusk,” and the electric guitar tour de force “I'm So Afraid,” all of which are greeted rapturously by the crowd in L.A.'s Saban Theatre. Presented in DTS-5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and LPCM stereo on DVD, extras include a typically candid bonus interview with Buckingham. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Graham)