Disco de Lindsey Buckingham: “Go Insane”

This album was, when it came out, a work of sheer wonder for me. 18 years on that wonder still holds.

I understand the criticisms of the production style; the production, very state-of-the-art at the time, is quite "in your face." But this is key to what renders this album so magical.

On the first few listens this album will sound cold and icy-- like those gum commercials where they show cold winter scenes accompanying the chewing of said stick or chicklet. You almost feel the harsh winds blow. But after you listen a few times, you start to find yourself penetrating the icy veneer, and you find the white hot passion and raw emotion juswt beneath the surface--passion that makes so much of Lindsey's best work so powerful and enduring.

Listen to "Bang the Drum." Pure ice. Listen to it again. And again. Hell, listen to it on headphoines. As you penetrate the shell, you begin to picture this tiny Lindsey, in the face of the female protagonist's "deep down feeling that won't let go", her fears that "I just don't think I'm tough enough", urging her to "bang the drum! Play it loud!" It is a profound message, a message of transforming pain and fear to hope and self, a message all the richer for the way it rrequires that unwrappping. I generally think albums that improve with subsequent listens end up being the best albums.

You can also, by the way, hear the sonic seeds for Tango In the Night, a Fleetwood Mac album comprised largely of songs lifted (in some cases intact) from an aborted Lindsey solo project (much as Say You Will rises from the ashes of the unreleased Gift of Screams). The vocal effects Lindsey uses on the Tango track "Big Love" to emulate Stevie singing-- fooling most listeners who thought she was actually on that track, including at the time David Letterman, who nightly played the song and made fun of "Stevie's" love grunts-- can be found all over Go Insane.

Ultimately, I found this little gem to be one of the best releases of the 80s. It doesn't sound dated at all to these ears (let's face it, this isn't Men Without Hats or Duran Duran we're talking about here). If you can go with it, give in to the synthesized icy production sheen that is the hard exterior, you will be amply rewarded when the thing explodes with color and flavor inside your head and heart.

In Lindsey Buckingham's work with Fleetwood Mac, there was always a sense of urgent intensity under the surface, waiting to explode at any moment. This is the album where it finally explodes! The album opens with the sound of a ringing alarm clock, waking us up to the fact that Buckingham does not intend to play it safe this time around. This leads into "I Want You", an intense track set to a funky jackhammer rhythm, with Buckingham's distorted vocals drawing us right in to his insane world of lust and longing. This song is followed by three tense (and surprisingly funky) tracks, the most notable of which is "Slow Dancing". This song is incredibly haunting, with Buckingham's trademark vocal harmonies, as well as some beautiful (almost Celtic sounding) acoustic guitar playing at the song's end. All the tension leads up to the album's centerpiece, "Play In The Rain". This 2-part piece uses strange sounds of exotic percussion, sitars, feminine voices, and synthesizers to create a feeling almost of sexual release. After this, the album begins to take a more hopeful tone, leading up to "D.W. Suite" which encompasses life, death, and redemption. This is a true concept album that needs to be listened to from beginning to end. Buckingham proves his true skill to be not just as a guitar player but also a producer in control of a vast array of sounds. The vocal effects and synth sounds are a precursor to the work he would do on "Tango In The Night". Overall, "Go Insane" is an overlooked masterpiece of an album that takes you into the insane world of Lindsey Buckingham.

Lindsey flies solo for the second time on this colorful disc. Again, he plays most of the instruments on the album and does most of the vocal tracks. This one man band release differs slightly from his previous work, Law and Order. Lindsey uses drum machines and synthesizers to greater use on Go Insane. In fact, the album relies almost entirely on these instruemts. However, the songwriting is still fairly top notch. The best tracks on the album ("Go Insane," "Slow Dancing," and the two-part "Play In the Rain") could easily have evolved into brilliant Fleetwood Mac songs. The joy of listening to a Lindsey Buckingham solo record is to hear a true artist who knows how to paint music in a unique and original way. The colors he chooses to paint his music are brilliant and truly artistic.

This album is not for everyone. Having said that, anyone who appreciates an artists willingness to experiment should love that aspect of "Go Insane." It is no holds barred Lindsey. While it may not display his brilliant guitar talent like "Out of the Cradle" does, it stands alone a work of art.

Here comes a CD bursting with creative power and energy. Lindsey Buckingham second solo album, and arguably his best, shimmers with a greatness, much in the way Brian Wilson's solo work does. "I Want You" opens the album and features synthesizer and cowbell. Unfortunately, Lindsey's maginificant guitar work is not as present on this disc as his previous work with Fleetwood Mac. "Go Insane" is the perfect song at capturing Lindsey's style and mood. This song was recently performed by the reunited Fleetwood Mac.