Lindsey Buckingham began 2018 as a member of
Fleetwood Mac but by April he had been dismissed from the group he called home since 1975. As he regrouped, he released
Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham, a long-overdue retrospective of his solo recordings. Available as a single-disc and a triple-CD set,
Solo Anthology rounds up rarities -- notably, "Holiday Road," the incessantly catchy theme song he wrote for 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation makes its first appearance on a
Buckingham album, showing up on both editions of
Solo Anthology -- but its focus is on presenting a full portrait of
Buckingham, the tasteful pop eccentric. To that end, the anthology skimps on the nervy, dreamy pop of his 1981 solo debut
Law and Order and doubles-down on 1992's ornate
Out of the Cradle, which isn't necessarily an imbalance considering how the solo albums he made after
Cradle all followed its template. The size of the triple-disc set allows for a lot of welcome oddities, including
Buckingham's other contribution to Vacation (the tongue-in-cheek "Dancin' Across the USA") and "Time Bomb Town" from the
Back to the Future soundtrack, along with a full disc of live material that features not only
Fleetwood Mac hits but the lovely, folky instrumental "Stephanie" from 1973's Buckingham Nicks. This triple disc draws a fuller, richer picture than its deliberately streamlined single disc, and while it's possible to quibble with omissions (for instance, it would've been nice to have "I Want You Back," his contribution to
Mick Fleetwood's Zoo's 1983 album I'm Not Me, included), what's here is undeniable proof that
Buckingham is indeed one of pop's great eccentrics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine