'No drums, very little bass' on Buckingham's new CD

Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham is about to unveil his first solo CD since 1992's Out of the Cradle. He describes the stripped-down arrangements on Under the Skin, due Oct. 3, as "kind of a reduction. There are basically no drums, very little bass. On a musical level, I've been trying to distill things."

Skin also reflects a sense of contentment, he says, that owes much to his wife, Kristen, and their three children. "This is the best time in my life, and that's a great thing to be able to say when you're 56, and didn't become a father till you were 48."

He plans a "more rocking" companion CD in 2007, after a U.S. tour. "It's a turnaround, time-frame-wise, for someone who's been sort of the Terrence Malick of rock," referring to the reclusive director.

—Elysa Gardner