Gift of Screws

iTunes Review

Anyone who viewed the VH-1 special about the making of Fleetwood Mac’s classic album Rumours was treated to some keen insights into the music making of Lindsey Buckingham. Besides, his obvious penchant for writing irresistibly catchy melodies, Buckingham was proven an expert technician and arranger who could hear where the music was going long before it got there. This intricate expertise informs everything Buckingham touches and for 2008’s Gift of Screws, he picks up the tempo from his previous, quieter, more introspective disc, 2006’s Under the Skin, and experiments with the guitars and electrifies his pop instincts with the effortless bounce of “Did You Miss Me,” “The Right Place to Fade,” and “Love Runs Deeper.” “Wait for You” channels an unusual blend of sophisticated metropolitan blues that features some of Buckingham’s most spirited guitar playing. “Great Day” and “Time Precious Time” modulate with a new century’s version of psychedelia, filled with subtle quirks and subliminal hooks underneath the simple surfaces.