{{Infobox song | name = Frozen Love | cover = | alt = | type = song | artist = Buckingham Nicks | album = Buckingham Nicks | released = September 1973 | recorded = 1973 | studio = Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California | genre = | length = 7:16 | label = Polydor | writer = Stevie Nicks <br /> Lindsey Buckingham | producer = Keith Olsen }}
"'''Frozen Love'''" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. The song was included as the final track on their ''Buckingham Nicks'' album in 1973. At over seven minutes in length, it was also the album's longest track. It was the only song on the album where the two shared co-writing credits and also one of the only songs in their careers to have this distinction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |date=September 17, 2025 |title=The Origin Story of Stevie and Lindsey |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/buckingham-nicks-review-1235429410/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=September 27, 2025 |website=Rolling Stone}}</ref><ref name="Collector">{{Cite magazine |date=October 2, 2025 |title=Buckingham Nicks by Buckingham Nicks {{!}} Album Review |url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/buckingham-nicks-by-buckingham-nicks-album-review |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251003214707/https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/buckingham-nicks-by-buckingham-nicks-album-review |archive-date=October 3, 2025 |access-date=October 3, 2025 |magazine=Record Collector}}</ref>
"Frozen Love" was one of the songs that Keith Olsen played for Mick Fleetwood during his first visit at Sound City Studios.<ref name=RollingStone>{{cite web |website=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/stevie-nicks-lindsey-buckingham-song-exploder-1235456137/ |title=Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham Are Back on Speaking Terms |date=October 29, 2025 |first=Angie |last=Martoccio |archive-date=October 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251029172048/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/stevie-nicks-lindsey-buckingham-song-exploder-1235456137/ }}</ref><ref name=SongExploder>{{cite web |website=Song Exploder |url=https://songexploder.net/ |title=Episode 302: Buckingham Nicks “Frozen Love” |date=October 29, 2025 |first=Hrishikesh |last=Hirway |archive-date=October 31, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251031123241/https://songexploder.net/ }}</ref> The song's guitar solo in particular caught Fleetwood's attention and prompted him to ask the duo to join Fleetwood Mac after the departure of their guitarist Bob Welch.
==Background== ===Composition=== Nicks remarked in a 1975 interview that "Frozen Love" was written when she and Buckingham began their romantic relationship.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blackerby |first=Cheryl |date=February 5, 1975 |title=Female Rock Star is Lucky |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-post-herald/104811685/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=Birmingham Post-Herald |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The song was initially written by Nicks as a poem and later plotted out the musical accompaniment on an acoustic guitar; she then handed it over to Buckingham for revision.<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/> In 2025, Buckingham commented that "She understood that I was transforming things for her, and I understood that I wouldn't have had anything to transform without the beautiful center that she’d given me."<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/>
Lyrically, Nicks said that the song was "about two people that were in love, that had a lot of differences and saw the world slightly differently, but had this relationship that seemed to be a gift ... I like to think of it as ''Wuthering Heights'' or ''Great Expectations'' — a modern day love affair."<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/> The liner notes found in the original release contained the lyrics "Hate gave you me for a lover" in the third verse, which was later corrected in the liner notes for the 2025 edition to "''Fate'' gave you me for a lover".<ref name="Collector" /><ref name="Liner"/> In 2025 Nicks attributed the typo to her pronunciation of the word "fate" and wished that she could have re-recorded that line to remove any ambiguity.<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/>
"Frozen Love" was the only song on ''Buckingham Nicks'' where Buckingham and Nicks shared co-writing credits. Buckingham said that the song was pieced together separately and "was not strictly a collaboration where two writers are co-captaining the entire process". Instead, Nicks was responsible for the verses and choruses whereas Buckingham created the instrumental interlude.<ref name=SongExploder/> Buckingham wanted the instrumental section to have "this epic quality about it" that resembled "a mini movie" that would segue back into the full song. Commenting on this part, Nicks said that "if it had just remained my song and Lindsey hadn't have written that whole part, it wouldn't have been the same."<ref name=SongExploder/>
From the onset, Nicks was adamant about splitting the verses between herself and Buckingham so that the song was presented as "a relationship made of two instead of a relationship just made of one." Buckingham perceived "Frozen Love" as having been written from Nicks' point of view and felt that the song worked well as taking on the form of a dialogue. They also interpreted the song as being about the interruptions and turbulence in their romantic relationship.<ref name=SongExploder/>
===Recording=== The song was demoed at night in a warehouse within a coffee plant owned by Buckingham's father Morris in Palo Alto.<ref>{{cite book|title=Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams, & Rumours|last=Howe|first=Zoë|pages=23, 39–40 |year=2015|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-4683-1066-5|url=https://archive.org/details/stevienicksvisio0000howe/page/22/mode/2up}}</ref> Buckingham created the middle section for "Frozen Love" and Nicks was responsible for the remainder of the song.<ref name="GQ">{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Yuval |date=October 2, 2025|title=The Ballad of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham |url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-ballad-of-stevie-nicks-and-lindsey-buckingham |access-date=October 4, 2025 |website=GQ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251008041952/https://www.gq.com/story/the-ballad-of-stevie-nicks-and-lindsey-buckingham |archive-date=October 8, 2025}}</ref> Buckingham took inspiration from Jimmy Page and the Allman Brothers Band when approaching the song's guitar parts.<ref name="Liner">{{Cite AV media notes |last=Fricke |first=David |title=Buckingham Nicks - Limited Numbered Edition |year=2025 |type=Liner Notes |publisher=Rhino|location=United States |id=RHF1 727705}}</ref> He recalled that the song presented him with the opportunity to explore different guitar tunings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lapatine |first=Scott |date=December 10, 2018 |title=Lindsey Buckingham Reveals Stories Behind His Solo Songs And Whether He'll Ever Rejoin Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2025688/lindsey-buckingham-interview-fleetwood-mac/interviews/ |access-date= October 27, 2025|website=Stereogum}}</ref>
For the guitar solo, Buckingham said that he worked in a modal open tuning and created chords "that made sense with the tuning." He described the end result as "specific" and "idiosyncratic" and felt that the song had "so much range and landscape".<ref name="Liner"/> Gary Hodges, who met Buckingham at a water fountain in Sound City Studios, overdubbed the drums in Studio A of the facility after all of the instrumentation and vocals had been recorded.<ref name="Liner"/><ref name="Wake">{{Cite news |last=Wake |first=Matt |date=September 21, 2018 |title=Buckingham Nicks: Alabama shows were the last before Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-precursor-to-greatne/181902627/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=The Birmingham News |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-precursor-to-greatne/181902627/ E1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-buckingham-nicks-al/181902374/ E4]}}</ref> Buckingham explained that the song had a number of twists and turns rhythmically" that rendered it difficult to record the song with live drums. As such, Buckingham and Olsen guided Hodges through the song as he recorded his part to a click track.<ref name=SongExploder/><ref name="Wake"/> The song's string orchestration during the coda was arranged by Richard Halligan.<ref name="Liner"/> "Frozen Love" later received airplay on Birmingham radio stations, which prompted the band to schedule a show there in August 1974, where they opened for the band Mountain.<ref name="GQ"/>
===Catalyst for joining Fleetwood Mac=== Buckingham and Nicks were working on their follow-up album to ''Buckingham Nicks'' in Studio B of Sound City Studios when Olsen played "Frozen Love" for Fleetwood in the adjacent Studio A, which was selected to demonstrate the sonic capabilities of the facility.<ref name="Unterberger">{{cite book|first=Richie |last=Unterberger |author-link= Richie Unterberger |year=2016 |title=Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Illustrated History |pages=81, 88 |publisher=Voyageur Press |isbn=978-0-7603-5176-5}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Davis (music journalist)|title=Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks |publisher=St. Martins Press|isbn=9781250032898|location=New York, NY|year=2017|page=132}}</ref> For most of their sessions at Sound City Studios, Buckingham and Nicks recorded their material at night so that their work would not interfere with Olsen's other projects. During Fleetwood's visit, the duo's audio engineer and friend Richard Dashut secured them access that day to Studio B as there was an opening in the schedule.<ref name="GQ"/> When Olsen was playing "Frozen Love" for Fleetwood, Buckingham was passing by when he overheard the song being played.<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/> Buckingham then opened the door, entered the room, and saw "this giant of a man standing up, grooving to a guitar solo of mine."<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 8, 1998|title=How We Met; Mick Fleetwood And Lindsey Buckingham |url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-mick-fleetwood-and-lindsey-buckingham-1149147.html |access-date=September 27, 2025|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/> He later said that "it took me a minute to register who it was", adding that he was "already a Fleetwood Mac fan, certainly a huge fan of Peter Green's, so it was a big deal for me".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Staunton |first=Terry |date=April 2022|title=Applaud My Genius, Bemoan My Failings |magazine=Record Collector |issue=530 |pages=54–60}}</ref> When the song ended, Olsen confirmed Fleetwood's identity to Buckingham with a social introduction: "Oh, Lindsey, this is Mick Fleetwood."<ref name=RollingStone/><ref name=SongExploder/> Fleetwood then complimented Buckingham on his guitar work: “it was economic, melodic, with an astute sense of tone and a unique style.”<ref name="GQ"/>
Fleetwood recalled that he met Buckingham "literally in passing" and did not think much of the encounter initially.<ref name="Unterberger"/> Buckingham said that Olsen did not explain why he played "Frozen Love" for Fleetwood and that he "never questioned" Olsen's decision.<ref name="Liner"/> Fleetwood later reflected in his 2014 ''Play On'' memoir that "Frozen Love" impressed him the most of the songs that Olsen played for him. This later spurred Fleetwood's decision to ask Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac after their guitarist Bob Welch departed from the band in December.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fleetwood|first1=Mick|last2=Bozza|first2=Anthony|author-link2 = Anthony Bozza |title=Play On: Now, Then & Fleetwood Mac|date=October 2014|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|location=New York|isbn=978-0-316-40342-9|page=163}}</ref>
Fleetwood telephoned Olsen on New Year's Eve and inquired if the guitarist who played on "Frozen Love", whose name he had since forgotten, would replace Welch as Fleetwood Mac's guitarist.<ref name="GQ"/> After Olsen informed him that Buckingham and Nicks came as a pair, Fleetwood asked Olsen if both would be willing to join the band. After ending the call with Olsen, Fleetwood commented to Fleetwood Mac’s photographer Herbie Worthington: “Oh, Herbie, we found a guitar player to take Bob’s place.... The only thing is he’s got a girl, but if she don’t work out, we’ll dump her.”<ref name="GQ"/> Olsen then visited their apartment on Fairfax Avenue and spent the next few hours asking the two to become members of Fleetwood Mac.<ref name="Blake">{{Cite book |last=Blake |first=Mark |title=The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac |publisher=Pegasus Books |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-63936-732-0 |location=New York |pages=161–162}}</ref><ref name="GQ"/> Buckingham mentioned that he was insistent on Nicks joining Fleetwood Mac with him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=di Perna |first=Al|title=Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters |publisher=Chicago Review Press |date=September 1997 |isbn=978-161373-234-2 |editor-last=Egan |editor-first=Sean |chapter=Mac in the Saddle |publication-date=2016|page=186|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/fleetwoodmaconfl0000unse_f7y2/page/186/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> After the Olsen visit ended, Buckingham was very reluctant to accept the Fleetwood Mac offer, but Nicks then spent many hours persuading Buckingham to agree.<ref name="GQ"/> After convening at a Mexican restaurant for dinner, Fleetwood Mac officially invited Buckingham and Nicks into the band.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Evans|first1=Mike|title=Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History|date=2011|publisher=Sterling|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4027-8630-3|pages=122–123}}</ref>
According to Olsen, Fleetwood Mac considered the idea of re-recording "Frozen Love" for their 1975 ''Fleetwood Mac'' album, but Buckingham thought that the song would be too difficult to recreate, so they decided against it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/keitholsen_qa1.htm|title=Keith Olsen Q&A, Section One: May 2000|website=The Penguin|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601130609/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/keitholsen_qa1.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> Some of the initial tour dates for the band's 1975 Fleetwood Mac Tour included "Frozen Love" in the setlist, often as an encore.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roubin |first=Olivier |title=Fleetwood Mac: All The Songs |last2=Ollivier |first2=Romuald |date=1 April 2025 |publisher=Black Dog Leventhal Publishers |isbn=978-0-7624-8630-4 |location=New York |page=317}}</ref>
===Use in announcing the remaster of ''Buckingham Nicks''=== In July 2025, a video of Fleetwood listening to "Frozen Love" with headphones was published on his Instagram account. The following day, the social media accounts of Nicks and Buckingham posted handwritten lyrics from the song; Nicks' account posted the line "And if you go forward", with Buckingham's account following an hour later with the second half of the lyric: "I'll meet you there".<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 17, 2025 |title=Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham cryptically post lyrics, prompting landslide of reactions from fans |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/stevie-nicks-lindsey-buckingham-cryptically-post-lyrics-prompting-land-rcna219472 |access-date=September 27, 2025|work=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Finley |first=Ben |last2=Hall |first2=Kristen M. |date=July 30, 2025 |title=Still spinning |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-still-spinning/181919537/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=Lincoln Journal Star |page=B5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Less than a week later, a remastered edition of ''Buckingham Nicks'' was announced for release on September 19, 2025; the ''Associated Press'' said that the social media posts "foreshadowed" the remastered edition of the album.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherman |first=Maria |date=July 23, 2025 |title=After much speculation, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham announce 'Buckingham Nicks' reissue |url=https://apnews.com/article/buckingham-nicks-album-reissue-c5651da260d1c278916f0e9e06b63bcd |access-date=September 27, 2025|work=Associated Press}}</ref> "Frozen Love" was issued as a digital single in advance of the album's release.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2025|title=Lindsey Buckingham & Steve Nicks release 'Frozen 'Love' from 'Buckingham Nicks' reissue |url=https://wdrv.com/lindsey-buckingham-steve-nicks-release-frozen-love-from-buckingham-nicks-reissue/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |website=WDRV Chicago}}</ref>
==Critical reception== Dan Hedges reviewed the song a year after the release of ''Buckingham Nicks'' in ''Rock'' magazine, saying that the "epic track" featured the duo's "most striking vocal work."<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Hedges |first=Dan |date=December 11, 1974 |title=Rock Magazine (12/11/1974) |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=30&c=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161849/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=30&c=9 |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=October 4, 2025 |magazine=Rock |via=The Blue Letter Archive}}</ref> In his review of ''Buckingham Nicks'' John Duffy of AllMusic thought that the duo were "over-reaching themselves just a bit" on "Frozen Love".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duffy |first=John |title=Buckingham Nicks |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/buckingham-nicks-mw0000849583 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110060715/https://www.allmusic.com/album/buckingham-nicks-mw0000849583 |archive-date=November 10, 2023 |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> In an updated review from the website, Tim Sendra labeled the track as the most impressive offering on the album, adding that it "lasts a long time but never gets boring", which he attributed to the song's "winding harmonies and Buckingham's vibrant guitar work on both acoustic and electric. It's easy to see what caught Fleetwood's ear."<ref>{{cite web |first=Tim |last=Sendra |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/buckingham-nicks-mw0000849583 |title=Buckingham Nicks |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref>
''Classic Rock'' magazine highlighted "Frozen Love" as the "real prize" on ''Buckingham Nicks'' and identified the song as a "distant precursor" to Fleetwood Mac's song "The Chain".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carty |first=Pat |date=September 19, 2025 |title=Buckingham Nicks' Fleetwood Mac-inspiring debut is finally available again |url=https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/buckingham-nicks-buckingham-nicks |access-date=September 27, 2025 |website=Classic Rock}}</ref> ''Record Collector'' also thought that aspects of the song's middle-section that resembled "The Chain" and said that the song's guitar part "lacks the provocative push John McVie's bassline was to bestow" later on "The Chain".<ref name="Collector" /> ''Consequence of Sound'' called it a "majestic cut" with "a moving string section and an extended bridge that burns with fiery emotion".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ragusa |first=Paolo |date=September 19, 2025 |title=Buckingham Nicks Is the Work of Two Virtuosos: Review |website=Consequence of Sound|url=https://consequence.net/2025/09/buckingham-nicks-reissue-review/ |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> ''Uncut'' said that the song's "duelling vocals and spectral folk" were juxtaposed with its "looser second section".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Piers |date=September 9, 2025 |title=Buckingham Nicks reviewed: mythologised 1973 folk-rock debut finally gets reissued |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/buckingham-nicks-reviewed-mythologised-1973-folk-rock-debut-finally-gets-reissued-151277/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |website=Uncut}}</ref> ''Mojo'' characterized the song as a "proggy, shape-shifting holy grail of Fleetwood Mac's most combustible couple."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNair |first=James |date=September 22, 2025 |title=Buckingham Nicks Review: Pre-Fleetwood Mac Album Out At Last |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/buckingham-nicks-reviewed/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |website=Mojo}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Lindsey Buckingham}} {{Stevie Nicks}}
Category:1973 songs Category:Songs written by Lindsey Buckingham Category:Songs written by Stevie Nicks Category:Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen