Out of the Cradle 30th Anniversay

[DownOnRodeo]

Out of the Cradle--released in June 1992. Thirty years ago!
Happy 30th anniversay, OOTC.

At thirty years, it is probably Out of College and holding down a desk job, doing what it can and refusing to look down.

Hard to pick a favorite track out of such a first-rate collection, but which is yours?

Which ten tracks would you choose for your own shorter Cradle album?

Was this peak Lindsey? Or just one of his many turning points?

1. "Instrumental Introduction To:"
2. "Don't Look Down"
3. "Wrong"
4. "Countdown"
5. "All My Sorrows"
6. "Soul Drifter"
7. "Instrumental Introduction To"
8. "This Is the Time"
9. "You Do or You Don't"
10. "Street of Dreams"
11. "Spoken Introduction To"
12. "Surrender the Rain"
13. "Doing What I Can"
14. "Turn It On"
15. "This Nearly Was Mine"
16. "Say We'll Meet Again"

[HomerMcvie]

As I wrote a few posts ago, WHAT IF OOTC had been his first solo album? Would he have been a big solo star, rather than a SNL caricature?

And as always, Law And Order is one of my favorite all time albums. Love every note on it.

[jmn3]

As I wrote a few posts ago, WHAT IF OOTC had been his first solo album? Would he have been a big solo star, rather than a SNL caricature?

And as always, Law And Order is one of my favorite all time albums. Love every note on it.

What if he released it sooner or even later? I feel like 1992 was the absolute worst time to release such an album with an intention to reignite any interest in Lindsey/FM. They were just too far gone at that point. It just seems like either 1988 or 1995 would have seen it have more success. I think it’s a great album and had a lot of potential commercial appeal with some strong singles but Fleetwood Mac and all associated acts were at about the lowest of popularity at that point in time.

[HomerMcvie]

What if he released it sooner or even later? I feel like 1992 was the absolute worst time to release such an album with an intention to reignite any interest in Lindsey/FM. They were just too far gone at that point. It just seems like either 1988 or 1995 would have seen it have more success. I think it’s a great album and had a lot of potential commercial appeal with some strong singles but Fleetwood Mac and all associated acts were at about the lowest of popularity at that point in time.

Good points. The early 90's are when I began listening to country. I didn't care for Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or grunge in general. So you're right, it wasn't a good time for it's release.

[On Ice]

Out of the Cradle is a fantastic album and has stood the test of time, still sounds fresh. Nearly every track is a stand out. There was a recent You_tuber- can't recall his name who chose Countdown as a lost potential hit single of the early 90's. Don't Look Down is still my fav, followed by Soul Drifter. With its timeless sound, it would've fit in perfectly around the time of the Dance, however, I believe the ship sailed long before that on his solo career and it would never have been the massive hit it deserved to be. Hard to believe, 30 years old though :(

[jmn3]

Good points. The early 90's are when I began listening to country. I didn't care for Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or grunge in general. So you're right, it wasn't a good time for it's release.

Fleetwood Mac in that post-Tango to pre-Dance time period is so weird. They were just so out of the mainstream. I was only 11 when OOTC was released so much of my knowledge is not exactly first hand from that time. But it’s not like all “legacy” acts were hated. The Stones had a massive resurgence with Steel Wheels in 1989, Petty was absolutely on fire releasing some of his most popular songs, Aerosmith was everywhere, I can never forget Cher in the fishnets on that battleship, a post-Waters Pink Floyd was touring all over the world to massive audiences…and then there’s Fleetwood Mac being about as uncool as possible.

OOTC just had no chance. If he released it sooner, closer to Tango and coming off that momentum, it would have sounded overly 80’s and not been nearly as timeless as it was. If it was released after The Dance there might have been some momentum and exposure but at that point it would have quickly faded into obscurity.

[bwboy]

There was a recent You_tuber- can't recall his name who chose Countdown as a lost potential hit single of the early 90's. Don't Look Down is still my fav, followed by Soul Drifter.

Wasn’t Countdown the second single released from the album? There was even a video for it.

[Macfan4life]

I graduated from college in 1992 and had this cassette. I played this nonstop in the car. Soul Drifter spoke to me because when you graduate college you are sort of drifting, wanting to leave home and move on.
It just happened to be released in the peak of grunge music. It would have been a bigger hit if released in 1989 I believe.
Wrong is still my favorite video of all the solo work of the band. They played the hell out of it on MTV. I dont know why he does not play it live these past few tours. IMHO, it should have been his opener after he was fired.

[Villavic]

Wasn’t Countdown the second single released from the album? There was even a video for it.

These were the singles, or so I read in Wikipedia:

"Countdown" Released: June 1992
"Wrong" Released: August 1992
"Soul Drifter" Released: November 1992
"Don't Look Down" Released: April 1993

[Macfan4life]

These were the singles, or so I read in Wikipedia:

"Countdown" Released: June 1992
"Wrong" Released: August 1992
"Soul Drifter" Released: November 1992
"Don't Look Down" Released: April 1993


Wikipedia I think has it "Wrong." Later on this same wikipedia page says this.... This is cut and paste directly from the site which shows Wrong was the first single. Thats what I remember too.

Singles
Song US Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock Adult Contemporary Canada Top 100
"Wrong" – #23 – #50[12]
"Countdown" – #38 #32 #29[13]
"Soul Drifter" – – #38 #31[14]
"Don't Look Down" – – – #59[15]

[DownOnRodeo]

I think the fantastic You Do Or You Don't should have been a single, maybe instead of Don't Look Down, but Lindsey seems to love the latter. I wonder if he jettisoned You Do Or You Don't from his repertoire after he repurposed its bridge in Bleed To Love Her.

Bleed To Love Her is a bit too laconic (maybe Mick's behind-the-beat drumming doesn't help).
Don't Look Down a touch too frenetic.
You Do Or You Don't is in the sweet spot!

[bombaysaffires]

As I wrote a few posts ago, WHAT IF OOTC had been his first solo album? Would he have been a big solo star, rather than a SNL caricature?

And as always, Law And Order is one of my favorite all time albums. Love every note on it.

Same here. This has always been my biggest "What if?" regarding his career.

As much as you love L&O, I found it disjointed and sorta like a collection of outtakes and random experiments. One review referred to him on that album as a something like a smirking brat, and one called him the 'enfant terrible' of the band. Probably not wrong. He was a bit of an incoherent d*ck on it, really. How he thought that would shake up the music biz in any way or make people appreciate his musical genius is still beyond me. Tusk, yes, L&O, no.

There's a maturity to OOTC that is severely lacking on L&O.

[HomerMcvie]

Same here. This has always been my biggest "What if?" regarding his career.

As much as you love L&O, I found it disjointed and sorta like a collection of outtakes and random experiments. One review referred to him on that album as a something like a smirking brat, and one called him the 'enfant terrible' of the band. Probably not wrong. He was a bit of an incoherent d*ck on it, really. How he thought that would shake up the music biz in any way or make people appreciate his musical genius is still beyond me. Tusk, yes, L&O, no.

There's a maturity to OOTC that is severely lacking on L&O.

Tusk is disjointed. As I've said, at that point in my life they could really do no wrong. Tusk took a while to grow on me, but it finally did. If I could accept Tusk, L&O wasn't far behind it, in terms of being accepted.

And on every adjective you used above....none of them are incorrect. It's kind of amazing, the balls he had, to do all that. Especially if he thought the record buying public was going to be into all that weirdness. Wrong.

I guess the sales of Rumours gave him balls. But they were glass balls. He was wrong. The public wasn't going to buy WEIRD. And was left with being a caricature on SNL. I still cringe every time I see the Go Insane album cover.

And yet I still feel love every time(although it's a more private love, lol) I hear L&O. My high school heart races, hearing those songs, and singing along.

Welllll, it'sssssss a long long time, from May to September.......:xoxo::angel:

[Villavic]

Same here. This has always been my biggest "What if?" regarding his career.



Or what if Lindsey never joined the band to record Tango. OOTC would have been released in ~1987 and maybe had included Big Love, TITN, etc.

[SteveMacD]

It would have been better received had it been released in 88-89. A lot of it is interchangeable with his TITN songs, so it still felt pretty ‘80s. Musical sensibilities had moved on by that point. “This is the Time” is the only song that might have connected had it been released sooner. Otherwise, it felt a little too coffee house rock.

For me, OOTC exposes Lindsey’s limitations as an artist and how much his music benefited from having Mick and John playing behind him.

[David]

As much as you love L&O, I found it disjointed and sorta like a collection of outtakes and random experiments. One review referred to him on that album as a something like a smirking brat, and one called him the 'enfant terrible' of the band. Probably not wrong. He was a bit of an incoherent d*ck on it, really.

There's a maturity to OOTC that is severely lacking on L&O.Yes, yes, I understand your point. That dickiness is exactly what I think works on the album because it explodes the bottle. Think of it in movie terms. Maybe like Marco Bellocchio — a bratty little dickhead genius — and his first feature, Fists in the Pocket. He is saying, “Up yours, Catholic Church!” and then making us laugh and shocking us at the same time. Nobody expects that approach. Thoughts?

[David]

Musical sensibilities had moved on by that point.
Mine certainly had. I was spiritually ready for Lilith Fair. I eagerly embraced that retro-hippie Third Wave Feminist sound of Lilith Fair. I wanted to immerse myself in Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole, and Patty Griffin.

I did not want to hear Lindsey Buckingham’s high-tech gooky-fooky.

Thoughts?

[jbrownsjr]

It would have been better received had it been released in 88-89. A lot of it is interchangeable with his TITN songs, so it still felt pretty ‘80s. Musical sensibilities had moved on by that point. “This is the Time” is the only song that might have connected had it been released sooner. Otherwise, it felt a little too coffee house rock.

For me, OOTC exposes Lindsey’s limitations as an artist and how much his music benefited from having Mick and John playing behind him.

I agree 100%. Especially, when Lindsey does all the instruments (again). His bass playing is so boring. His keyboard work doesn't have that Christine funk and flare. And his percussion was as if he was giving a class in imitating a drum machine.

Also, the freshness of this album did get stale by waiting so long to release it. What was he waiting for? I do love a lot about this album, but it's slightly safer than the little amazing package that Go Insane is. Of course, IMO.

I've always wondered what his tunes would be like if he fronted a real band in the studio. I'd love a "rock" album from him.

[HomerMcvie]

I've always wondered what his tunes would be like if he fronted a real band in the studio. I'd love a "rock" album from him.

god, he's too much of a control freak for that to happen!

[jbrownsjr]

god, he's too much of a control freak for that to happen!

That's just it, Homie! It's controlled ad nauseam.

[bombaysaffires]

The obvious singles on this album are Countdown and Soul Drifter.

While I love Don't Look Down, it's just NOT single material.

I really like Street of Dreams into Surrender the Rain. I think they are a great documentation of where his head was at in the years leading up to this album and the whole letting stuff go he had to work thru personally. I kinda wish he would do them back to back live like on the album. The interstitial talking bit reminds me of a Laurie Anderson sort of performance art piece.:shrug:

Interesting that that was sort of the last time he worked on anything with Richard and their personal friendship pretty much ended as well.

I liked the imagery of the title Out of the Cradle because it speaks simultaneously to maturity as in just aging but also to the idea of getting out of FM and that whole 'rock star' thing which can be infantilizing.

[Macfan4life]

We all celebrate this release and I think Lindsey did relish in the great reviews the album got. But it also was a little depressing because this experience stung Lindsey. If you have never seen the Behind The Music: Lindsey Buckingham there was a somber Lindsey after this album was released. Its discussed how Lindsey's hit making machine with Fleetwood Mac never materialized with his solo career and why. It mentions how Lindsey did solo shows for the first time after the release of this album but had to curtail the shows due to poor attendance. Its a very sad ending which is usually not the case with Behind The Music segments. I know he did eventually end of on Tina Turner's shows as the opening act so he did make a little money. I think it was a process of realizing that he was not going to be a solo superstar. If Lindsey would have become a big solo star, would he have come back to the Mac for the Dance? After the Eagles reunion tour, Irving definitely convinced everyone to suck it up and go out on another tour. The money was just too good to say no.

[UnwindedDreams]

If Lindsey would have become a big solo star, would he have come back to the Mac for the Dance? After the Eagles reunion tour, Irving definitely convinced everyone to suck it up and go out on another tour. The money was just too good to say no.
I think it was Carl Stubner who contacted everyone.
I don't know think Lindsey would have come back because there wasn't a new album involved with The Dance.

[HomerMcvie]

We all celebrate this release and I think Lindsey did relish in the great reviews the album got. But it also was a little depressing because this experience stung Lindsey. If you have never seen the Behind The Music: Lindsey Buckingham there was a somber Lindsey after this album was released. Its discussed how Lindsey's hit making machine with Fleetwood Mac never materialized with his solo career and why. It mentions how Lindsey did solo shows for the first time after the release of this album but had to curtail the shows due to poor attendance. Its a very sad ending which is usually not the case with Behind The Music segments. I know he did eventually end of on Tina Turner's shows as the opening act so he did make a little money. I think it was a process of realizing that he was not going to be a solo superstar.

If Lindsey would have become a big solo star, would he have come back to the Mac for the Dance? After the Eagles reunion tour, Irving definitely convinced everyone to suck it up and go out on another tour. The money was just too good to say no.
Looks at the cover of Go Insane. How was ~that~ going to be a mainstream superstar? He's too weird for superstardom(Michael Jackson slipped by this rule).

Don Henley(especially) and Glenn Douchenburger were big stars solo, and they both came back to the Eagles...

[moon]

I don't have so much to say about this gem. I discovered it 10 years ago and it really marked my life, as a person, as a musician. It touched my soul as it introduced me to a world of words and music that I didn't see before, even knowing the FM music!!
I think that if it was released after the reunion of the Rumours line up for the Clinton's campaign, or released shortly before The Dance reunion, it would have had more success than what it had. 1992 was a different time for music, and Lindsey tried to put his efforts to sound like the "newer" music of that time, without a good reception.
But anyway, his music is incredible. Don't count the "commercial" thing. Wrong, Countdown, Soul Drifter are amazing songs!! Good lyrics, good rythm. Street Of Dreams, Surrender The Rain and Say We'll Meet Again can touch your heart easily.
He worked almost alone. Like on Go Insane. And it worked so good! But the ears were listening to other bands in 1992. But Lindsey showed his talent in all the instruments once again, but this time he needed to show a rock face, not like in Go Insane, where he worked so much with synths... I don't blame him if he's not a great keyboard player, probably his idea was with a basic keyboard base! And giving a more starring role to the guitars. "I told these guitars, I mean, come on!"
His worst ranked album is today by far one of his best ones. And as I said before, what he did next, especially from 2008 to the date, was basically the same. Speedy guitars, a soft voice, a basic percussion...With good moments indeed! So it gives more credit to his first three or four albums, because of the original ideas he had on them respectively...

So happy birthday to my favourite album!!! :thumbsup:

[cbBen]

For the first time in a while, I recently listened to this album. I was surprised at how much a disliked a lot of the drum machine. Perhaps the technology was primitive then, but in any case much of it sticks out rather than blend into the music to the point where one doesn't even notice it's a machine.

[HomerMcvie]

For the first time in a while, I recently listened to this album. I was surprised at how much a disliked a lot of the drum machine. Perhaps the technology was primitive then, but in any case much of it sticks out rather than blend into the music to the point where one doesn't even notice it's a machine.
He could have hired Mick for probably $15/day.

I think he was embracing that primitive sound. I love him, but he was never destined for a big solo career. He apparently didn't want it, or underestimated the public's love of weird.

[cbBen]

Even just a better drum programmer would have helped a lot. It doesn't move with the music (and yes, good drum machine programming can do that).

[nodmod]

30 years ago seems like yesterday, having only got into Fleetwood Mac after Tango's release in 1987, I was horrified to learn that Lindsey had left the band, waited patiently for his long-promised solo album and finally in Summer of 1992 I managed to pick up the CD on import in the UK, it was the longbox version from an independent record store, played that album to death and absolutely loved it, still do, probably my favourite Lindsey album, it is in desperate need of a release, especially on vinyl.

[Villavic]

Does anyone know what he was doing between 1987 and 1992?

[cbBen]

According to his interview on Regis & Kathy Lee, mostly working on OOTC. He described himself as a studio rat. Of course he also had to write the thing first.

[aleuzzi]

My encounter with OOTC was entirely unexpected. I’d pretty much given up on FM by then. BEHIND THE MASK embarrassed me and TANGO struck me as a very calculated record—successful, yes, but largely planned as a successful record, which is different than making a great record that happens to be successful.

Before I knew of OOTC’s existence, I saw the Wrong video and thought “Who cares about Lindsey Buckingham right now?” The song underwhelmed me. But when I happened on the cd in a used bin a year or two later, I listened to it then and there before taking it home. I was astonished. Every song was so fresh and crisp. I even liked Wrong in the context of the other songs. To this day, OOTC remains my favorite solo album by any FM member. For what it’s worth, my second favorite is LAW AND ORDER, so there’s that.

Right around the time of OOTC’s release came Love Shines and Heart of Stone, both of which are as good as the best work on OOTC and easily better than anything on BEHIND and TANGO (or even MIRAGE). Again, I wasn’t expecting that kind of quality from FM at that point. Imagine what Christine and Lindsey might have done together! Paper Doll, on the other hand, is as bad as the worst Stevie material on the previous two albums…

[SteveMacD]

Imagine what Christine and Lindsey might have done together!

Imagine if Mick had waited six months before rebuilding Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey would have rejoined. By then, he knew he was going nowhere as a solo act.

Maybe Bekka, Billy, and Dave would have been spared. Not saying anything bad about them, but I think a Fleetwood Mac as an opening/theater act fronted solely by Lindsey would have gone over better, although it could have bitten them in the ass with having the big reunion album/tour.

[moon]

Does anyone know what he was doing between 1987 and 1992?

Not so much, but for what I know, he finally worked with Brian Wilson, even when we don't know their work, and gave Make Me A Mask to Fleetwood for the 25 Years: The Chain compilation. I'm not sure, but I guess that song was recorded after the TITN days, so it's not a material from that period.
He appeared to perform Landslide live with Stevie Nicks in 1990, and gave his guitar talent to Chris' song Behind The Mask.
Also in 1990 he lost his brother Greg, olympic medalist, because of a heart attack, like his father. This part, plus the death of one of the Kingston Trio members, made him a more reflexive man, so it's a side of his inspiration for some of the OOTC lyrics, as he talks more about his younger days, on the album and on different interviews he did on the OOTC days.
I need to refresh some information maybe!! :laugh: But these are things you probably know!

[David]

While I love Don't Look Down, it's just NOT single material.

The interstitial talking bit reminds me of a Laurie Anderson sort of performance art piece.

I liked the imagery of the title Out of the Cradle because it speaks simultaneously to maturity as in just aging but also to the idea of getting out of FM and that whole 'rock star' thing which can be infantilizing.

These bits reminded me of a theory I’ve had for a long time, which is counterintuitive. I think it’s Lindsey’s Fleetwood Mac fame that kept him from having a solid, self-sustaining solo artist career. I think if he had not been in Fleetwood Mac (or been in for only a few years), he may have created an indie career with enough buoyancy to last for decades, like Stereolab or Thomas Dolby or Elliott Smith. But he was always worrying about success at the Fleetwood level, and that sunk him over and over again. Somehow, too, many listeners who might have been in his camp in the 80s and 90s just kept comparing him with Fleetwood — “He should have been more this or more that.” But every single solo record he puts out is contraindicated by the gargantua Fleetwood Mac. He is always an extension of them (as are Stevie, Christine, Mick, and John). He cannot cut that tie; all his solo work is an analogy (this is like that or unlike that).

[SteveMacD]

These bits reminded me of a theory I’ve had for a long time, which is counterintuitive. I think it’s Lindsey’s Fleetwood Mac fame that kept him from having a solid, self-sustaining solo artist career. I think if he had not been in Fleetwood Mac (or been in for only a few years), he may have created an indie career with enough buoyancy to last for decades, like Stereolab or Thomas Dolby or Elliott Smith. But he was always worrying about success at the Fleetwood level, and that sunk him over and over again. Somehow, too, many listeners who might have been in his camp in the 80s and 90s just kept comparing him with Fleetwood — “He should have been more this or more that.” But every single solo record he puts out is contraindicated by the gargantua Fleetwood Mac. He is always an extension of them (as are Stevie, Christine, Mick, and John). He cannot cut that tie; all his solo work is an analogy (this is like that or unlike that).

Part of the reason Stevie was able to have the self-sustaining solo career was doing all of the duets with the likes of Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty, and Don Henley, which allowed her to be seen as something outside of the context of Fleetwood Mac. The music she made as a solo artists sounded different from Fleetwood Mac. She also toured and kept her name out there.

While Christine wasn't especially interested in being a solo artist, she was still able to deliver something a little different from her Fleetwood Mac work by working with other musicians.

Lindsey had done so much on his own within the context of Fleetwood Mac that it was much harder to delineate his Fleetwood Mac work from his solo work. There were truly no compelling reasons to consider his solo work on its own merits. It didn't shed any new light on Lindsey, it only spoke more to his own eccentricities. That he only made three studio albums (two solo, one Fleetwood Mac) and played about 80 tour dates in 21 years (OOTC tour and The Dance) further compounded the problem.

[jmn3]

Part of the reason Stevie was able to have the self-sustaining solo career was doing all of the duets with the likes of Kenny Loggins, Tom Petty, and Don Henley, which allowed her to be seen as something outside of the context of Fleetwood Mac. The music she made as a solo artists sounded different from Fleetwood Mac. She also toured and kept her name out there.

While Christine wasn't especially interested in being a solo artist, she was still able to deliver something a little different from her Fleetwood Mac work by working with other musicians.

Lindsey had done so much on his own within the context of Fleetwood Mac that it was much harder to delineate his Fleetwood Mac work from his solo work. There were truly no compelling reasons to consider his solo work on its own merits. It didn't shed any new light on Lindsey, it only spoke more to his own eccentricities. That he only made three studio albums (two solo, one Fleetwood Mac) and played about 80 tour dates in 21 years (OOTC tour and The Dance) further compounded the problem.

I think you have it nailed here Steve. Lindsey from a solo perspective is such an odd thing. He clearly resented a lot of Stevie's solo success, especially early on. But, in what way was he ever out there building his own name/brand as a solo act? She had her name out there everywhere starting in the late 70's so she wasn't JUST the Fleetwood Mac girl. Not touring until 1992, when he was already into his 40's and relatively unknown outside of the band, coupled with his general weirdness from a musical perspective, really hurt him from that standpoint. I mean, fine if he didn't want the solo success, but I think for many years, he kind of seemed to think it would happen. Had Lindsey mounted a big tour in 1984 and never pivoted his solo album into Tango and toured in the 1987-88 timeframe with music that was geared a bit more commercial, things may have been very different for him.

Although, I think a Dance-like reunion was inevitable no matter what happened. OOTC could have been a #1 and once Eagles did Hell Freezes Over and boomers started having money to spend, a reunited Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac was bound to occur.

[cbBen]

Lindsey addresses the above in this article. Among other things, he says it's much easier to get his work out via Fleetwood Mac than under his own name. Upon the release of Say You Will:

"I spent about seven years trying to get my material that's on this album placed and heard." "I felt an extreme need to have it have a home and get it out so someone could hear it." "I would be completely happy to continue with this [Fleetwood Mac], never to pursue anything solo again. Because it's a hell of a lot easier": https://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/articles/FMart115.html

[anusha]

Sigh, OOTC is still my favorite LB album and my favorite FM solo album with Bella Donna coming in second. I think it still hangs together well as a collection of songs but I don’t know if any of them really could have been serious hit singles. Somehow his solo work never quite hits the sweet spot of mass appeal the way his FM work has. He is someone who is really best suited to a band context and to producing other artists but somehow he has not come out with the songs to make a big hit. He’s come to realize that and seems to accept his solo career. I’m just glad he keeps at it — I really do love a lot of it even if it’s never going to be massively popular.

[HomerMcvie]

Sigh, OOTC is still my favorite LB album and my favorite FM solo album with Bella Donna coming in second. I think it still hangs together well as a collection of songs but I don’t know if any of them really could have been serious hit singles. Somehow his solo work never quite hits the sweet spot of mass appeal the way his FM work has. He is someone who is really best suited to a band context and to producing other artists but somehow he has not come out with the songs to make a big hit. He’s come to realize that and seems to accept his solo career. I’m just glad he keeps at it — I really do love a lot of it even if it’s never going to be massively popular.

But it makes me kind of feel sorry for him. He deserved that mass appeal, but never really tried to court it. So I guess it's his own fault. Weird is never going to appeal to the masses, I guess.

[Macfan4life]

This 1984 interview describes why he goes "left of center" in making music especially in solo music. Its fun to look back at this because he wanted to follow up Go Insane with another solo album and warned Fleetwood Mac not to make another album for the "wrong" reasons. In some ways, was Tango made for the wrong reasons? To get Mick out of bankruptcy especially since he put his solo album on hold and morphed it into the Tango project. So I guess he got satisfaction he had his solo songs on the album. I remember in 1987 he also said Tusk elements were similar for Tango since he was doing so much of it on his own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj7tfeFA5Cc

On another note, I saw this interesting interview pop up where Mick and Lindsey discuss the disco phenomenon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMjl4Qs4qP0

[SteveMacD]

On another note, I saw this interesting interview pop up where Mick and Lindsey discuss the disco phenomenon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMjl4Qs4qP0

Ironic coming from Mick. I guess he forgot about "Keep On Going" from Mystery to Me and completely ignored what Bob Welch was doing with French Kiss.

[bombaysaffires]

Lindsey addresses the above in this article. Among other things, he says it's much easier to get his work out via Fleetwood Mac than under his own name. Upon the release of Say You Will:

"I spent about seven years trying to get my material that's on this album placed and heard." "I felt an extreme need to have it have a home and get it out so someone could hear it." "I would be completely happy to continue with this [Fleetwood Mac], never to pursue anything solo again. Because it's a hell of a lot easier": https://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/articles/FMart115.html

Well that sure seems a pivot of 180 degrees when you think of his statements that FM is so much politics and having to tiptoe around some people's sensitivities (clearly Stevie) and how it's like making a movie whereas solo work is more like painting and it's just you and no politics etc??

I TOTALLY get the point out him having to struggle to get the material out... record companies and managers seem to have been less interested in helping him get solo deals... I mean even Rob Cavallo says that he pushed Lindsey to do a "big FM multi camera show" to "really get his name out" rather than a solo album....

So I have to assume when he refers to FM as being "a hell of a lot easier" he means specifically getting a lot of people to hear his music.. NOT the process of getting music recorded

[BLY]

I just played this entire album from front to back. It really is an amazing collection of songs.Lindsey should have released this album in 1989 on the heels of Tango in the Night. It would have done so much better and would have gotten a lot more air play. Countdown and Soul Drifter should have been big hits.

[WalkAThinLine.]

I just played this entire album from front to back. It really is an amazing collection of songs.Lindsey should have released this album in 1989 on the heels of Tango in the Night. It would have done so much better and would have gotten a lot more air play. Countdown and Soul Drifter should have been big hits.

Buckingham has mentioned in a few interviews that he did not immediately start work on his solo album after his departure from Fleetwood Mac, although he still spent a considerable amount of time developing it, often spending 11-12 hours a day in the studio. Perhaps if he was more efficient, he could have managed a late 1990 release., but the album certainly benefited form a long gestation period. It's a great collection of songs.

[HomerMcvie]

Buckingham has mentioned in a few interviews that he did not immediately start work on his solo album after his departure from Fleetwood Mac, although he still spent a considerable amount of time developing it, often spending 11-12 hours a day in the studio. Perhaps if he was more efficient, he could have managed a late 1990 release., but the album certainly benefited form a long gestation period. It's a great collection of songs.

When I looked up his sales a few days ago, OOTC had his WORST sales. How is that possible? I mean, I'm a Law and Order guy myself, but OOTC deserved recognition. If he'd put it out 5 years earlier, I think it would've been a hit.

[lbfan]

I just played this entire album from front to back. It really is an amazing collection of songs.Lindsey should have released this album in 1989 on the heels of Tango in the Night. It would have done so much better and would have gotten a lot more air play. Countdown and Soul Drifter should have been big hits.

Tango started out as a Lindsey’s solo album that became an FM album (presumably to get Mick out of bankruptcy). If it stayed a solo album released in 1987/1988, it could have had the Tango songs (Big Love, Tango, Caroline, Family Man) along with some selections from OOTC (he stated that he wrote Soul Drifter in his bedroom when other band members were in the studio in his house). This might have been the springboard for a more commercial success prior to the “grunge” era of the early 90’s. Timing never worked out for Lindsey. However, the three carthartic years that he spent on OOTC made it the album that it is - in my opinion, his magnum opus.

[Macfan4life]

This album is very special to me. Its a fantastic album. But it was released the summer I graduated from college. I was moving all around and songs like Soul Drifter became my theme song. I had the cassette in my 1985 Pontiac Grand Am and it stayed in my tape deck all year. Listening to it really brings me back. Wrong was an incredible video that blew up MTV at the time.

[BLY]

This album is very special to me. Its a fantastic album. But it was released the summer I graduated from college. I was moving all around and songs like Soul Drifter became my theme song. I had the cassette in my 1985 Pontiac Grand Am and it stayed in my tape deck all year. Listening to it really brings me back. Wrong was an incredible video that blew up MTV at the time.

It’s a masterpiece for sure. Can you imagine if Lindsey stayed in the band and this was a follow up to Tango with a MAC album with songs from the ladies like

Rooms on Fire
Juliet
Long Way to Go
As Long As I Follow
Nights in Estroil
Hollywood ….
As Buckingham produced tracks!

[bombaysaffires]

But it makes me kind of feel sorry for him. He deserved that mass appeal, but never really tried to court it. So I guess it's his own fault. Weird is never going to appeal to the masses, I guess.

I've always wondered, did he think it would, back in the beginning of his solo work??

When I looked up his sales a few days ago, OOTC had his WORST sales. How is that possible? I mean, I'm a Law and Order guy myself, but OOTC deserved recognition. If he'd put it out 5 years earlier, I think it would've been a hit.

I've also always wondered how his solo career would have gone if OOTC had been his very first solo album....And if he'd been more willing to play the PR game then the way he's come around to it (in his own way at least) now....

I think it's his best solo album.

[WalkAThinLine.]

When I looked up his sales a few days ago, OOTC had his WORST sales. How is that possible? I mean, I'm a Law and Order guy myself, but OOTC deserved recognition. If he'd put it out 5 years earlier, I think it would've been a hit.

The musical landscape changed and he was a out of the public sphere for five years, which is a long time in music. "Wrong", "Countdown", and "Soul Drifter" achieved minor airplay, but none of them were hits. His first two albums, while not massive smashes, had at least one top 40 single to buoy the album. By the time Buckingham was on the road touring the album, Out of the Cradle was no longer on the charts.

[Villavic]

I just played this entire album from front to back. It really is an amazing collection of songs.Lindsey should have released this album in 1989 on the heels of Tango in the Night. It would have done so much better and would have gotten a lot more air play. Countdown and Soul Drifter should have been big hits.

My favorite solo album of all Fleetwood Mac members. Actually it's the only one I enjoy to play entirely.

[David]

My favorite solo album of all Fleetwood Mac members. Actually it's the only one I enjoy to play entirely.

Now, I’m going to say something that I hope doesn’t get me in trouble.

The cover sucks.

And something else.

I could have done without “This Is the Time.”

Other than that, I love a lot of ballads here: “All My Sorrows,” “Soul Drifter,” “You Do or You Don’t,” “Surrender the Rain,” “Say We’ll Meet Again.” This album has his best batch of ballads since Tusk.

[Villavic]

The cover sucks.


Oh I agree with that. My first impression was that Lindsey looked like an addict or a psychopath.

And that haircut. I never liked his Go Insane and OOTC haircut.

Even in some Tango pictures he got that cylindrical haircut. Was he trying to imitate Grace Jones?

https://stevienicks.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1987_tango_in_the_night_back_cover_cropped.jpg

[bwboy]

It’s a masterpiece for sure. Can you imagine if Lindsey stayed in the band and this was a follow up to Tango with a MAC album with songs from the ladies like

Rooms on Fire
Juliet
Long Way to Go
As Long As I Follow
Nights in Estroil
Hollywood ….
As Buckingham produced tracks!

I love Rooms on Fire, Long Way to Go, and As Long As You follow as they are, and I don’t know that Lindsey could have improved them. He’s produced some incredible songs, but some losers too, such as When I See You Again and Family Man, so I’m fine that other folks produced those songs. Save Me, Love Shines, Heart of Stone, ALAYF, Behind the Mask, etc shows that Christine especially was able to record some incredible songs that weren’t as dependent on his excellent studio skills, unlike Stevie.

[SteveMacD]

I could have done without “This Is the Time.”

Heresy!!!

Maybe the best song on the album.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Now, I’m going to say something that I hope doesn’t get me in trouble.

The cover sucks.

And something else.

I could have done without “This Is the Time.”

Other than that, I love a lot of ballads here: “All My Sorrows,” “Soul Drifter,” “You Do or You Don’t,” “Surrender the Rain,” “Say We’ll Meet Again.” This album has his best batch of ballads since Tusk.

Most of Buckingham's album covers are rather lackluster, but Out of the Cradle and the moody Go Insane are the exceptions. Buckingham should be more willing to feature artwork on his album covers as opposed to bizarre angles of his face

As for "This is the Time", I prefer the live version, although the studio recording is more than sufficient.

[DownOnRodeo]

Heresy!!!

Maybe the best song on the album.

This Is The Time was initially my favorite too (though You Do Or You Don't soon grew to be my favorite). Can't imagine the album without it. It's Tango In The Night's younger, fiestier, crazier brother.

My heresy is that I'm not a fan of the schmaltzy old world charm of Say We'll Meet Again, and was bothered by its inclusion as the closing track on Solo Anthology.

[SteveMacD]

This Is The Time was initially my favorite too (though You Do Or You Don't soon grew to be my favorite). Can't imagine the album without it. It's Tango In The Night's younger, fiestier, crazier brother.

My heresy is that I'm not a fan of the schmaltzy old world charm of Say We'll Meet Again, and was bothered by its inclusion as the closing track on Solo Anthology.

I love that one, too.

[aleuzzi]

I remember stumbling on OOTC at a music store. Because it got almost zero promotion or airplay, and because I hadn’t watched music television in a few years (had been in the Deep South in grad school, going to blues and zydeco bars!), I didn’t even know he’d released the project.

I brought the disc home, played it, and within the first four seconds I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how good it was!

It still blows me away. Law and Order remains my favorite, and Gift of Screws has its moments, but OOTC is, as you all have mentioned, his greatest achievement.

[bombaysaffires]

This Is The Time was initially my favorite too (though You Do Or You Don't soon grew to be my favorite). Can't imagine the album without it. It's Tango In The Night's younger, fiestier, crazier brother.

I see it as Chapter 2 to That's How We Do It in L.A. A commentary on fame but for This Is The Time about being in FM in particular.

[HomerMcvie]

I remember stumbling on OOTC at a music store. Because it got almost zero promotion or airplay, and because I hadn’t watched music television in a few years (had been in the Deep South in grad school, going to blues and zydeco bars!), I didn’t even know he’d released the project.

I brought the disc home, played it, and within the first four seconds I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how good it was!

It still blows me away. Law and Order remains my favorite, and Gift of Screws has its moments, but OOTC is, as you all have mentioned, his greatest achievement.

You have great taste. Law and Order is so f*cking weird, but I think it was released so soon after Tusk, that the weirdness didn't bother me. It's WHY I love it.

[aleuzzi]

You have great taste. Law and Order is so f*cking weird, but I think it was released so soon after Tusk, that the weirdness didn't bother me. It's WHY I love it.

There’s a zany energy there that’s so genuine. You can hear the fun he had while making it. His songs on Go Insane and Tango are brainier, more self-conscious—and it sounds like he’s out to prove his genius. But on Law and Order he was just enjoying his freedom.

[DownOnRodeo]

OOTC is, as you all have mentioned, his greatest achievement.

OOTC is a crisp, finely tuned, twinkling feast, but for me his greatest body of work is the batch he did after OOTC, the tracks released in bootleg form, the "Anne Heche album" if you will. Red Rover, Down On Rodeo, Wait For You (as it would eventually be called), Try For The Sun (a cover, but still), Murrow, Change Your Mind, Come, Say Goodbye. I know it doesn't count as we're talking about officially released albums, but this is the Lindsey musical era that blows me away.

[HomerMcvie]

There’s a zany energy there that’s so genuine. You can hear the fun he had while making it. His songs on Go Insane and Tango are brainier, more self-conscious—and it sounds like he’s out to prove his genius. But on Law and Order he was just enjoying his freedom.

So true. He CLEARLY didn't gaf about numbers, after 6 years of FM. And I love it for that. It's so free.

Mary Lee Jones for the win.

I need to make a new car cd in the morning.....