Go Insane
Studio album by
Lindsey Buckingham
ReleasedJuly 30, 1984 (1984-07-30)
Recorded1984
Studio
Genre
Length38:20
Label
Producer
Lindsey Buckingham chronology
Law and Order
(1981)		 Go Insane
(1984)		 Out of the Cradle
(1992)
Singles from Go Insane
  1. "Go Insane"
    Released: July 1984
  2. "Slow Dancing"
    Released: October 1984

Go Insane is the second solo studio album by American rock musician Lindsey Buckingham, then the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of Fleetwood Mac. The album was released on July 30, 1984, by Elektra Records and Warner Music Group, while Fleetwood Mac was on a hiatus between albums. It peaked at No. 45 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Two promotional music videos were shot for the album. These include "Go Insane" and "Slow Dancing". Buckingham played all of the instruments on the album except for on "I Want You" and "Go Insane."

The album was dedicated to Buckingham's former girlfriend, Carol Ann Harris, with whom he had just ended a relationship.[2]

Background

Buckingham began Go Insane on a 24 track machine in his garage, where he assembled a series of rough demos. He then temporarily shelved these recordings and waited for Richard Dashut, who had produced Buckingham's 1981 debut album, Law and Order, to complete work on Mick Fleetwood's I'm Not Me album. However, the I'm Not Me sessions lasted longer than anticipated, and Dashut declined Buckingham's offer, citing burnout. As such, Buckingham turned to Roy Thomas Baker, who at the time was the senior VP of worldwide production at Elektra Records. Baker was occupied with production work in England, so Buckingham flew overseas to send Baker the tapes himself. Of the dozen songs Buckingam showed to Baker, eight were entirely scrapped. The only four songs that eventually appeared on final the album were the title track, "Play in the Rain", "I Want You", and "I Must Go". Baker then paired Buckingham with Gordon Fordyce to finish the album.[3]

Unlike Buckingham's previous studio album Law and Order, Go Insane did not include any acoustic drumming. Instead, he programmed the drums on a LinnDrum drum machine and Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer. Buckingham noted that he obtained the instruments in the interim between Law and Order and Go Insane.[4] He primarily used the Linndrum to establish a metronomic beat and played the Fairlight by hand to overdub additional percussive elements. "I certainly can't play drums as well as a Linn can. If I wanted to play something myself, it was just as easy to do it on the Fairlight 'cause the sounds are already there and you don't have to set up a whole kit. Not only that, being able to play drums with two fingers cuts down considerably on the fatigue factor."[5]

Songs

The title track and "Slow Dancing" were lifted from the album as singles. The former became Buckingham's second top 40 hit in the US.[6] "Play in the Rain" is a seven minute musique concrète composition split into two parts: one on the end of the first side and another on the beginning of the second side.[7] On the vinyl version, there is a "locked groove" at the end of side one on the song "Play in the Rain". This allowed the closing section of the song to play through the lead-out groove until the needle reaches the continuous groove near the label of the record. To achieve the sound of a sitar on "Play in the Rain", Buckingham detuned his Stratocaster "until the strings were as loose and pliant as a real sitar".[5]

Inspired by the work of Laurie Anderson, Buckingham sought to make his voice resemble an instrument on "Bang the Drum". To accomplish this, he broke up the lyrics into fragments and sang them individually so that each syllable would alternate from channel to channel. He also played two different parts on the Fairlight CMI's harmonium/accordion setting; one was straight eighth notes while the other was gated to create "a steady throbbing effect". Each of these parts were then played three different times in an effort to smooth out sonic discrepancies between the tracks.[5] "D.W. Suite" was dedicated to Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who had died the December before the album was released.[8] A portion of "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", a Scottish folk song, was interpolated in "D.W. Suite".[9]

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
PeopleA-[12]

Go Insane was released on July 30, 1984, and entered Billboard's U.S. album chart on September 1, reaching No. 45. The album received mixed to positive reviews. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic believed that the album prioritized "studio wizardry" over songcraft with the exception of "D.W. Suite".[10] People magazine said that the record was "studded with power pop gems" reminiscent of Buckingham's work with Fleetwood Mac.[12]

In 1985, Buckingham received seven nominations in the MTV Video Music Awards from his Go Insane album; four were for the title track and three were for "Slow Dancing".[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lindsey Buckingham, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Want You"
  • Buckingham
  • Gordon Fordyce
3:18
2."Go Insane" 3:08
3."Slow Dancing" 4:05
4."I Must Go" 4:51
5."Play in the Rain" 3:21
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Play in the Rain (Continued)"4:14
7."Loving Cup"5:02
8."Bang the Drum"3:31
9."D.W. Suite"6:50
Total length:38:20

Personnel

Musicians

Production and artwork

  • Roy Thomas Baker – executive producer
  • Lindsey Buckingham – producer, recording
  • Gordon Fordyce – producer, recording
  • John Boghosian – recording assistant
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Sterling Sound (New York City, New York) – mastering location
  • Vigon Seireeni – art direction
  • Matthew Rolston – photography
  • Michael Brokaw – management

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 33
US Billboard 200[15] 45

References

  1. ↑ Molanphy, Chris (January 14, 2023). "Thinking About Tomorrow Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ DeRiso, Nick (July 3, 2019). "Why Lindsey Buckingham Got So Dark and Weird on Go Inane". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  3. ↑ Strauss, Duncan (2015-12-30). "Simplicity as a Way of Life: Lindsey Buckingham Seeks Peace of Mind". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  4. ↑ Hyden, Steven (2021-11-10). "Lindsey Buckingham Reviews His Albums With And Without Fleetwood Mac". UPROXX. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  5. 1 2 3 Graham, Sam. "Lindsey Buckingham: Personal Brinksmanship and State-of-the-Art Subconscious". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 2005-10-16. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Lindsey Buckingham Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Lindsey Buckingham Go Insane Press Kit". Fleetwood Mac UK. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  8. ↑ Stebbins, Jon (2000). Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy. ECW Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-55022-404-7.
  9. ↑ Brunning, Bob (1990). "Behind the Masks (1990), (Book Excerpt)". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 https://www.allmusic.com/album/r2873
  11. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 115. ISBN 0743201698.
  12. 1 2 "People Magazine (10/01/1984), Sound Recording Review". The Blue Letter Archives. October 1, 1984. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Buckingham top nominee for Video Music Awards". The Commercial Appeal. UPI. August 14, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Lindsey Buckingham – Go Insane". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Lindsey Buckingham Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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