My take: Lindsey Buckingham, “Gift of Screws”
Here’s a great indicator of Lindsey Buckingham’s off-the-charts coolness level: He can make Emily Dickinson rock.
That’s right, the title track of the Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist’s new album, “Gift of Screws,” is based on the Dickinson poem “Essential Oils Are Wrung.” And it indeed rocks, with Buckingham growling out lines about “attar from the rose,” adding some of his signature crazy cackles and wailing away on his electric guitar.
The album strikes an ideal balance between the new and the familiar. The ballads “Did You Miss Me” and “Love Runs Deeper,” the melancholy “Underground” and the disc’s standout track, the peppy, high-speed “Right Place to Fade” all would sound right at home on a Fleetwood Mac record. Mick Fleetwood even plays the drums on “Right Place to Fade.”
Fleetwood and bassist John McVie also contribute to the bluesy, richly layered ”Wait for You.”
Buckingham gives his acoustic guitar a workout on the evocative and engimatic ”Great Day” and “Bel Air Rain,” two songs with so much depth that you discover something a little different every time you listen to them.
Buckingham, who turns 59 today, isn’t afraid to get contemplative on “Time Precious Time” and “Treason.”
No matter the tone of the songs, his virtuosic skills with a guitar are apparent in all 10 tracks on “Gift of Screws.” His distinctive fingerpicking style is a jaw-dropping joy to hear, whether he’s letting the music flow like water on “Time Precious Time” or blazing through the frantic electric pop solo of “Right Place to Fade.”
“Gift of Screws” definitely is one of my favorite albums of the year.
-BAM
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