Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane

Lindsey's second solo leaves one curious about the state of his mental health. Taut and on the edge, it's full of paranoia. The songs are wiry, but full of the pop knowledge he's given to Fleetwood Mac, though nowhere near as laidback. "Loving Cup" and "Slow Dancing" are powerful pieces of music, while the title track made a curious hit single. It proves Buckingham made huge creative contributions to the Mac, and working alone gives him the freedom to be as off the wall as he wants to be. "D.W. Suite," dedicated to the late Dennis Wilson, offers some moments of neo-Celtic calm to the proceedings. --Chris Nickson Amazon.com

Love This CD!

I highly recommend this CD to any Lindsey Buckingham fan! Total genius! The music is great and leaves you wanting more! July 5, 2008

Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane

Love this album, Lindsey is the best guitar player of all times and his albums rock. I love him in Fleetwood Mac, but he is great alone. Some of the tunes are odd, but you will love them all. Play in the rain is excellent, part 2- its all music, no singing, and Im addicted to it. Have it loaded on my MP3 on continuous play May 7, 2007

Edgy, snyth-heavy rock

Buckingham's sophomore solo album was another experimental set that was popular with music critics, but it failed to win much interest from the music-buying public and stalled #45 on the Hot 200. It seems as though many listeners were accusing Buckingham of putting style above substance and of being more interested in production gimmicks than actual song-writing. While it is true that Buckingham often prefers to place much of the emphasis on obsessively detailed production and lyrical tags rather than the traditional "song" format, I can't help but feel that many of these cynics have an extremely narrow-minded view of Buckingham's particular craft. It often goes unheralded, for example, that Buckingham also loads his tracks with compelling melodies and memorable hooks, which allows his compositions to function as true music rather than novel sound effects alone.

Perhaps a reflection of Buckingham's own personal strife at the time, GO INSANE is a rather dark recording, lacking the almost fun house-like fun of 1981's LAW AND ORDER. All of the wild and seemingly unrestrained production tricks crash in a harrowing collision on the stellar tracks "I Want You," "I Must Go," and "Bang the Drum," all which are consistently surprising and instantly memorable. A similar effect occurs on the terrific hit title track (#23 Pop, #4 Mainstream Rock), in which a mass of choral vocals combine into one nervy master work. The intoxicating "Playing in the Rain" retains it's mesmerizing hold through an effective reprise (which originally carried over to the second side of the original vinyl LP), while "Slow Dancing" and "Loving Cup" incorporate subtle electronic funk into Buckingham's catalog.

Best of all is the amazing "D. W. Suite," which closes the album. A tribute to the late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who was one of Buckingham's musical idols, this nearly seven minute track is a tour de force of sonic landscaping and effective song-writing. It is the one moment of the entire disc where Buckingham truly drops the mask and writes straight from his heart. After a full album of top-notch synthesizer-heavy rock, this bittersweet, genuinely moving epic is the perfect way to bring the whirlwind to a close. October 12, 2006

Going Insane Is Okay

This is one of the greatest Rock Albums in history, easily in my Top 10 of all time. The music, the lyrics, everything is so powerful, and from one of the premiere musicians of all time. October 2, 2006

An over-looked masterpiece

I first purchased 'Go Insane' on vinyl back when it was first issued in 1984. A year or two later I bought in on cassette. Listening to it today I think it has pretty much stood the test of time.

Buy it..you won't be sorry. September 15, 2006

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