Gift of Screws is the fifth solo album by American musician and Fleetwood Mac vocalist/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and was released on September 15, 2008. Gift of Screws peaked at #48 on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 2008.[1] Additionally, it also reached number #15 on the Billboard Rock Album Chart.
The album title existed as a solo album set for release in 2001 by Reprise Records.[2] Songs were recorded between 1995 and 2000, some of which were performed and recorded live by Fleetwood Mac for their The Dance album and tour in 1997. They also feature contributions from bandmates Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. High-quality bootlegs of the Gift of Screws project, which had been mixed but not yet mastered, were publicly circulated for free MP3 download in October 2001.[3]
Upon presenting the finished album to Reprise, Buckingham was advised to retain some of the material for a forthcoming Fleetwood Mac album. To this end, Buckingham contributed several of the songs towards the 2003 album Say You Will and ultimately his next solo project, Under the Skin, released in 2006.[2] Buckingham mentioned in interviews upon the release of Under the Skin that his next album was to be more rock-oriented and would possibly feature contributions from Fleetwood and McVie.[4]
"The Right Place to Fade", "Wait for You", and the title track were all part of the original track listing for Gift of Screws. Buckingham remarked that "there were a few stragglers and those three were sort of put on the shelves. And I really didn't expect them to find a home...But once these songs started wanting to rock, I realized that these songs had in fact found a home."[5]
Buckingham played a Baby Taylor, a Martin D-18, a Turner Renaissance acoustic, and a Model One electric guitar during the making of Gift of Screws. Most of Buckingham's guitar parts were recorded directly into a 1980s Neotek Elite mixing console rather than amplifiers, which were only used sparingly. He occasionally sent his electric guitars through a Boss OD-1 overdrive effect pedal, but also utilized some of the presets on Roland's VG-8 V-Guitar System.[6]
The album features a song ("Great Day") co-written with Buckingham's son Will and two songs co-written with his wife Kristen, who is also credited with the album's photography.[4] On "Great Day", Buckingham built around Will's vocal melody with "fingerpicked acoustic parts, counterpoint vocals, and flashy leads."[6] Buckingham wrote "Time Precious Time" after watching Terrence Malick's film The New World, which featured a repeating orchestral motif that inspired Buckingham to create a song around a guitar arpeggio with a rolling pick.[4] The title track takes its inspiration from an Emily Dickinson poem.[7]
All tracks written by Lindsey Buckingham except where noted.
"Did You Miss Me" and "Love Runs Deeper" were serviced to radio stations as promo releases. "Did You Miss Me" was also released as a single via digital download. In addition, an EP was released from Gift of Screws that contained "Did You Miss Me", "Love Runs Deeper" and three live tracks from KBCO Studio C Sessions - "Did You Miss Me", "Time Precious Time" and "Big Love". Two videos that contained track commentaries for "Wait For You" and "Love Runs Deeper" were released as a digital download as well.
The album was released physically on CD as well as a 180g heavyweight black vinyl disc in a Stoughton jacket with bonus CD in paper sleeve via Reprise Records.[8]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Gift of Screws received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 from 15 critic scores.[9] Thom Jurek of AllMusic believed that Gift of Screws was a highlight in his discography.[10] Billboard likened "Great Day" to "the stark and primitive sonics of Tusk and Buckingham's early solo albums".[16] The album was ranked #41 in Q's 50 Best Albums of 2008.[17]
[1] Lindsey Buckingham official website, accessed July 12, 2008