Fleetwood Mac Forum

Lindsey Buckingham: "Gift Of Screws"
2008-08-05 12:01:17

Residual indie prejudices can be tough to shake off and, for me, one lingered longer than most: a profound distrust of Fleetwood Mac. I read all the essays about them – and especially about Lindsey Buckingham – where they were extolled as great emotional confessors and discreet musical radicals. But their records always seemed to me the epitome of hollow decadence, redolent of a certain air-conditioned, blow-dried Hollywood vulgarity, the criticism of which is now every bit as clichéd as the original material.

Not for the first time, of course, I was wrong.

Continued...

Interestingly, though, the record which provided me with a gateway into Fleetwood Mac was the last Lindsey Buckingham solo album, 2006’s “Under The Skin”. Mainly solo and acoustic, it foregrounded both the meticulous and slightly odd way in which Buckingham constructed songs out of pristine guitar flurries, and the emotional heft which he could still locate, even as a contented, middle-aged family man.

The opening “Not Too Late”, for instance, might be one of the more moving instances of a mulit-millionaire superstar grumbling about his lack of credibility I can recall, as he begins, “Reading the paper saw a review / Said I was a visionary, but nobody knew.” You would’ve thought that selling more records than virtually anyone else on the planet in the past 30 years might have provided some kind of consolation. But I suppose one of the reasons Buckingham is so interesting is the way he manages to juggle a desire for artistic integrity with an innate commercial imperative, and how a very heartfelt lyrical character can co-exist with an incredibly fastidious musical style that can so easily sound bloodless.

“Gift Of Screws” sees all these diverse aspects of Buckingham in full effect. The title, my little Wiki helpers inform me, was originally given to a Buckingham solo album from the late ‘90s which was never released. Songs from that have been dispersed across the last solo album and Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Will”, as well, presumably, as this one, though I’m not clear on whether they’re re-recordings.

I’m not clear because, of course, I know comparatively little about this whole business, but also because Buckingham’s music exists in such a glorious vacuum. What I can tell is that “Gift Of Screws” is the perfect next step for neophytes like me drawn in by “Under The Skin”. There are some gorgeous minimalist pieces that would have sat perfectly on that last record, most notably the rippling, systems-like acoustics and yelps of “Time Precious Time”, which presents Buckingham as an unlikely father figure to the Animal Collective.

Then there are a bunch of tracks where he’s backed up by Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, that sound, by his standards huge but relatively unfussy, and betray a desire to re-engage commercially and reassert himself as a serious rocker. Consequently, “The Right Place To Fade” and “Love Runs Deeper” have big swirling Fleetwood Mac-like choruses, and also a weirdly aggressive punch, characterised by Buckingham’s flash and excitable soloing on the latter: not out of control, exactly, but at once fiery and – perhaps more menacing – utterly precise.

“Wait For You” is a sort of hygienised but still compelling cousin to “Gimme Shelter”. And the title track is a supercharged, vigorously-focused rocker – with Fleetwood and McVie again onboard – which features Buckingham repeatedly cackling like a deranged rooster. It’s very odd, and very good, too.

So anyway: I have a bunch of old Fleetwood Mac albums, I’ve a soft spot for “Tusk”, but does anyone fancy guiding me straight to the stuff I might like best?

John Mulvey

"which presents Buckingham as an unlikely father figure to the Animal Collective"

Peestie will like this line!

"which presents Buckingham as an unlikely father figure to the Animal Collective"

Peestie will like this line!

a weirdly aggressive punch, characterised by Buckingham’s flash and excitable soloing on the latter: not out of control, exactly, but at once fiery and – perhaps more menacing – utterly precise

Is that a description of Deep Dense? Weirdly agressive punch? Flash excitable soloing?

Nah, Love Runs Deeper is his new IKINW. I promiss you all.

Gerald, a pint of nice cold ale says it's Given Thing.

Here's hoping that it's Loving Cup updated for the '00s kids! If it's not, I'm sure I can count on you shouting out for it in every show you attend.

Lindsey Buckingham is that increasingly rare beast in the pop world; an ageing rocker who still counts. For a man who has made indescribably large amounts of money with Fleetwood Mac, and who is the author of some of the finest soft rock songs of all time, it is refreshing to find him nearing his sixties and still releasing solo albums that stand up against his late '70s peak.
The follow-up to 2006's largely acoustic Under The Skin, a fine album in its own right, Gift Of Screws takes its title (an Emily Dickinson reference) and several tracks from an abortive late '90s session. Other tracks from those sessions cropped up on the Fleetwood Mac reunion album Say You Will, a 2003 release that indicated that Buckingham had relocated the songwriting genie that went temporarily absent during the previous decade.

Gift Of Screws is a thrilling album from the very first track. Great Day positively bursts out of the speakers with its aggressive acoustic guitar and daring vocal lines. Time Precious Time is even better, with rippling guitar arpeggios and a heavy echo treatment on the vocal (a common Buckingham production trick). This is challenging, thought-provoking music that you would expect from a younger artist.

Then again, this is the reclusive studio genius that unleashed the decidedly odd Tusk on the world at the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame. Buckingham is a devil for injecting quirky elements into his glossy soft rock confections, but in such a subtle way that his efforts are routinely overlooked (he opened his previous album with the line "Reading the paper saw a review/Said I was a visionary, but nobody knew").

Buckingham's regular band serves him well throughout the album, although Fleetwood Mac bandmates Mick Fleetwood and John McVie also pop up on several tracks. The duo lends a healthy commercial swagger to Love Runs Deeper and The Right Place To Fade. The latter track is terrific, the stacked harmonies and killer riff sounding like they could have been lifted straight from a Rumours session.

The dependable rhythm section also guest on the title track, a crazed rocker that features Buckingham yelping like a man possessed. It sounds like a companion piece to some of the more outré moments from Tusk, notably Not That Funny and That's Enough For Me.

Although this album is marketed as a return to a more direct rock sound Buckingham is far too smart an operator to sacrifice substance for style. Did You Miss Me is a whip-smart pop single good enough to already have landed on the US charts, and boasts one of the album's most direct lyrical pleas for connection and understanding. The contemplative lyrics of Bel Air Rain and Treason, meanwhile, are given added weight by strong melodies and delicately layered arrangements.

Written and recorded over a lengthy period, Gift Of Screws could have been a mess. Instead, it is a glorious statement of intent from one of pop's most misunderstood characters.

Nah, Love Runs Deeper is his new IKINW. I promiss you all.

You were right. Does the solo at the end of LRD not just sound exactly like it evolved out of the live versions of IKINW?