The SWS Reviews Thread

[BlueGrass]

Originally Posted by lbfan

"But the recording suffers from thin, uneven sound and, on tracks like "Stars Are Crazy," a surfeit of muddling reverb. Sometimes a man needs to go it alone, but sometimes it's good to bring your buds."

While Mick and John are mainly studio players when it comes to LB's recent work, back in the heydey, I think they brought a different perspective that made the whole greater than the sum of it's parts. I personally feel the same way about Richard Dashut's involvement. That may be (for me) what sets OOTC (and LB's songs on FM albums through 1990) apart from LB's recent efforts (beginning with GOS original effort in the mid to late 90s). While there are some gems, the entire CDs have not been that I would listen to them without skipping some songs. Some of the live songs have the Neale Heywood influence (that "musical sensibilities") that make them that much more enjoyable. I will probably end up liking the live "Stars Are Crazy" better than the studio version, once it is released with the DVD.

I can see the point being made about the quality of recordings. Not that they are necessarily worse, but OOTC just has a different atmosphere than his last three albums. The difference might be what LB used to record the last albums. Weren't most of them done on his four-track machine? I know a lot of stuff for UTS was, sans a few Cavallo-era recordings. Dashut did add something for sure. Lindsey has also paired down is array of instruments that were deployed in OOTC.

[elle]

http://www.directcurrentmusic.com/mu...t=music+review

Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sew
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 10:43AM

Lindsey Buckingham - Twenty-five years after "Go Your Own Way", a song that moved Fleetwood Mac from British blues-rock pioneers to SoCal pop hitmakers, guitarist/songwriter and occasional frontman Buckingham is back with his sixth solo project in advance of a Mac reunion next year // Release: Seeds We Sew (September 6) // Sounds like: Buckingham's trademark reedy tenor and remarkable guitar playing are in fine form on this diverse collection...the slightly caffeinated left-of-center idiosyncrasy and prickly unpredictability which has always been a Buckingham production hallmark (remember "Tusk"?) are also featured within some odd time signatures ("In Our Own Time", "One Take") and reverb-heavy vocals ("Stars Are Crazy") but this is a focused, mainstream and melodic affair...the intricate finger-picking guitar forms the base of a number of Seeds' songs, minimally processed from the ticking electronic rhythms that undoubtedly backed up the original demos...

Quote: "I've had what you might call 'the big movie' with Fleetwood Mac. I also have the small movie, the independent movie that has to do with my solo work...I ended up making probably the best solo album I've ever made..." // What we like: it's hard not to compare Seeds We Sew to Buckingham's best writing and -- happily -- many of these new songs stand up well: the Mac-ish "When She Comes Down", "Gone Too Far" and "End of Time" all provide vivid glimpses into what has made Buckingham such an enduring force as a performing songwriter...the ability to meld a memorable hook with glistening guitar lines is still a marvel to behold...

[BombaySapphire3]

by Jason Heller


Lindsey Buckingham
Seeds We Sow

B av club rating


There’s a reason Lindsey Buckingham is portrayed as the aloof-and-silent type on Saturday Night Live’s “What’s Up With That?”: In real life, he’s always seemed that way. Yet his songs with Fleetwood Mac—many of which he sang—remain some of the most heartrendingly intimate ever committed to mass consciousness. His solo work since Mac’s prime has been hit or miss, but 2008’s Gift Of Screws was a beautiful reminder of Buckingham’s bygone directness and warmth. His new album, Seeds We Sow, sees him shying away again. But not always in a bad way.

Seeds’ biggest barrier is one Buckingham has always shielded himself with: the studio. Otherwise stunning folk-rock gems such as “Stars Are Crazy” and the disc’s title track drown stark, naked folk in staccato reverb and air-conditioned acoustics. Often, though, Buckingham elicits gooseflesh for the right reasons. “Illumination” is a sharp, accusatory screed that vibrates like a Tusk outtake, and “In Our Own Time” wrings sorcery out of Buckingham’s signature finger-picked arpeggios and haunted swathes of harmony. But where Gift Of Screws showcased the unforced and immediate passion of his voice, even the best moments on Seeds feel as though they’re being heard through a stethoscope placed upon Buckingham’s chest.

One thing Buckingham has never forgotten, though, is how to construct albums with the consummate balance and gravity-defying magic of an architect. After laying a foundation of sprawling airiness and sumptuous overdubs, he tops Seeds with “She Smiled Sweetly,” a bittersweet, almost medieval-sounding love song that falters and quivers like collapsing lungs. And when he closes the track—and the album—with what might be the soft, breathy aftershock of a kiss, he once again cuts through all the effects and atmospherics to deliver a little raw piece of his hear

[elle]

http://www.realgonerocks.com/2011/09...-seeds-we-sow/

Real Gone - reviews, news and more...

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM – Seeds We Sow
Written by Real Gonepop, singer songwriterSep 6, 2011
Following 1992’s ‘Out of The Cradle’, Lindsey Buckingham continued to write new material, but largely stayed out of the spotlight. In the early 00’s he had almost completed a solo album, provisionally entitled ‘Gift Of Screws’, when destiny called and he rejoined Fleetwood Mac. A few songs scheduled for ‘Gift of Screws’ were reworked with Fleetwood Mac and eventually surfaced on their 2003 release ‘Say You Will’.
After touring for that record, Buckingham resumed his solo career and released the intimate acoustic record ‘Under The Skin’ in 2006, followed by a finished, partially different ‘Gift of Screws’ in 2008. As 2011’s ‘Seeds We Sow’ is Buckingham’s third solo release in five years, it marks his most prolific period in some time. It’s a very home-spun recording, with a lot of programmed mechanical elements, but that’s certainly not to say it sounds hurried or remotely slapdash compared to works on which he spent three times longer.
Despite the drum loops, ‘Gone Too Far’ has a pop purity, which with a little tweak would be worthy of inclusion on a Fleetwood Mac disc, with pleading lead vocals and a plethora of backing voices. Musically, it’s much simpler than some of Buckingham’s works, but it stands up well. The vocals alone would carry most of the number, but a few plays in, the unobtrusive guitar solo stands out as being particularly noteworthy, capturing a very clean and distinctive sound. ‘In Our Time’ is a superb off-kilter pop number which Buckingham very much makes his own. Not just with a plethora of finger plucked moments, but the addition of staccato keyboard strings for emphasis hints at the anger of a couple of his ‘Tusk’ performances. Almost a complete opposite ‘When She Comes Down’ is rich with harmony vocals. The music is relatively simple, but Buckingham is acutely aware that a strong hook and stronger vocal will win out. It’s enough to make you wonder how this would have sounded with the embellishment of Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie… [‘Seeds We Sow’ may be rather mechanical on the whole, but even after a few plays, it’s so obvious that most of these songs are vastly superior to those which filled Mac’s ‘Say You Will’, which was let down in part by Christine McVie’s absence].
‘That’s The Way That Love Goes’ is credited as featuring other musicians (everything else is arranged and recorded by Buckingham alone), but even so, it doesn’t sound much more natural than the other cuts. The drums come with a clipped march, the bass only slightly warmer than on other numbers and the keyboards add little interest overall. As expected with a Lindsey Buckingham recording, however, this track is still very much “The Lindsey Buckingham Show” – and frankly, his contributions are almost beyond criticism. His vocal retains exactly the same presence as it has always had -as if barely any time has passed since those drug-fuelled ‘Tusk’ sessions and days of excess – while the music contains a few slightly more angular moments. ‘One Take’ is the album’s most urgent cut, both musically and lyrically. The bass notes rumble as Buckingham settles for a far less showy guitar style. Clanging rhythm chords provide most of the focus, but the two instrumental breaks are where it’s at; each one brimming with fury – a sharp reminder of the man who played the screaming solo at the end of ‘The Chain’. Combined with Lindsey spitting lyrics like “I have no reputation and I’m not on any list / That’s because I got a publicist who covers up the avarice and where I put my fist”, it’s certainly the closest ‘Seeds We Sow’ comes to presenting anything resembling an angry rocker. Placed alongside some of the more refined numbers – particularly those with a strong bias towards finger-picked guitar – stylistically, this feels a little shoe-horned in. On the other hand, it comes loaded with a chorus that’ll stay with you after three or four plays, so it’s still a really great track.
It’s with the solo number ‘Rock Away Blind’ ‘Seeds We Sow’ unleashes what is unquestionably it’s most amazing piece. Buckingham’s voice has a pop musician’s purity, and as such is extremely admirable, but looking beyond that, his guitar work is just astounding. His voice compliments a furiously plucked acoustic guitar which is subjected to an appropriate studio shine (and possibly some kind of delay). The blanket of notes is mesmerizing – this is every reason Buckingham is revered as a musician as well as song writer. With this track, he captures the essence and brilliance of that performance of Fleetwood’s ‘Big Love’ (the one featured on ‘The Dance’) on a studio recording. It’s a track which can be played on a loop and never lose any of its sparkle. Similarly, the cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘She Smiled Sweetly’ – which wraps things up – proves a fantastic showcase for Buckingham’s sounds of wood and strings pitched against breathy vocals. A track so subtle, yet brimming with professional brilliance, this provides a most appropriate ending.
Although this album stretches Buckingham’s work into a couple of new places stylistically and isn’t always as polished as some of his previous outings, his voice retains a heart-warming familiarity which will keep most listeners coming back time and again. And while some musicians would sound cheap surrounded by drum machines and programmed elements, throughout ‘Seeds We Sow’, Buckingham’s song writing runs rings around most and that – combined with his superb voice – is enough to make ‘Seeds We Sow’ a fantastic listening experience.
September 2011

[michelej1]

By Chris Willman at TheWrap
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...82468120110906

Review: Lindsey Buckingham Goes His Own Way, Again, With 'Seeds We Sow'
Tue Sep 6, 2011 10:53am EDT

For someone who plays so well with others -- as attested to by tens of millions of records sold with Fleetwood Mac -- Lindsey Buckingham sure does create a hermetically sealed world when he makes his one-man-band solo albums.

“Seeds We Sow,” his latest, is another pipeline directly into his brilliant head, an echo chamber marked by equal parts obsessive neuroticism and dexterity. As always, it’s a fascinating place to visit, though if you dared to live there, you’d probably want to bring along a rhythm section, if not a chick singer.

This is the paradox of Buckingham: When he's with the Mac, you wish Stevie Nicks would do fewer songs so we could get more of his genius, but when he's by himself, you start to wish another human would show up, even if just for a cameo, to assure us we haven't been locked into his brain alone.

The trademark of his last few independently released solo efforts has been endlessly repeated, time-signature-avoidant acoustic guitar arpeggios, which inevitably sound like they’re being played by three sets of hands at once. These patterns are beautiful, but maddening after a spell -- “mad” perhaps being the operative word for a guy who titled an early signature project “Go Insane.”

When he deigns to do something resembling a pop song, your gratitude for the relief of a simplistic beat and sing-along chorus may know no bounds. That arrives in the form of, among other songs, “That’s the Way That Love Goes,” but don’t go looking for any lyrical comfort even there, amid the almost cheerful sounds. Sample lyric: “I lie alone and watch you sleep/I’d reach for you but I might weep/If you should tell me I must keep/Away.”

That’s minor paranoia by Buckingham standards. “I can’t touch you anymore, it causes you harm,” he sings in “Stars Are Crazy.” The title track's seeds aren't blooming into anything too sweet, either: “Pretty things are dying, in the penny arcade of Edgar Allan Poe.”

Is there a tell-tale heart beating underneath all these bad vibes? Warmth does rear its ugly head in the gorgeous chorus of “When She Comes Down,” although it’s not at all clear who are what the imminent “she” in the tune is. Maybe it's death itself, since that’s the theme of “End of Time,” where Buckingham suggests, “When we get to the other side, maybe then we’ll make amends.” (Those are probably the words he dictates to the telegram operator every time he turns down another Fleetwood Mac reunion.)

Maybe he’s setting more commercial material aside in case he succumbs to another Mac attack, but more likely, this is the only muse he’s following nowadays. And it’s one worth following with him, if you’re a freak for brilliant acoustic guitar playing and the strange hooks Buckingham breaks them up with. But “Seeds We Sow” is deeply claustrophobic, so don’t go in without a lifeline to pull you back out.

“I’m just another madman/I turn it off, I turn it on,” he announces in “One Take," doing some role-playing but probably speaking for himself, too. That’s our Lindsey: still going insane after all these years.

[michelej1]

[I haven't seen the original review by Barry Walters, but an excerpt of whatever he wrote was quoted on this blog by "Joe"]

http://17dots.com/2011/09/06/new-arrivals-5/ September 6, 2011


Lindsey Buckingham, Seeds We Sow: I’ve been getting pretty into Tusk lately, so I’m sure I’ll probably give this a listen. This is some truly amateurish cover art, but Lindsey is a great songwriter, so I’m sure there are at least a handful of gems here. Barry Walters certainly seems to think so. He writes:

Lindsey Buckingham’s sixth studio album doesn’t suggest a guy who’s spent most of the past 36 years as the artistic center of a band that’s sold more records than everyone currently in the charts combined. It’s Buckingham’s first self-released disc, and it feels like an indie album, albeit one from a studio genius able to afford and master any high-end gizmo he pleases. The folky opening title track would fit on Fleet Foxes’ latest if it weren’t so exquisitely produced; it may be entirely acoustic, but listen to the way his wordless refrain halfway through the track soars like the private jets that became Fleetwood Mac’s preferred vehicle of travel.

[michelej1]

http://www.americansongwriter.com/20...-seeds-we-sow/

American Songwriter
By Ryan Reed September 6th, 2011 at 12:41 pm

Lindsey Buckingham:
Seeds We Sow
(Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Rating: ***

In a year when longtime Fleetwood Mac mystic (and his former flame) Stevie Nicks released some of her worst songs to date (the underwhelming In Your Dreams), there’s something especially comforting about the ornate fingerpicking that opens Seeds We Sow, Lindsey Buckingham’s sixth solo album. “Had a dream that you reached for me in the night, touched me soft and slow,” he nearly whispers, his paper-light voice shrouded in homespun reverb. “Everything was wrong, but everything was right.”

It’s a moment of astounding, nostalgic beauty, alarming in its quiet and even more so in its blinding emotion. As great of a pop songsmith as Buckinghams’ always been, something even more mesmerizing always happens when he strips back the excess, trimming the mix to his acoustic and vocals. The album version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love” now sounds dated and restrained; Buckingham’s now legendary solo performances of the track are transcendent, often featuring the singer screaming himself hoarse over his windmilled spirals of fingerpicked color.

“Seeds We Sow” is yet another moment of sparkling clarity. Elsewhere, Buckingham’s at his best where he so obviously feels most comfortable: strapped to that acoustic, armed with nothing else but his fingers and that journeyman’s tenor. The electronic-spattered “In Our Own Time” climaxes in a torrent of head-rush arpeggios. His hypnotic, double-tracked assault on “Stars Are Crazy” is jaw-dropping, wrangling out his trademark alien noises from only a six-string and a capo.

Buckingham’s no stranger to the recording process, but Seeds We Sow is his most DIY moment yet. He wrote, played, produced, and mixed every inch of this batch, which he is also self-releasing. There’s a rough, intimate charm throughout—as if you’re listening in on basement warm-ups rather than final takes. Buckingham’s voice is breathy and intimate, typically coated in trebly reverb, even when he soars to his usual beefy choruses (“In Our Own Time”); and the emotions are expansive and fully-bloomed, even when the music is dated. (“When She Comes Down” sounds like a bad Steve Winwood B-side as heard on the soundtrack to a direct-to-video ’80s rom-com—but it somehow gets by on its own craftiness.)

Ultimately, the most “song-like” tracks here (like the rowdy, half-baked rocker “One Take”) are also the least interesting. Those moments feel stifled and awkward. Ironically, the more pop details Buckingham adds, the less impact he achieves; at times, you can’t help but wish for a Mick Fleetwood drum fill or John McVie’s liquid bass pulse.

But Buckingham knows his true strengths. Seeds We Sow waves goodbye, just as it began: with quiet meditation. “She Smiled Sweetly” is nothing more than folky plucks and ocean breeze whisper, evaporating gracefully into the fog of a half-gone dream.

[BombaySapphire3]

[QUOTE=michelej1;1014735]http://www.americansongwriter.com/20...-seeds-we-sow/



"In a year when longtime Fleetwood Mac mystic (and his former flame) Stevie Nicks released some of her worst songs to date (the underwhelming In Your Dreams)"

eeek that's harsh ..and I'm sure not the last one we'll hear of IYD bashing once all the indie/hipster critics that panned her album hand in their reviews.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

There’s a reason Lindsey Buckingham is portrayed as the aloof-and-silent type on Saturday Night Live’s “What’s Up With That?”: In real life, he’s always seemed that way.

In real life, he's never seemed that way. He may be aloof, but he's really not all that silent. Just because his voice is high and soft doesn't mean he wasn't using it all of the time.

This reminds me of a video he was doing. I think he and Chris and Mick (and John?) were doing promos and he came in with a sweatshirt and a hood on and Chris told him he looked like a robber or something. Well, when he came in looking like that you'd think he was just going to sit in a corner and kind of brood (and heaven knows he can brood with the best of them), but the next thing I know he's up and saying, 'should I take it off? Should I stand this way? What if I say . . ." He was all into it.

Michele

[MacMan]

[QUOTE=BombaySapphire3;1014794]

Originally Posted by michelej1

http://www.americansongwriter.com/20...-seeds-we-sow/



"In a year when longtime Fleetwood Mac mystic (and his former flame) Stevie Nicks released some of her worst songs to date (the underwhelming In Your Dreams)"

eeek that's harsh ..and I'm sure not the last one we'll hear of IYD bashing once all the indie/hipster critics that panned her album hand in their reviews.

The surprising thing is in the current issue of their magazine they've got like 4 page spread/interview with Stevie and in the first couple of paragraphs call her new album a "strong ouput".

[michelej1]

[QUOTE=MacMan;1014851]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

The surprising thing is in the current issue of their magazine they've got like 4 page spread/interview with Stevie and in the first couple of paragraphs call her new album a "strong ouput".

Yes, it's funny when the feature writers clash with the review writers in a publication.

Michele

[bombaysaffires]

My husband looked at Lindsey's new album online while we were waiting for Conan to come on and said "OMG! He looks like a Martian! Does he think he can make up for the receding hairline by growing it HIGHER?" ROFL

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

My husband looked at Lindsey's new album online while we were waiting for Conan to come on and said "OMG! He looks like a Martian! Does he think he can make up for the receding hairline by growing it HIGHER?" ROFL

Maybe he can star in a film version of the old series "My Favorite Martian " and do the soundtrack too!

[BombaySapphire3]

Lindsey Buckingham has for so long been a part of the one of the biggest mainstream pop bands in the world - Fleetwood Mac, of course - that we tend to forget what an oddball he can be. When the singer/guitarist makes solo records - formerly infrequently, but Seeds We Sow is his third in five years - he takes his cues from the experimental Tusk more than the mainstream blockbuster Rumours. Seeds runs on Buckingham's usual staples - sparkling melody and superlative guitar work, particularly hyperactive acoustics in this case - but it's the production that makes the record more than a soft rock side project. Looking back to the quirky arrangements of Out of the Cradle and the synthesized sheen of Go Insane, Buckingham takes often simple tunes and processes them into a strange mix of weirdness and clarity.



"One Take," while sporting an immediately catchy chorus and a burning guitar solo, is powered by deliberately old-fashioned electronic drums and clipped singing, sounding beamed in from another dimension. "Rock Away Blind," outside of its enigmatic libretto, floats on a sea of air while still digging its roots into the ground. "Stars Are Crazy" revolves around the tension between Buckingham's fleet-fingered acoustic guitar and his urgent singing, which sound out of sync in a beguiling way. "Gone Too Far" and the title track even alter the auteur's voice to sound younger, thinner and more feminine.



Buckingham does play it straight from time to time - "She Smiles Sweetly" lives up to its title with just voice, guitar and a no-frills tune, while "End of the Line" and "That's the Way Love Goes" just need the voices of Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie to be Mac tracks. The rocking "Illumination" boasts not only an obviously anthemic chorus but a production job straight out of Tango in the Night.



Buckingham's hero has always been Brian Wilson, another eccentric whose forte is combining heavenly melody with imaginative production. Without sounding anything like Pet Sounds, Seeds We Sow indicates Buckingham has absorbed Wilson's lessons well.



DOWNLOAD: "Stars Are Crazy," "Illumination," "Gone Too Far"

[michelej1]

[Heavy blues sound?? After 1975, FM can still sound bluesy. For instance, YMLF is a little bluesy, but I wouldn't say Lindsey was the main reason for that]

Pop Blend, September 6, 2011
http://www.cinemablend.com/pop/LP-Re...011-34869.html

4) Lindsey Buckingham Seeds We SowAre you a fan of Fleetwood Mac? Though many of my readers would not find it hard to say yes, there are plenty of people who won't admit that the Stevie Nicks led group is good. It's mainly my generation of audiences who have a problem with admitting so. They're either men unwilling to admit they listen to anything that resembles feminine music or they're people with awful taste. I'll assume the former. Mac's heavy blend of blues-rock and pop vocals are anything but feminine, and even Stevie Nicks' deeply melodic voice triggeredd a sense of rock euphoria that neither pop superstars Taylor Swift nor Lady Gaga could achieve. But, I digress.

The main reason for Fleetwood Mac’s heavy blues sound was due to the multi-instrumentalist Lindsey Buckingham. Through his effortless instrumentation, the group found their sound in multiple genres and blended them together for a unique style all their own. Since 1981, Buckingham released six solo efforts. Now that his touring schedule has shrunk considerably,he's found enough time to work on another record, Seeds We Sow. Sticking with his similar rock sound from Fleetwood Mac, the artist's latest endeavor is nothing short of what we would expect from him; unique and timeless rock n roll.