GO INSANE  -  LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

YEAR:  1984
LABEL:  Reprise
TRACK LISTING:  I Want You,  Go Insane,  Slow Dancing,  I Must Go,  Play in the Rain,  Play in the Rain (Continued),  Loving Cup,  Bang the Drum,  D.W. Suite
IMPRESSIONS:  Ah, remember when 38 minutes made an album?  Nowadays, if you put out an album only 38 minutes long people would either call you a slacker or rename it an EP.  But back in the days of vinyl, this was a respectable album length (any more and you'd have a double LP) and nobody expected more.  This brings us to Lindsey Buckingham's second solo album right at the height of the mid-80's new wave MTV boom when Fleetwood Mac's guitar god was perhaps even a little too odd for music videos.  This was when Mr. Buckingham went around everywhere with his "high hair" do -- I mean everywhere -- even on the "We Are the World" video!  The album's first single "Go Insane" is a fantastic song and I loved it the minute I heard it:  driving drums, bizarre sound and even featuring a heavy guitar presence during the age of synthesizers.  The song was quite successful and got a lot of airplay.  Mr. Buckingham followed it up with another fantastic single which sadly didn't capture the public's attention as much:  "Slow Dancing"; the video for this song was exquisite -- think waltzing ghosts from "THE HAUNTED MANSION", folks.  There were a few other notable album tracks:  the two-part "Play in the Rain" (which ended side one with a "locked groove" which meant that the song would endlessly play until you physically lifted the needle) and album-ender "D.W. Suite" which was a tribute to the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson who died during the making of this album. The experimental sound here looks forward in many ways to a little techno, a little bit of the synth-driven Depeche Mode sound as well as sounding strongly influential (in the song "D.W. Suite") to the sound of the Polyphonic Spree.  But while half of this album is great, the other half is mainly undistinguished 80's experimentation which fell kinda flat.  I've had the album since it came out in 1984 and I don't think I've ever listened to the other songs (I haven't mentioned) more than once.  And I certainly can't remember them.  For an album only 38 minutes long, this isn't a laudable track record.  More time focused on melodies and less on experimental sound tinkering would've netted a better album.  Lindsey's first album suffers from a similar complaint:  half a great album, half a forgettable album.  So, indeed perhaps the best thing to do is to take half the songs from his first album "LAW AND ORDER" and half the songs from "GO INSANE" and create the perfect Lindsey Buckingham 80's solo album; I dunno, you could rename it "INSANE ORDER".  That's kinda fitting, actually.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Go Insane,  Slow Dancing,  Play in the Rain,  Play in the Rain (Continued),  D.W. Suite
FACT SHEET:  GO INSANE is Lindsey Buckingham's second solo album.  It was recorded during the time when Fleetwood Mac had supposedly broken-up for good with the release of what was supposed to be their final album "MIRAGE"; the break-up was short-lived when Fleetwood Mac suddenly re-formed in the mid-80's.  All the songs (except "D.W. Suite") are about Buckingham's break-up with girlfriend Carol Ann Harris and the album is dedicated to her.   

STORMS - Various Artists

YEAR: 2003

LABEL: Cerpts Productions

TRACK LISTING: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Knowing Me Knowing You - ABBA, Every Little Thing About You - Raul Malo, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Back To Then - Darius Rucker, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, If I Could Only Stay Asleep - Patsy Cline, Ghost In This House - Allison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

IMPRESSIONS: It was never my intention to put up a cd mix I made myself however there's no other I would consider before this one. The only cd mix I've made which has a fan base; everyone who has heard it declared it a classic. So who am I to argue with them? I would certainly say this is the one cd mix I consider a perfect jewel. Made on the 7th of January 2003, this cd was the result of a breakup and a broken heart ripped out of my chest and trodden on with golf shoes. Not only was the year 2002 a tough one for myself but for others I knew and this cd resonated strongly with all of us. Not only does it contain my number one favourite song of all time (Pearl Jam's "Black") but it also contains my number TWO favourite song (Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama"); both songs won Song of the Year Penguin Awards in their respective years. It features the song which had the most ever plays on my first ipod "City Lights" (Everything But the Girl's "Two Star" which had racked up 18 plays before I got my new ipod "Podzilla"). The cd also features the second saddest song ever recorded: The 5th Dimension's "If I Could Reach You" (the number one saddest song ever recorded, in case you're interested, is Stan Rogers' "First Christmas"). I am still extremely proud of the mood I managed to sustain on this cd and consider it my finest programming job.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, Ghost In This House - Alison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

FACT SHEET: STORMS is a Cerpts CD Mix which was compiled on January 7, 2003. The cover art is by Edward Gorey.

MIRAGE - Fleetwood Mac

YEAR: 1982

LABEL: Warner Bros.

TRACK LISTING: Love In Store, Can't Go Back, That's Alright, Book of Love, Gypsy, Only Over You, Empire State, Straight Back, Hold Me, Oh Diane, Eyes of the World, Wish You Were Here

IMPRESSIONS: This album has special meaning to me because it contains my favourite Fleetwood Mac song "Wish You Were Here". The calibre of the songwriting for about half the album is a little lax and "soft rock" but I have a real soft spot for MIRAGE despite that fact. And there are still some of the best Fleetwood Mac songs to be found on this album: the Stevie Nicks country/western styled "That's Alright" is one of my favourites and Lindsey Buckingham's 50's-sounding "Oh Diane" is sweet and fun. Then, of course, there's the major video hit single "Gypsy" which ranks with their best and the aforementioned sublime "Wish You Were Here" which nobody's knows but, when I play it for them, everyone falls in love with. Fleetwood Mac would return in a couple years with some radio hits and a differing line-up but this album really marks the end of the "second great era" of the band which emerged in the mid-70's.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: That's Alright, Gypsy, Oh Diane, Wish You Were Here

FACT SHEET: MIRAGE is Fleetwood Mac's 13th album released after the hiatus following the release of their experimental (and commercially disappointing) TUSK album in 1979. In the interim Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie all embarked on solo careers and this was intended at the time to be the last Fleetwood Mac album (at least with this lineup). This was the first Fleetwood Mac album to top the charts since monumental megahit RUMOURS in 1977.