Soul Drifter

Last updated
"Soul Drifter"
LBuckingham-Soul Drifter.jpg
Single by Lindsey Buckingham
from the album Out of the Cradle
B-side "Say We’ll Meet Again"
Released1992
Genre Soft rock
Length3:27
Label Reprise (North America), Mercury (Europe)
Songwriter(s) Lindsey Buckingham
Producer(s) Lindsey Buckingham, Richard Dashut
Lindsey Buckingham singles chronology
"Countdown"
(1992)		"Soul Drifter"
(1992)		"Don't Look Down"
(1993)

"Soul Drifter" is a song by Lindsey Buckingham, released in 1992 from his third solo album Out of the Cradle . It was released as a single in both Europe and North America, reaching number 53 in Germany and number 31 in Canada. During the Out of the Cradle Tour, "Soul Drifter" was included as the final song of the set. [1] Buckingham later performed the song in support of his self-titled album in 2021. [2]

Contents

Background

In a 1997 interview with Paul Zollo, Buckingham said that the lyrics to "Soul Drifter" came to him "in a flash." He finished the lyrics before he committed the song to tape, which contrasted with his usual approach of starting with the instrumentation first. [3] Buckingham wrote the song while Fleetwood Mac was at his house mixing Tango in the Night . [4] He commented that the song was about "taking off and leaving it up to fate as to what will happen." [5]

During the development "Soul Drifter", Buckingham was influenced by the music that his parents listened to growing up, which he captured by emulating the conventions of Tin Pan Alley music. "I do think there's a lot to be looked at in that type of music. I tried to get that traditional, Tin Pan Alley sort of approach when I was writing 'Soul Drifter'. So I think there's a lot of validity, just looking at that stuff and appreciating it. Especially if it's part of your background." [6] According to Buckingham, "Soul Drifter" was his mother's favorite song on the album. [3]

Several of the guitars were treated with a vari-speed oscillator (VSO), particularly during the intro, which features two guitars playing an ascending line in octaves and another guitar playing a figure in triple meter. [7] During the pressing of Out of the Cradle, Lee Herschberg, who had worked with Frank Sinatra, was making some copies of the album when he first heard "Soul Drifter". Upon hearing it, Herschberg reportedly quipped "Oh, a real song!" [3]

Critical reception

BAM highlighted the song's commercial appeal, saying that it "wouldn't sound out of place on any radio format". [6] Timothy White of Billboard said that the “contrasting layers of Lindsey's multitracked vocals are interwoven with various metronomic riff-sounds that constantly supplant each other before their essential sameness can be detected." [8] The New York Times characterized "Soul Drifter" as "a gorgeous folk-cowboy song" that "ends with quotes from The Tokens' "Lion Sleeps Tonight." [9]

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1992-1993)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [10] 31
Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [11] 15
Germany (GfK) [12] 53
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [13] 38

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References

  1. ↑ Snyder, Michael (March 12, 1993). "Buckingham Goes His Own Way: Ex-Fleetwood Mac Guitarist On His First Solo Tour". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ↑ Hernandez, Stephanie (December 23, 2021). "Lindsey Buckingham Hits the Holiday Road in Houston". Rock and Roll Globe. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Zollo, Paul (1997). "Songwriters On Songwriting, Expanded Edition (1997), (Book Excerpt)". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  4. ↑ Boehm, Mike (December 10, 1992). "LIFE AFTER MAC : At the Coach House, Lindsey Buckingham Will Be Playing His First Concert Since His Old Band Broke Up". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Justin (5 April 1993). "Buckingham's Happy to be Alone". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2024– via The Blue Letter Archives.
  6. 1 2 Holdship, Bill (May 1992). "Out of the Cradle...And Into The Blue". BAM Magazine. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2024– via The Blue Letter Archives.
  7. ↑ di Perna, Alan (August 1992). "The Speed of Sound: Lindsey Buckingham Gets Tight with Tone". Musician Magazine. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2024– via The Blue Letter Archives.
  8. ↑ 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 January 21, 2024.
  9. ↑ Holden, Stephen (June 21, 1992). "Recordings View: A Studio Wizard Takes a Psychic Journey". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1106." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1277." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Lindsey Buckingham – Countdown" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Lindsey Buckingham Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
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