Lindsey Buckingham - Out of the Cradle

Out of the Cradle is the kind of adult rock record that gets lost in a marketplace that caters only to a younger audience. Buckingham developed his songwriting and production skills as the most-valuable-player in Fleetwood Mac, but as a solo artist he's proven to be a bit too arty for the mass audience he'd won as a member of Mac. Out of the Cradle is a sumptuously recorded labor of love that's as thick with guitars as it is with intricate vocal harmonies. "Surrender the Rain," billowing with voices, suggests an arty take on the Beach Boys, while "Soul Drifter" rocks to a seductive beat that's swaddled with guitars. The entire album is a treat for guitar freaks, as Buckingham includes instrumental interludes and lavishes as much attention on the sound of his guitars as most producers spend on the entire band. Buckingham interrupted work on his followup to this album for the recent Fleetwood Mac reunion. After all, a man's got to eat. --John Milward Amazon.com

Just a quick note of comment

This is one of my favorite albums, but I do wonder if anyone really *looked* at the pricing structure for the MP3s. Items 1, 7, and 11 are very brief tracks and it seems to me they could be marked down to .25c for individual purchase. They are not worth as much as the full length songs on the album by comparison.
That said, the album as a whole is magnificent, and "Countdown", "You Do or You Don't", and "Don't Look Down" stand out as iconic masterpieces. December 25, 2008

music

if you like Fleetwood Mac you may love this album. If you like classical guitar you may love this album October 24, 2008

Still Quirky After All These Years

You either love or hate the music of Lindsey Buckingham. When it comes to this artist, there is no middle ground in the opinion polls.

Lindsey, is an animal of his studio, an artist possessed by demons you and I can't afford. Sometimes the result of thousands of hours in solitude is a Pop Masterwork, other times he produces the strangest sounding sound collages, that are attacked with fury from music critics and the fools we be. Lindsey Buckingham is without doubt one of the most interesting musicial characters of our times, a true: "One-Off".

This 1992 CD release entitled: "Out Of The Cradle" is very accessible work. This record is easy on the ears, well crafted and full of Interesting tones and colors. From the acoustic introduction that bleeds into "Don't Look Down", this Disc presents Lindsey at his best. His guitar is brisk in the acoustic settings to downright blinding when he solos electric.

But playing and production aside, "Out Of The Cradle" has it's merits in the songs presented here. Many of these tunes are as good or better than his contributions to Fleetwood Mac during his tenure as the driving force of that great band between 1975-1988. "Wrong", "Countdown", "This Is The Time", "You Do Or You Don't", "Surrender The Rain", "Turn It On" and the lovely closing song: "Say We'll Meet Again". There are instrumental links to a few of the numbers persented here, and a spoken introduction to: "Surrender The Rain".

From upbeat and quirky to moody and introspective, this man can go either way, he tends to pour out his feelings within his music. There is an Honest feel to this material that echoes the best of any Singer/Songwriter of our day. Lindsey, will always live in the shadow of: Fleetwood Mac, and I believe after all these years, he understands why his solo music takes a back seat to the mega-sales of The Big Mac. The combination of those players in FM is so unique and the songs so popular to the masses, even the Musician who masterminded their sound, and wrote so many of their Hit Singles, has to take a backseat to their massive appeal.

Fleetwood Mac will indeed be back in 2009 {we still do not know what form the Band will take on in the future.} Lindsey, will be there producing and singing and playing as he does better than just about anyone in the Music Business. This Veteran Warrior, will not back down. Lindsey Buckingham is already up there at the Top, and I believe he is going to stay there a little while longer.
This is a Fine CD.
Four Stars !!!

September 20, 2008

Great album, Great artist

This is a fantastic album, Great slow songs, Great fast songs, and some songs are very uplifting like "Turn it on". I would recommend this album to Fleetwood Mac fan or non-Fleetwood Mac fan. August 2, 2008

A Lost Masterpiece of Pop Recording and Performance

If Lindsay Buckingham did nothing else, and I include his work with F Mac in that (brilliant as parts of that are), this recording would be enough to establish him as a Master of his craft. The instrumental, lyrical, compositional and narrative standards he sets here are rarely matched in anything recorded since. By anybody. In any genre. It took him, I understand, 8 years to finish this. Considering everything that's in "Out of the Cradle", that's damn fast work.

Over the top you think? Well not so because if you spend enough time with this CD you'll discover how seemingly effortlessly Buckingham weaves his lyrical themes and instrumental performances to create this piece of art, in Rock/Pop style no less. And all of it with Buckingham playing all the instruments and singing all the parts. Or almost all.

"Out of the Cradle" is a song cycle. As the title tells us, Buckingham starts from the first point of life and the CD takes us to the final one, with much to say as we go. It's all of one piece, the sum greater than the parts, it's Whole.

The brief, and beautiful, acoustic guitar instrumentals that are interspersed amongst the tracks separate the recording into "chapters". Each chapter has several tunes that all deal with fundamental existential issues. These are, to name a few, spirituality and human potential, personal despair, death, (your own and a loved one's), sexuality as diversion, love as salvation, solitude, resolution, and finally triumphant transcendent peace. Its all there, and more. Buy it and listen to it. Over and over again. Its wonderful.

"Silence of Stone
Memory of Shame
Fly away home
Surrender the Rain"

"Out of the Cradle" is unmatched, and un-recognized in its time. This would be a sad state of affairs if Buckingham were not a wealthy and influential artist. But he is all that, for sure, so all you need to do is rejoice in finding this Lost Treasure. July 15, 2008

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