[sodascouts]

Well, this is thought-provoking! Just today I was listening to "Loving Cup" in the car and thinking how it reminded me of "I'm So Afraid" in some ways.

I agree that Lindsey has isolated himself too much. I think he's always had a bit of a self-indulgent streak ever since he made a truckload of money off of Rumours and started to become obsessed with, ironically enough, NOT sounding as if he was trying to repeat past success. It's like he was trying so hard not to seem like he was appealing to mainstream masses that he dedicated himself to the other extreme. "This is about what I think is genius and I'm the only one I have to please and everybody else can just go to hell!" It's so weird, though, because even as he did this he seemed to really want everybody to eat it up regardless, and seemed so crushed that his fans weren't "ready" for his genius. (By the way, comments like that have always made me feel like a loser, as I thought Rumours was better than Tusk). Ah, Lindsey, so fiercely defiant and so desperately needy at the same time!

Not to say that one shouldn't be true to himself. Of course Lindsey shouldn't produce crap just to appeal to the masses. Indeed, I do believe that "Out of the Cradle" (my fave LB album) was dead-on in that he resisted that compulsion to discard anything that sounded mainstream.....but I think years in the studio alone might make that compulsion creep up on him once again. I think that's why I've always, as a whole, liked his FM stuff better (with exceptions, of course).

That said, I truly do think that Lindsey is a genius and he's my favorite guitarist EVER. I know, I'm only a humble fan who has no musial knowledge beyond seven years of violin lessons from the ages of 11-18, but when I listened to "I'm So Afraid" off of the Dance album I felt like I had done more than just hear a song, I had EXPERIENCED a song! I'll never forget the first time I heard it - playing the Dance in the car - I kept thinking, "This is the climax" - and then he'd keep going - "No, THIS is the climax" - and then he'd keep going - "Ok THIS IS THE CLIMAX!" I actually sat in the parking lot after it was through thinking "That was AMAZING." I'd never felt that after listening to any guitarist before.

So, like Seteca, I'm not going to stop liking something because it may have been repetitive in some way. It's only when it gets ridiculous (sorry, Seteca, but DWIC is RIDICULOUSLY close to Big Love, IMO) that I get huffy about it. lol

It's all about what you respond to. I respond to LB's playing not only because of his technical prowess (which I believe is incredible) but there are other layers to his music as well. I realize how vague and indefinable I'm sounding....I'm sorry I'm not more eloquent on this subject, probably because I've never tried to analyze why I like him so much before. I think there's an underlying depth to a lot of his work that I find emotionally compelling, and this comes through in his playing as well. OK, that sounds like BS, doesn't it?! Ack! It's so much easier to analyze whether somebody can pick faster or cleaner or whatever than the much more subjective "special something" that takes technical skill to the next level. I believe Lindsey has that "special something." It's like faith, you can't touch it or explain it but you know it's there and you know it's real. :-)

I just hope that something doesn't get obscured by that aforementioned self-indulgent tendency that focuses solely on the technical and neglects what REALLY makes good music - and it's not a VSO or even (gasp) a superhuman ability to play guitar. It's music that comes from the heart.

OK, now, tear me apart, folks. ;-)