CompleteMartialArts.com - Gift Of Screws
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List Price: $18.98
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Manufacturer: Reprise Records
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0093624983347
Label: Reprise Records
Manufacturer: Reprise Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Reprise Records
Release Date: 2008-09-16
Studio: Reprise Records
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Editorial Reviews:
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Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham will release his fifth solo album 'Gift of Screws' on September 15th on Reprise. The album is his first since 2006's acoustically focused 'Under The Skin'. Primarily recorded and self-produced at his home studio and on the road during the 'Under The Skin' tour, the album also features two songs co-produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance). Mixing the immediacy of the best of his contributions to Fleetwood Mac with experimental production flourishes, highlights of the set include 'Bel Air Rain', 'Time Precious Time', 'Underground, 'Love Runs Deeper' and 'Treason'. "You could certainly say this album is a distillation of a number periods of time, some false starts to make albums, certainly some songs that go back a number of years, that took a while to find a home here, combined with brand-new songs and a whole other outlook," explains Buckingham. "And the fact that there was a kind of tenacity and focus to want to bring all of this together in one place. The fact that as an artist I'm still, for better or worse, clinging to my idealism and to my sense that there is still yet much to be said. This is a culmination of that." "The first one was more of a boutique kind of album," he adds by way of comparing 'Under The Skin' with 'Gift of Screws'. "It's almost like the opening act and then the headline act in terms of the kind of approach. Here I'm bringing to bear many more aspects of what I can do - guitar solos, just rocking a lot more in addition to the other things. It does rock more! And they do seem to complement each other." The album also features the unmistakable sound of the Fleetwood Mac rhythm section, as John McVie and Mick Fleetwood contribute to several songs including the title-track and 'Wait For You'.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Lindsey's still got it
Comment: Good CD.
If you like Fleetwood Mac, you'll more than likely appreciate Lindsey Buckingham's solo projects,
Good music
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Buckingham comes out shining in Screws
Comment: A follow up to his 2006 album "Under The Skin," which to me far excedes it. He takes on more of his rock roots and a few of the songs sound very much like something that could be on a Fleetwood Mac album. "Great Day" has "Tusk" written all over it. "Love Runs Deeper" has this awesome chorus with that Mac-ish tone. "Did You Miss Me" is just lyrics in motion and is definitely one of my favorites. "Wait For You" is sinister and balls to the wall rockin'. "Treason" takes us back to the acoustic feel of "Skin" with its strumming acoustics and lush Buckingham vocals. I love this album and will say it is the closest to "Cradle' in my heart.
Customer Rating:
Summary: While GIFTed, These SCREWS Need Tightening
Comment: Throughout his career, as both a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, Lindsey Buckingham has flitted between two camps. On the one side, you have an artist with an innate sense of melody. On the other, you have someone you can be maddeningly self-indulgent. These two sides have been battling each other as far back as 1979's TUSK and 1981's LAW & ORDER, but have become particularly pronounced in the last decade or so, with Fleetwood Mac's 2003 effort SAY YOU WILL and Buckingham's last solo release 2006's UNDER THE SKIN, being prime examples.
This duality continues with GIFT OF SCREWS, a harder-rocking effort than the more acoustic-driven UNDER THE SKIN. And, once again, he comes up with a mixed bag of goods.
Things start off with the quirky "Great Day." Buckingham delivers the song with a chilly, almost detached, vocal, which works to great effect. Add some blistering guitar and edgy percussion and you have a mesmerizing track. As Buckingham sings "It was a great day/Great day/It wasn't such a great day", you know exactly what he's talking about, how vague, distorted memories can mess with your mind.
"Time Precious Time" is one of the cuts on GIFT OF SCREWS that just falls flat. Everyone knows ~ and loves ~ that amazingly unique finger-picking technique Buckingham uses, but a complete song based on it gets old fast. Toss in lyrics that are overly precious (no pun intended!) and an annoying chorus and you have a song that would have/should have been left on the studio floor had this been a Fleetwood Mac disc.
The exact opposite can be said about "Did You Miss Me"....this song positively shimmers, dancing out of the speakers with a light-heartedness and grace that we haven't heard from Buckingham since RUMOURS....oh, O.K., since "Trouble!" There's a warmth to his voice that's intoxicating, an element that's been missing for way too long. Let's hope the lyrics "Check it out/Hear the sound/All these walls are coming down" can have any number of meanings, be it romantic....as an artist...or something else.
"Wait For You" is one of two tracks that features the ace rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. A full-tilt rocker, I can't help but wonder if this song is about ~ or written for ~ Christine McVie. Originally titled "Someone's Got To Change Your Mind", Buckingham seems to understand McVie's desire to retire, but he's also making it clear that he would be fine with it not being permanent (Amen, Lindsey, amen!!!). Edgy, gritty, gutsy....this is a great cut, one of GOS's best.
Ditto "Love Runs Deeper." With it's wall of acoustic guitars and ringing electric solo, this is Buckingham at his poppy best. This is also the song that will have Fleetwood Mac fan's tongues wagging....is it about Stevie?!? With lyrics like "I loved you little child/How you mystified/Just a blinding flash/We were parallel lines" and "Black angel can't be alone", the prospects are good. Whatever the case, this is one of Buckingham's best compositions to date. VERY nice!
"Bel Air Rain" is more of Buckingham's signature speed picking, but it works here. There's an intensity and urgency to the track that's captivating. Here he bares his soul ("I changed my name/I went insane/Still I can't complain"), with a forceful lead vocal and economical arrangement. Mark my word, this one will grow on you!
The same can be said about "The Right Place To Fade." There's a smoothness to this cut that's infectious. Weaving in and out, pushing and pulling, this is a lyrical combination of both a shove and a caress. Sort of the musical offspring of past hits such as "Second Hand News" and "Countdown", this is the kind of left-of-mainstream ~ but not TOO left! ~ that Buckingham shines best on.
And then there's the disc's title track. Much like "My Little Demon" off of 1997's THE DANCE, there's an unbridled passion and joy to "Gift Of Screws." Once again taking advantage of that killer Fleetwood/McVie combo, Buckingham lets loose like a teenager in an after-school garage band. Not since "Holiday Road" has he seemed to be having so much fun, a side I hope surfaces more often on future recordings, be they solo or (hopefully!)with Fleetwood Mac.
"Underground" is an odd little cut, one of those tracks where Buckingham seems to be feeling unappreciated and sorry for himself. Here we find him whining about the industry not understanding him and his art, and how he's thinking about going the indie route ("underground"). Yet, Buckingham's major label deal ended with his last release....he was free to do whatever he liked, sign with whomever he chose. And what does he do? Why, re-up with the same major label he seems to be so unhappy with here! Hmmmmm....methinks he doth protest too much!
Things wrap up with "Treason", an acoustic strummer that's nice enough, but seems to be missing something. And that seems to be the case with a lot of GIFT OF SCREWS. While there are some moments of joy and light-heartedness, of things new and fresh, Buckingham seems trapped between the artistic and commercial worlds, and not just a little too comfortable repeating past styles and sounds. It's not a good thing to be wondering on a solo release what this track would sound like with more of that amazing Fleetwood/McVie backing, or how that cut would benefit from some killer Stevie Nicks (or any one else's!) harmonies. With the future of Fleetwood Mac up in the air (at least as a recording act), here's hoping Lindsey Buckingham A) continues to lighten up, B) moves out of his comfort zone, and C) becomes a little less insular on his next effort. This disc, which is actually a 3-1/2 starrer, got the benefit of the doubt this time around, with me rounding up. That won't happen next time. (As with all my reviews, I'm giving the disc an extra half a star for including the lyrics).
Customer Rating:
Summary: His Best Since Out of the Cradle
Comment: But this one is totally different. Lindsey has always had a strange, dark streak -- "Go Insane" anyone? -- but on Gift of Screws he takes that impulse and really runs with it.
Although there are several melodically gorgeous, beautifully arranged songs that recall the best of Out of the Cradle ("Underground," "Bel Air Rain"), I would say there are no tracks as spectacular as the best pop songs from that groundbreaking album ( "Countdown," "Soul Drifter," "Don't Look Down"). Instead what you have here for the most part is a somewhat self-obsessed, remarkably talented guitar-picker using his prodigious gifts to go wherever it is his id takes him. And who knows where that is?
If you liked tracks from 2006's Under the Skin like "Not Too Late" you will especially enjoy this album. Lindsey's impeccable timing and sense of ryhthm are at the forefront, and his amazing plectrum picking lift songs such as "Time Precious Time" into the realm of high art. Along with pop gems sprinkled throughout like "Did You Miss Me" and "Right Time to Fade" (with Mick on drums!), the album percolates along at an intense pace, where it apexes on the title track -- a strange rocker that demands to be played at maximum volume. Yet the closer "Treason" brings us all down to earth in a stately, dignified manner.
In all, a shining, carefully constructed piece of art, by a master musician. At this breakneck pace (two albums in three years) Lindsey seems to be on a roll. Having seen the man live in Fort Lauderdale on the Under the Skin tour, I can definitely say I am enjoying every minute of it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buckingham CD puts me to sleep
Comment: This cd is way too short and way too mellow. There are no tracks that have a hook like his past cds. To sum it up, it is one play and put it away.Hopefully the next Fleetwood Mac cd will have his best songs!
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