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
-- but its focus is on presenting a full portrait of
, 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
'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
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
is indeed one of pop's great eccentrics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine