A gift from Buckingham

There are artists like Bob Dylan who continuously reinvent themselves and keep throwing fans curveballs. There are artists like Steve Miller who keep touring solely on the back of popular music they put out 30 years ago.

And then there is Lindsey Buckingham, who, while not the most daring artist by any stretch, is easily one of the most refreshing and reliable.

Much like Paul McCartney, Buckingham simply continues to put out solid albums with catchy songs. He hasn’t changed his style or recording techniques, but time and time again he creates tunes with catchy hooks and beautiful melodies.
 
His new album, Gift of Screws, is no exception. In fact, it’s fantastic.

The album opener, “Great Day,” with its euphoric guitar solo, is perfectly titled: Listening to the song, indeed, makes any day great.

What is so impressive and what will undoubtedly please any Fleetwood Mac fan is that each song feels like it could have been recorded during those glorious sessions with Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks.

On that note, could the track, “Did You Miss Me?” be referring to Stevie?  It’s not clear, but it certainly makes an excellent song even more interesting.

Along with “Did You Miss Me?” tracks like “Love Runs Deeper” and “The Right Place to Fade” could realistically be at home on legendary Mac albums like Rumours.

It would be redundant to go through and describe each track because, in short, they’re all brilliant. Any Fleetwood Mac fan will be thrilled to hear this album not just because of the powerful tracks but because it’s so exciting to hear an artist plug so perfectly into the sound of his former band.

But what Buckingham succeeds at is this: Although the songs will certainly remind anyone of his days with Fleetwood Mac, at the same time they stand alone as a great album by Buckingham, the solo artist.