Buckingham's new disc fails to get "Under the Skin" (Review)
 

This guy is an idiot to begin with.... Catch the section where he talks about I am Waiting and To Try For The Sun... He talks about them like Lindsey wrote the lyrics...


Buckingham's new disc fails to get "Under the Skin"
by Bill Zaferos

http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/lindsey.html?9914

It’s been 14 years since Lindsey Buckingham released his last album, “Out of the Cradle.”

Perhaps if he had spent another year working on his new one, the aptly named “Under the Skin,” he might have come up with a more coherent, listenable work.

It’s not that it’s awful, it’s just that there’s no there there. The disc lacks cohesiveness and is ultimately just plain boring. There’s not even one number that gets under your skin, in a good way at least.

Listening to “Under the Skin” it’s hard to believe Buckingham was behind the distinctive guitar sound of Fleetwood Mac’s great hits, and harder to believe he wrote “Go Your Own Way” or even the catchy “Trouble” from his 1981 “Law and Order” album. Not even something as lovely as “Soul Drifter” from his last album, “Out of the Cradle,” makes an appearance on this one.

“Under the Skin” is just a ponderous piece of fluff with whispering vocals and goofball lyrics that doesn’t hold up well under repeated listens.

For example, catch these lyrics to the first tedious cut, “Not Too Late:” “Reading the paper/saw a review/said I was a visionary/but nobody knew/Now that’s been a problem/feeling unseen/just like I’m living somebody’s dream.” Visionary? Nothing on “Under the Skin” indicates much vision.

And “unseen”? Lindsey Buckingham? Please. He’s not exactly a guy who’s been laboring in obscurity, although “Under the Skin” may at least relegate him further into irrelevance unless he re-unites with his Mac mates again. Fast.

Put the lyrics of “Not Too Late” over an unending arpeggio and you have a formless mishmash that shows off Buckingham’s guitar skills but does little for the listener. And this is the guy who performed the beautiful lead on Fleetwood Mac’s “Gypsy.”

Or take the second track, “I Am Waiting,” where Buckingham double tracks his voice over the words, “I am waiting, oh yeah, oh yeah, I am waiting, oh yeah” followed by “you can’t hold out oh yeah oh yeah” repeated and then followed by “you can’t hold out you can’t hold out oh yeah oh yeah,” also repeated and followed by some metaphor about a winter storm and more repetitions about being fast or slow.

And when he starts singing, well it’s not so much singing as it is breathing, about gypsy girls in derelict buildings making beds out of rain and tears on “To Try for the Sun,” well, it’s hard not to snicker. There’s a little bit of melody in the underlying guitar, but it’s hard to get past the faux poetry in this apparent tale of innocent love.

OK, so maybe “Castaway Dreams” is sweetly tuneful, but lyrics like “holy light visionary sight there’s been a change in plans” just make it seem dopey. (By the way, there’s that visionary word again.)

While no one can read Buckingham’s mind, “Under the Skin” seems an attempt at increasing Buckingham’s reputation as a “serious” musician. Well, no one ever doubted that. But serious doesn’t mean dull, and that’s what “Under the Skin” is. It’s one thing to challenge listeners, to attempt new styles, to stretch beyond the pop sensibility. But it’s another thing altogether to put people to sleep. The only challenge with “Under the Skin” is playing it past the fifth of 11 cuts.

Ultimately, “Under the Skin” is a throwaway; something that only the most devoted fans will appreciate. It may break Hootie and the Blowfish’s record for most copies in resale CD bins, but that’s assuming anyone had the misfortune of buying it in the first place.

If you'd like to comment on this article (like four others have already... here's the link: http://www.onmilwaukee.com/talkback/...s/lindsey.html)

Some people (like this guy, obviously) have no taste. What can you say? :shrug:

Haha I was actually going to post this. The guys an ass. And I say that not only because hes making fun of one of my musical idols, and because I'm an obessed fan boy, but because the guys takes every single chance to make bad jokes about it. FOR SHAME.

chiffonheads know how this story goes all too well. stupid. I guess personal taste is essential for a reviewer. too bad this one has none.

Stylus Magazine (review)
 

I'm not sure if a negative review that falls into the usual trap of making cheap jokes at every turn is much worse than the usual positive pseudo-analytical review like this one at Stylus Magazine. But at least they recognize the awesomeness of Holiday Road:

http://stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=4476

The first reviewer seemed completely unaware that I Am Waiting was a Rolling Stones song. What more to expect from such a vitriolic prat I guess. I don't mind negative reviews, but please, show a little respect to the time and effort someone has put into their work. These overbearingly smug critics, and the God awful amatuer critics you are confronted by on the net (who seem to be in competition with the real ones on how smug you can be), really do seem to have no real appreciation of anything. Even when they're writing a good review, they do so in a half hearted way. Horrid, cynical, and usually miserable people.

I would like to see 2 things stop with the positive and negative reviews:
1. Stop analysing LB the person.
2. Stop the Mac references.
These topics, especially in short reviews, are too easy to speculate on and make for easy distraction from the new music on UTS that they are supposedly reviewing. (IMO)

Excellent. Some short minded people bashes the work, just like in all Lindsey's best material. That's a good sign.
Keep them coming! :thumbsup:

Yeah, xhector, yer right. I expected this. It's always been the same. Any LB-album is easy to bash. Only when you let it breathe it reveals it's beauty. To be honest, I'm quite shocked about the amount of positive reviews. Normally reviewers judge in an instant. Like this one.

Pretentious twats! :rolleyes:

This is how you write:

Reviewers are people with opinions who figured out how to foist them on the unsuspecting masses, or as in the case of the Milwaukee web site, the unsuspecting three readers that make up its audience. What can you do? The reviewer didn't seem to bother to read the liner notes or to even notice that I Am Waiting isn't the second song on the CD. Did he skip to it from the first track? Who cares what he thinks anyway?

I like reading reviews, be it good or bad.

The bad reviews make me wonder what the reviewer is hearing that I am obviously not.

You mean:
makes me wonder what the review is NOT hearing that I obviously am.
:laugh:

I don't find anything pretentious about the Milwaukee reviewer. Instead, I find his writing to be on the level of most community college newspapers.
Clearly, he's got no foundation in music or rock and roll. And he didn't bother to read the liner notes and credits. What's more pathetic - the fact that he wasn't aware of the Rolling Stones and Donovan covers or the fact that he never did his homework to see who wrote all the tracks?
Taste in music is subjective but there's no excuse for sloppy journalism. Journalism that my grade school relatives could easily live up to and surpass with their own writing.

All that aside, I know Lindsey will eat this up and he'll laugh. It's certainly the first case of life imitating art since Under The Skin was released. Does he not get the point of this record? Is he not aware of Lindsey's whole take on the music business, critics, and how is career fits in to all that?
Oh well. I'll continue to enjoy the reviews from every single major newspaper in every major market of the United States. All of them gave Under The Skin glowing reviews. Pity the poor people in Milwaukee who have to be subjected to such ****ty writing.

Do I sound defensive?

I dont' think that's ever going to happen. :shrug:

I love the album - but I can completely see where some people would not..a lot of it is not melodic and "easy to sing to" and that trips a lot of people out.

He's probably some 20 something who thinks Lindsey's a woman!:mad: :lol:

Gerald - I deleted the other thread I posted w/ the same review - I didn't notice this one. You asked me what I thought of UTS - I haven't bought it yet! :eek: I like what I've heard so far, but I think I can already tell I won't like it as much as OOTC.

I think, like LB has implied if not stated, this CD is not a pop CD - - it is focused on one element - or one style. If that style is not your cup of tea, your not going to like the CD, etc. It is not my cup of tea, but I see the vast talent behind it.

I can totally relate to that strand. But even if it's not yer cupatea, I'm sure that if you give it multiple play it grows on you. There are some Save Me A Place whiny-irriation-parts on it. You know how that one grew to you. I had second thoughts by listening it the first ten times, but it's an album that's absolutely revealing a lot by invitating it under your skin.

I think the music (for the most part) is brilliant and he actually showed some restraint in the correct (to these ears places) -- its the voice that kind of gets to me. But, do not get me wrong, it is very listenable to me - Its just not my fav. from him - though I think it is good.

I like him best in songs like Trouble, Holiday Road, SMAP, etc. But, that is all just my own taste.

well, I fell in love with SUD So friggin'hard that the rest of his voice on this album is not a prob anymore:laugh: . But I can totally imagine that people get a turn-off of his vocals on this album. My girlfriend even walks out of the house when I play it.....And we're still together!!:eek: :laugh:

LOL - poor thing - trust me when I say many a person I dated will NEVER listen to FM or La Nicks again :laugh:

I like the album a lot, and think it's definitely better than his first two albums, and on a par with Out of the Cradle (and I may even like it better than that one, but time will tell). It certainly blows most of what he did on SYW out of the water.

As far as getting back in the studio with FM...after hearing how brilliant this album is, I really am inclined to think the group drags him down (again, SYW).

Yeah, his voice has aged, but so what? At a certain point, it's all about what you do with what you've got anyway.

I don't see the "classic rock" crowd going for this at all, but it's their loss, and I certainly wouldn't let them dictate to me what a great album is.

Its not so much that his voice has aged - - I just think the almost whisper aspect is not the best presentation, though it is in line with the unplugged aspect, etc. All in all, I applaud LB for doing something so different and so musically challenging (I am unsure if that is the right description) -- I mean who else pushes the envelope like that. AND - he did it on SYW as well with Murrow, Miranda, and Come. The man is a mad genius, which is why IMO he is not as popular as many with lesser talent are. He reminds me of Peter Gabriel in his quirkyness - and to me, that is greatness to be mentioned in the same breath as Peter G. - - who, interestingly, I believe could not stand the mainstream nature of Genesis, which was brilliant, but not like Peter G.

So, it's too mellow for your taste, in other words?

See, to me, UTS is a very accessible album. Not "Go Your Own Way" accessible (which to me is kind of boring), but I totally don't get the charges that this album is "non-melodic," or you can't sing to it, or it needs a rhythm section. Am I nuts?

And I do like some of his stuff on SYW - Miranda, Say Goodbye, and Red Rover, especially. And I also think a lot of that was pretty accessible, too. Quirky, perhaps, but definitely very "pop."

Ah my personal opinion about music and movie critics is, they are stupid , they are lazy to get a real reporting job. to scared to get the real stories , instead
of writing bullcrap like this dumb review, ya this bozo just got "Under My Skin"
Give Lindsey a break.I've have not get the chance to get the cd yet, but I will be getting it very soon. but this idiot will not stop me.

LB will always push the envelope and still be quasi mainstream - sort of like Prince - because LB sort of dicates that medium -- I mean when GYOW was released, it was rather unique and look at GDW - which I always will suggest was an ironic precursor to Tusk.

Wasn't it John Lennon who said that most music critics are really just musical artists who couldn't make it...or something like that. I'm not affected too much by reviews anymore, especially as I've grown older. It used to matter so much what others thought, but now not so much. I think this is an album that needs to grow on people. The most upsetting thing to me, though, is some of the crap people are writing on Amazon.com. But, oh well...everyone's entitled to their opinion.

I believe it is a beautiful, fantastic piece of work. I'm in love with it. If others aren't, that's their loss I suppose.:shrug:

What I can't stand is when the so called professionals write unlearned crap like this hack did. I mean if you are going to speak out against it, do the minimal research, which this fool did not do. I mean I can take someone saying it is not to their liking because they do not like the structure of the songs, the melodies, the writing, etc. But, this bozo dod not do that to any rational degree.

Yeah, maybe I should have posted my review over on this thread intead of the "official "one. This is the exact problem, I have with this CD and honestly, I can understand how ur girlfriend can walk out of the house (because of the vocals).I hate to say it but there came a point where I had to just turn it off .It's just me, I love his quirky, upbeat, dark stuff and all this (for me) is just a bit too mushy.It's only my opinion, and on the whole it's nice to see all the positive reviews in general about it.I could actually try and listen to it numerous times in the hopes of it "growing " on me, but honestly, truly, I don't think I can do it (or really want to) Guess, this one is just not my cuppa tea...can't wait for it's sequel though:]

Like the saying goes...
 

"Those who can't...Teach"

or like I say

"Those who can't...Critique"

Still....give it a chance Tuigirl, the "screwed up"-production, like the man said himself, can be irritating on the surface, but it REALLY covers alot of musicality that's in there when you listen through it. On that point it adds a certain tension that makes it all worth while. I'm beginning to LOVE the production now although I had second thoughts at first listen.

See, I'd like to( but my mind is telling me no, one listen is enough for me)..but I can't! I really can't physically find myself putting a copy in my player (as I'm unlikely to go out and buy it).I know, that if I did buy it, I'd never play it.Very annoying I know.Of course I wouldn't give up on him altogether, nooo...I'll just have to wait longer for the next one!
I'm glad you like it so much, I'm sure you are the fans that LB really wants to make his music for and I'm sure he appreciates all the positive comments from.The problem with me is...I like his alter ego too much to give this Cd another shot.

Under The Skin
 

Yeah, me, too. I've heard some of the songs on his website. I really love OOTC. In fact, I've been playing it a lot lately, all last week. From the songs I've heard on UTS, I'm just not convinced I'd like it. And I've read the reviews & they seem to be mixed, so that is kind of keeping me on the fence about buying it, too. :shrug:

Lee :)