Lindsey Day

I finally have Lindsey Buckingham's "Gift of Screws" in my hot little hand. It is amazing. Here is my extremely hasty, blow-by-blow Gift of Screws live blogging. It's not pretty...it's not insightful, but it was written real time.

1. Great Day – This is a very quirky song. Reminds me of the work he did on Tusk. Probably going to be the most eccentric song on the CD. This is the song that has the “guitar solo so ‘blowtorch-hot’” mentioned in the Rolling Stone review. Listening to the first half of the song, you’d never guess that this song would have a heavy solo in it. It’s kind of sparse up until the end, when he kind of tears loose. The solo has a very similar sound to the guitar sound he used in “Come” from Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Will” album.
   
   
2. Time Precious Time – Even though this is supposed to be a more rocking album, this one is an acoustic, fast finger-picked song in the style of “Not Too Late” from Lindsey’s last CD. A pretty song. Didn’t strike me right away…but might after more listens.
   
   
3. Did You Miss Me – This is the single. It’s probably the most conventional song on the CD. I found it very boring until about the 6th time I heard it. It’s very low-key. No big guitar moments, not a really huge chorus. Just a very straight-forward song. Pretty melody, but much simpler than the stuff he normally writes…kind of like Peacekeeper.
   
   
4. Wait For You – This song rocks…I had heard this one as a demo a few years ago…but then it was called “Shuffle Riff”. It has a very bluesy feel, and sounds like it could’ve fit onto Rumours. (Mick Fleetwood and John McVie play bass and drums on this song). It has a hugely hooky chorus…best song so far. It also reminds me a bit (in the chorus) of Lindsey’s writing from the Go Insane album. This song was also produced by Rob Cavallo, who is a hotshot producer right now (he produces Green Day, for example).
   
   
5. Love Runs Deeper - If I were Warner Brothers, I would’ve pushed this as the first single. It’s extremely catchy, and the chorus sounds like something off of “Tango in the Night”. I think it has much more VH1 potential than the single he did release. It has a great contrast from a restrained and peppy verse to a big, booming chorus. The guitar solo has a very Rumours tone to it.
   
   
6. Bel Air Rain – Another fast acoustic finger-picking monster…one of those where you can hear Lindsey’s metronome click-track underneath, the way you can with “Shut Us Down” from the last CD. This is a great song…a sad, desperate song. One of the catchiest chord changes in the chorus of any song so far… Something about the writing style reminds of 1980s Lindsey.
   
   
7. The Right Place to Fade – This song is a pop/rock masterpiece. Breathtaking. I’ve had this song for a couple of years as a demo called “Twist of Fate”. I thought that he changed the words, but after hearing the high-fidelity version, I think that the words were just misunderstood by whoever first got a hold of the demo. This song has signature LB guitar all over it, and a chorus (full of LB’s modified vocals) that is instantly memorable. The last 40% of the song is nothing but blistering guitar work. Probably going to be my favorite.
   
   
8. Gift of Screws – Damn…I spoke too soon. This is a deranged, high-energy…(can I still be hetero if I use the word ‘romp’?) romp! This is the crazy, slightly insane Lindsey that we’ve been missing. Maybe only Holiday Road can compete in terms of hooks. It has an almost old-fashioned rock feel…a mixture of 1960s Chuck Berry and 1980s new wave.
   
   
9. Underground - This song makes it official. The songwriting on this album is definitely most reminiscent of Lindsey’s second solo album, “Go Insane”. Many of the same production techniques are used, including Lindsey modifying his own voice to sound like a woman and then recording his own background vocals. The chorus has some faint similarities to “On The Wrong Side”, which appeared on some movie soundtrack.
   
   
10. Treason – A mostly acoustic, mid-tempo number. This song is a rarity…an acoustic Lindsey song where the guitar is actually strummed instead of plucked. Pretty pedestrian verses, but the chorus is big with lots of reverb. Nothing in this song stands out as particularly memorable on the first listen. Seems like he wanted a more contemplative closer for the CD.