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Out of the Cradle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the book, see Out of the Cradle (book).
Out of the Cradle
Studio album by
Lindsey Buckingham
ReleasedJune 16, 1992
Recorded1988–1992
GenreRock, new wave
Length48:42
LabelReprise[1]
ProducerLindsey Buckingham,
Richard Dashut
Lindsey Buckingham chronology
Go Insane
(1984) 		Out of the Cradle
(1992) 		Under the Skin
(2006)
Singles from Out of the Cradle
  1. "Wrong"
    Released: June 1992 (US)
  2. "Countdown"
    Released: July 1992 (UK)
  3. "Soul Drifter"
    Released: November 1992
  4. "Don't Look Down"
    Released: April 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert Christgau(dud)[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
Los Angeles Times[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Stereo ReviewA[7]

Out of the Cradle is the third solo album by American singer/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham.[8] Released in 1992, it was Buckingham's first album after his departure from Fleetwood Mac, in 1987 (though Buckingham rejoined the band in 1997).[8] He named the album after Walt Whitman's poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking."[9] The album reached #128 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, #51 on the UK Albums Chart, and #70 on the Canada Albums Chart. In Canada, four singles charted within the top 60.

Ten of the songs on the album (counting "Instrumental Introduction To") were included on Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham.

Background

[edit]

Upon his departure from Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham refrained from making music for six months. After this period, he returned to his home studio in Los Angeles, where he occasionally spent ten to eleven hours a day working on songs.[10] Richard Dashut, who worked with Buckingham on many Fleetwood Mac albums, helped co-produce and co-write much of the material on Out of the Cradle.[11] Dashut served as a "sounding board" for Buckingham during the making of Out of the Cradle and offered input on how to approach some of the songs. Buckingham added that Dashut was "great with broad strokes and seeing the big picture" and said that he "tend[ed] to get lost in small details, so it's good to have him around."[12]

When making Out of the Cradle, Buckingham decided to pivot away from synthesizers in favor of guitars.[13] Buckingham specifically gravitated towards acoustic guitars on Out of the Cradle, particularly nylon-string guitars to make some of his denser compositions sound lighter, although he did utilize electric guitars when the song required it. All of the instruments were recorded directly into the mixing console in mono as opposed to stereo. Gated sounds and other audio effects were generally avoided during the recording process, although Buckingham did double and triple some parts to achieve a "squashed" sound.[12]

One song, "Street of Dreams", had elements that date back to the mid-eighties. The middle section was written around 1985 and the verses were completed six years later. Buckingham said that other songs such as "Soul Drifter" took far less time to write, and noted that the song "was kind of blocked out and completed, words wise, before ever committing it to tape. It was done with a Tin-Pan Alley sensibility in mind".[14] Some of the rhythm tracks on the album were programmed on a drum machine, which Buckingham "tried to keep as human and sloppy as possible."[13]

Out of the Cradle contains multiple instrumental introductions to songs and two covers: "All My Sorrows" and "This Nearly Was Mine", the latter of which was a personal favorite of Buckingham's father. Buckingham took some liberties with his rendition of "All My Sorrows" by changing the chords and the melody, although the lyrics were retained.[14] On "You Do Or You Don't", an original composition, Buckingham quoted a melodic line from "Theme From A Summer Place" as it matched the emotional tone that he envisioned.[13]

Buckingham said that the album title, which referred to Walt Whitman's 1874 poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking", related both to his departure from Fleetwood Mac and "the child still rocking around inside of us after we become adults". For some of the lyrics, Buckingham took inspiration from Whitman's poems and the literary work of Dylan Thomas.[15] He told BAM magazine that he wanted the album to challenge listeners while still remaining accessible.[13]

Release

[edit]

Walter Egan did the album's woodcuts, which he gifted to Buckingham as a Christmas present prior to the assembling of the album's packaging.[16] Some of Buckingham's family photos were also included in the liner notes.[13] Four promotional music videos were shot for Out of the Cradle: "Wrong", "Countdown", "Soul Drifter", and "Don't Look Down". As of 2019, Lindsey Buckingham has released all four of these videos to his official YouTube Channel.[17][18][19][20]

In support of the album, Buckingham embarked on his first solo tour.[21] Portions of the debut concert in Los Angeles were released on the live album Never Going Back Again in 2023 on Spotify.

Critical reception

[edit]

The Los Angeles Times wrote that "it’s impossible to miss the meaning of Out of the Cradle: the primacy of the guitar as an expressive instrument."[4] The Rolling Stone Album Guide said that "one catchy song after song, the sonic details flesh out the deceptively simple melodies."[6] The Washington Post declared: "The album's stories are told with music, and only Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and a handful of others have made rock-and-roll as rich and powerful as this."[22] Of "Say We'll Meet Again", Magnet wrote that "Buckingham’s Beach Boys/Les Paul & Mary Ford fascination manifests itself on this spare and breezy ballad, which closes Out Of The Cradle in most gentle fashion."[23] AllMusic wrote that along with Michael Nesmith's Tropical Campfires, Out of the Cradle "may be one of the finest and most underrated albums of the 1990s."[24]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Instrumental Introduction To:" (Buckingham)0:25
2."Don't Look Down" (Buckingham)2:47
3."Wrong"4:19
4."Countdown" (Buckingham)3:21
5."All My Sorrows" (The Kingston Trio)4:01
6."Soul Drifter" (Buckingham)3:27
7."Instrumental Introduction To"0:41
8."This Is the Time"4:49
9."You Do or You Don't"3:37
10."Street of Dreams"4:28
11."Spoken Introduction To"0:46
12."Surrender the Rain"3:36
13."Doing What I Can" (Buckingham)4:05
14."Turn It On"3:50
15."This Nearly Was Mine" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein)1:36
16."Say We'll Meet Again" (Buckingham, Robert Aguirre)2:28

Personnel

[edit]

Main Performer

  • Lindsey Buckingham – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, bass, drums, percussion, drum and percussion programming

Additional personnel

Production

  • Lindsey Buckingham – producer, recording, Polaroid art
  • Richard Dashut – producer, recording, Polaroid art
  • Greg Droman – recording
  • Kevin Killen – recording
  • Eric Rudd – recording assistant
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Lori Fumar – mix assistant
  • Talley Sherwood – mix assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Masterdisk (New York City, New York) – mastering location
  • Andy Engel – package design
  • Greg Gorman – photography
  • Ron Slenzak – photography
  • Guzman – photography
  • Walter Egan – woodcuts
  • Michael Brokaw Management – management

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 135
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[26] 70
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 51
US Billboard 200[30] 128

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 41.
  2. ^ "Out of the Cradle - Lindsey Buckingham | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Lindsay Buckingham". www.robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ a b "ALBUM REVIEW : *** LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM "Out of the Cradle" Reprise". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1992.
  5. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 168.
  6. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 93.
  7. ^ Givens, Ron (August 1992). "Stereo Review, Volume 57, Number 8 (08/1992), Sound Recording Reviews: Out of the Cradle". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Lindsey Buckingham | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  9. ^ Wild, David (1992-06-25). "Lindsey Buckingham: Post-Mac Attack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  10. ^ "Long Beach Press-Telegram (06/17/1992), This Mac is Back...Out of the Cradle". June 17, 1992. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  11. ^ "Deep Dive: Lindsey Buckingham, OUT OF THE CRADLE Rhino". www.rhino.com. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  12. ^ a b Trost, Isaiah; Tolinski, Brad (September 1992). "Guitar World (09/1992), The Cradle Will Rock". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e Holdship, Bill (May 1992). "BAM Magazine, Number 384 (05/1992), Out of the Cradle...And Into The Blue". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Songwriters On Songwriting, Expanded Edition (1997), (Book Excerpt)". The Blue Letter Archives. 1997. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  15. ^ White, Timothy (May 23, 1992). "Out of the Cradle (Billboard) Lindsey Rocks the Cradle". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Walter Egan, October 13 - 26, 1999: Section 1". The Penguin. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "Lindsey Buckingham - Soul Drifter (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 – via www.youtube.com.
  18. ^ "Lindsey Buckingham - Countdown (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 – via www.youtube.com.
  19. ^ "Lindsey Buckingham - Don't Look Down (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 – via www.youtube.com.
  20. ^ "Lindsey Buckingham - Wrong (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on December 15, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  21. ^ Boehm, Mike (1992-12-10). "LIFE AFTER MAC : At the Coach House, Lindsey Buckingham Will Be Playing His First Concert Since His Old Band Broke Up". L.A. Times. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  22. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (June 21, 1992). "Fleetwood Mac Alumni, On Their Own". Washington Post.
  23. ^ "MAGNET Makes A Lindsey Buckingham Mix Tape". September 15, 2011.
  24. ^ "Michael Nesmith - Tropical Campfires", AllMusic, retrieved May 19, 2023
  25. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing October 19, 1992". Bubbling Down Under. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  26. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1924". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lindsey Buckingham – Out of the Cradle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Lindsey Buckingham – Out of the Cradle". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Lindsey Buckingham Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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