Out of the cradle
 

I made this post about what I consider Lindsey's best solo work: Out of the cradle is his masterpiece. But, leaving aside its musical brilliance for a moment, I love it more for a personal thing. I wasn't even born when the album was released, I'm barely twenty two, but I can surely say that this album has changed my life. Lindsey often says that this album gave him a new hope, confidence in his abilites. He found a warmer, open place to express himself after the Mac years. And yet he expressed his pain: the loss of a loved one, his loneliness. It helped me years ago when I felt alone, lost.
If I could ever meet him, I'd thank him for his music of course, but also for being the voice who seemed to understand. Have you any stories about the album to share?

I can't barely listen to the album nowaday, because it has so much power on me :lol:, kinda Paul McCartney cryiin for God Only Knows.

IMHO, Out of the Cradle is not only Lindsey's masterpiece but is by far the best solo work put out by any member of Fleetwood Mac, with brilliant production and overall musicianship which unfortunately largely fell on deaf ears at the dawn of the grunge era.

Yes Out of the Cradle is some of his best work. The critics loved it too. I had the cassette tape and would play it all the time in my 1985 Pontiac Grand Am :eek:

Stormwind I'm only 20 too. It's nice that FM music has caught on with younger generations a lot over the past few years.

Yeah, here in Italy FM and Lindsey are not so famous, but I was lucky to get into the music anyway.

OOTC is a brilliant piece work and the bootlegs from the tour of the same year are phenomenal. Songs like "You do or you don't" were even better live (his guitar there is speakin...). Unfortunately he didn't play songs like Countdown except for his tv promos at the late show.

Out of the Cradle is got to be my all time favorite Lindsey album. It is a masterpiece. It was a shame it didn't get the air play it should have. I think if it was released in 1989 only a couple of years after Tango in the Night things might have been different.

once i learned about OOTC, that's exactly what i thought. he sat on it and noodled around way too long. in the long run, yeah maybe it wouldn't have been as perfect as it is, but it would have reached more ears.

that kind of album being released as the grunge was just peaking? made no sense whatsoever. right now it certainly stands the test of time, but the relase timing was pretty horrible. glad 2000s brought us new LB, much less burdened with worries about any commercial success or legacy, not sitting on his new stuff anymore and just releasing it as he's making it! :blob1:

When I first heard OOTC I was floored by it. The first two solo records were strong but nowhere near this level of consistent excellence. More than 20 years later, OOTC still excites me.

It's the best solo album by any member of the Mac, and that includes Bella Donna. I know some people will argue about that but for me, as a unified artistic statement, OOTC wins the pools.

But then, for me, the second greatest Mac solo album is In the Meantime, so why would anyone listen to me?

His best album by far, IMHO. Not a weak song on there. I especially love "Soul Drifter." I remember playing that as I drove away after my college graduation in 2000; it felt like my anthem as I started a new chapter of my life. There was a real emotional depth to a lot of those songs that hadn't really been explored as much in his other solo albums. We got a lot of frustration in Go Insane and the title track for that album is very revealing of his emotional state at the time, but it's not quite the same kind of introspection and vulnerability conveyed in many OOTC songs. Forget Law and Order which is overall quite shallow and does not really appeal to me. His more recent albums continue the trend of emotional maturity and I like them better than his 80s material, but they do not reach the heights of OOTC.

It's his most melodic work and his most natural work. Gimmicks, studio tricks, and tech manipulations are kept at a minimum; this is Lindsey at his most raw, and I love it.

I guess Lindsey was still healin his wounds, dealin with his feelings about Stevie, the band, his father, fame, etc. And I don't see him tryin to catch the success on the tail of TIN album. I remember seeing his interview at Letterman's after he played Countdown and when Dave say'd that the perfomance made him think of the live FM, Lindsey was not that amused ahah. He tried hard to make himself and his music viable as a solo artist, but he tried at his own terms. Unfortunately those terms weren't the same of a broad audience.

Yes! I love this album so much. It's the perfect 'Lindsey' sound. It has all his style and production without being too much, which I think is what a lot of his later stuff has been.

I have to say that out of the three solo Lindsey albums that I have, this one is my favorite. Gift of Screws is a close second.

Lee :)

Same here. I always compare Lindsey's OOTC to Stevie's Bella Donna in terms of perfection. Not a bad song, you are always on the mood to listen to them and it's a pleasure to do it. :)

I've got all of them except Go Insane and I have to say OOTC and Gift of Screws are easily my top two as well.

I hold onto my physical copy but I also treasure my download where at least the intros and songs aren't going to crop up separately on track shuffle.

I've been a Mac fan since Tango came out but didn't get OOTC till around 2005. The song Turn It On, written after the death of Lindsey's brother Greg, gave me strength at the time as my mother had not long since died. It taught me that she would want me to go on and do positive things with my life even after she'd gone. Within a couple years I was going to university at the age of 33.

Out of the Cradle was released June 16, 1992. I was in college and heard the song Soul Drifter on the radio and ran out to buy the cd. :)

Just as amazing...
 

Happy 25th anniversary to one of the greatest albums EVER MADE! :woohoo::D

Listening now in honor of OOTC. I didn't know who Lindsey Buckingham was in 1992. I was a sophomore in high school, listening to mostly Christian and pop music.

This is a timeless album that will forever be one of my favorites. It means more to me now than ever, with the loss of my mom. :( I just don't understand when people say that LB is not that great of a lyricist. You don't have to write complicated words and phrases to get a point across.

This album is so chock full of atmosphere, it's ridiculous. The spoken intro before Surrender the Rain transports me to some Mexican town listening to some dude play a guitar in the corner of a bar, while LB does a poetry slam. :laugh: Surrender the Rain makes me think I'm at a carnival. Street of Dreams...I'm in a dark alley, rain falling down as I look up to the sky, crying my eyes out. Soul Drifter, running out in a field of flowers, in the sunshine. Doing What I Can, out in the desert, snake moving along the ground, buzzards circling overhead looking for the next victim.

A memory that comes to mind is when my dad, myself and my aunt went to Colorado years ago and I was listening to this album as we drove among the majestic mountains. The music filled my heart with so much joy, I started tearing up.

I use the opening guitar from Countdown as my ringtone. :thumbsup:

Masterpiece.

Love this album so much! Alongside BD it's my favorite solo project of any of them. Love the music videos too.

An awakening for me
 

When OOTC was released I immersed myself in it and turned on a bunch of hard rockers with it while working back then. Until then I don't think I appreciated subtly as well, and it opened me to a whole world of sound and feeling. I just pulled this jem back out in May. There are moments where I'm so lost in that album still till this day, it has to be one of the most personal records I've ever heard that has translated into making it a record that one can hold personal. It tugs and pulls at the heart and brain.
To top it off, I caught that tour. He didn't play the rockers off this, but the show was AMAZING... I LOVE this record.

My apologies, as I know this thread is a few months old now, but I had to offer my bit of love for Out of the Cradle.

I've recently broken up with my boyfriend of 5 years, graduated college, moved out, and started my career. Appropriately, I've found myself coming back to this masterpiece of an album. In what seems to be a kind of wasteland of music - the early 90s, a timeless gem emerged. Not only is it artistically intricate - including beautiful interludes and instrumentals, lyrics that cut to the core of a person's psyche, guitar solos that you felt in your stomach; OOTC truly showed off his ability to craft a beautiful pop song.

OOTC is an experience. Within the span of an hour you can dance ("Wrong"), cry ("Street of Dreams"), and look towards the future ("Soul Drifter."). Side note: Soul Drifter is one of the few songs in existence that without fail always puts a smile on my face. It makes my heart happy on the most basic level.

It's an album that to me, defines the very person that Lindsey is. It is his phoenix album, his rebirth, and I am just oh so thankful that we have it to listen to for years and years to come.

It's one of my most favorite Lindsey songs.

Listening to OOTC right now on Spotify. What an amazing album! I think it has something for everyone. It's so Lindsey! Plan on buying it on CD this month and a couple others to complete my LB CD collection!