That covers the oddness of this album. Now for the good part: the songs are great. Lindsey's guitar work is awesome, as always. There is an energetic, impish quality to the entire album, even the slow soft songs. "Trouble" is truly a classic track that could easily have been a huge hit if it were on a Fleetwood Mac album. The guitar solo at the end is a blistering, finger picking prelude to what he would eventually focus much of his work towards.

The one issue here for a music fan who is trying to decide whether or not they would like this album is this: How experimental can music go before it puts you off? How playful can a musician get before you are disturbed by his music? If you can put up with it just a little, there will be at least a few songs here that you will enjoy. If you don't think it would bother you at all, this album will spend a whole lot of time in your cd player.


off the wall minor masterpiece   September 22, 2001
G. Wallace (Hilliard, OH USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I fished this out of the cutout rack because of the radio song ('Trouble'). I had to listen to it a few times before it made sense. But every year I like it better. Alternatively weepy and acerbic, just about every track packs some kind of punch. Wouldn't Paul McCartney have loved to have written 'Shadow of the West'? Buckingham played most of the parts and made ample but effective use of studio gimmickry. And he's a genuine wizard of six string instruments. Songs like 'Mary Lee Jones' and 'That's How We Do it in LA' are goofy and edgy at the same time. I listened to his later records but didn't encounter quite the same creativity that led to this gem.


Trouble is HOT!   September 8, 2004
J. Redbird (Tucson, AZ United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Okay, so I admit the reason I rate this a four star album is for one cut...Trouble. For me that one song is worth the price of the CD. I could play it over and over and never tire of it. Granted it has special memories for me (it came out when I was in college), but there is something about the song...Lindsey's voice, the beat, the instrumentation, all of it combines to create one of those songs that I haven't forgotten in all of these years. Everyone has a few of "those kind of songs" hanging around; if it grabs you, that's it; you're hooked, and I'm hooked on Trouble. The rest of the album has a few cool songs and some not so cool. But it was a brave effort on Lindsey's part and I salute him for it. And like I say, Trouble is worth the price.


Let The Games Begin   February 6, 2001
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

If you took all the Buckingham tracks off of the Fleetwood Mac masterpiece "Tusk" and assembled them onto one solo album, the resulting project would not be too far away from "Law and Order". This album is the first time we get to hear Buckingham outside the constraints of the Fleetwood Mac machine. Spare and simple, all the tracks explode with incredible energy and individuality. Except for a few, Lindsey plays all the instruments and is responsible for all the vocals with the exception of a few nice back up contributions from Christine McVie. "Law and Order" finally made fans realize just how responsible the Buckingham "sound" was for Fleetwood Mac's success. Much of what many thought was Stevie Nicks's harmonies was infact layers of Lindsey Buckingham's vocals. Highlights include "Bwana"( a tale of bandmate Mick Fleetwood's trip to Ghana to record with drum musicians) "Trouble" with gorgeous acoustic guitar solo, and Johnny Stew.


More for Lindsay diehards than fans of the Mac   May 26, 2005
Greg Brady (Capital City)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I'm a Lindsay fan when he's with Fleetwood Mac: I think he keeps the "teeth" in their sound (along with Fleetwood's drumming) that helps them stay away from drifting into sappy adult contemporary pop they'd otherwise find themselves swamped in. His experimentalism was a big part of what made their comeback album SAY YOU WILL pretty decent.

Having now heard all the band output back to the early days, I've been borrowing solo CDs from the library and this was one of the first because of the inclusion of "Trouble" which I remembered fondly from the 80s. I can't say I'm not a bit underwhelmed at this disc as a whole.

The artistic reaching is definitely here (nearly all instruments are played by Lindsay and tricks like the dischordant jam that ends "Mary Lee Jones" or the laughing in the instrumental fade of "I'll Tell You Now" still turn up) but the songs themselves aren't strong enough.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Trouble" was the hit back when and it still sounds decent, although I'm struck now with how little there is to it lyrically..2 short verses and chorus ad infinitum. It isn't wearing as well with time as Lindsay's Mac hits. "It was I" is a cover of an obscure 50s track from Skip and Flip. It's a nice tune but I don't really care for the "little kid" harmony from Carol Harris."That's How We Do it in L.A." was too stripped back to ever be a hit but that's Top 40's loss. Buckingham yelps out a wonderfully biting jab. ("You'll win prizes if you stay...") It's pretty ironic that at the height Of Buckingham's largesse he decided to cover Porter Wagoner's paean to simple living ("A Satisfied Mind"). Despite the aesthetic problem of adapting the working class hymn to laid back California pop, it works pretty well.

LOWS:
"Johnny Stew" wastes the best guitar riff here..and a nice production..on throwaway lyrics in tribute to John Stewart [ex-Kingston Trio. The pair teamed up on Stewart's 80s hit "Gold".]("Johnny,Johnny,Johnny/Everybody's talking about the amazing Johnny Stew"). "September Song" is a boring retread of a classic Tin Pan Alley standard as Lindsay offers a strained vocal over a shattered musicbox backing.

BOTTOM LINE:
Diehard Buckingham fans and Mac completists will probably have to have this, but I find later solo CDs more interesting from him (OUT OF THE CRADLE particularly has some tasty stuff). Despite occasional edginess, this is mostly very subdued fare.

The bad news for those who only want "Trouble" is that it only appears on one other CD, a lackluster grouping of "FM hits" (ASIN B00008F0CE). Isn't it about time for a release of a well selected single disc anthology for Stevie's ex?

2 1/2 stars