Out of the Cradle Reviews

[michelej1]

Oregonian, August 6, 1992

HEADLINE: BUCKINGHAM'S BACK AND PLAYING FOR FREEPOP NOTEBOOK

BYLINE: MARTY HUGHLEY, of the Oregonian Staff <

BODY:

BUCKINGHAM'S BACK AND PLAYING FOR FREE

POP NOTEBOOK

Try not to get too excited -- it'll only last a few minutes. Just four songs, just one guy and his guitar. No big deal, really.

Except that the guy is Lindsey Buckingham.

The pop auteur and former creative heart of Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham will play outside McCall's restaurant in Tom McCall Waterfront Park at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The appearance is part of the free Friday Fountain Concerts series (donations are requested, however, to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon).

Why is Buckingham, once part of one of the most successful acts in the business, playing for free outside a Portland restaurant? It's all part of the business of promoting his new solo album, ``Out of the Cradle.''

Buckingham has been traveling to various cities, visiting radio stations, doing interviews and otherwise giving the wheels of commerce a nudge. Bob Anchetta of Portland rock station KGON figured that if Buckingham was going to come to Portland, he may as well play a little.

``I just told them (the folks at Buckingham's record label, Reprise) to make sure he came on a Friday,'' Anchetta said. ``And they were real good about working everything out.''

It's difficult to imagine just what Buckingham alone will sound like. Even though he plays nearly every part on ``Out of the Cradle,'' the record is a meticulous, multilayered work, the product of three years of ``monklike existence'' in his home studio. The record is at times a brisk reminder of what a skilled guitarist Buckingham is. But overall it reaffirms his reputation as an obsessive studio rat, the kind of guy who'll happily spend months tweaking knobs and refining a song's sound and concept.

This is Buckingham's first album since he left (or was fired from, depending on whose account you accept) Fleetwood Mac in 1987. He never made any secret of his desire to subvert the band's formulaic success (as he did on the weird, sprawling ``Tusk'' album), and ``Out of the Cradle'' is a masterful mingling of both his commercial and experimental instincts.

At the very least, it should be fascinating to hear how Buckingham adapts his songs -- whichever four he chooses -- to spare voice-and-guitar arrangements.