"Wrong" is a song by Lindsey Buckingham, released in 1992 from his third solo album Out of the Cradle. In North America, "Wrong" was the album's first single, although in Europe, "Countdown" was released instead. In May 1992, "Wrong" was serviced to album-oriented rock radio stations; a music video was also created to coincide with the release of the single.[1]
In a 1992 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Buckingham said that he wrote "Wrong" about "a composite number of people that I know who've fallen into the pitfalls of the trappings of the biz." The publication speculated that the song was instead primarily a rebuke of Fleetwood's memoir, which included a passage disputed by Buckingham about the circumstances behind his departure from Fleetwood Mac.[2] The following year, Buckingham recounted a story of him overhearing Fleetwood singing the words to "Wrong" in the recording studio while the two were assembling Fleetwood Mac's box set, 25 Years – The Chain, saying that "he knew what it meant".[3]
Buckingham confirmed in a 2018 interview with Stereogum that "Wrong" was a response to Mick Fleetwood's first memoir, My Life And Adventures In Fleetwood Mac. "He [Fleetwood] came out with his book, and it was just kind of a real trashy thing...He doesn’t have a mechanism for self-editing in that way or perhaps discerning where the line is". The song goes through a list of Buckingham's grievances with Fleetwood, including his appearance on Puttin' on the Hits, which Buckingham felt "created the wrong visibility" for Fleetwood.[4]
To achieve the metallic guitar tone on "Wrong", Buckingham applied treble to a gut string guitar, which was connected directly to the recording console.[5] He also used a Fender Telecaster and a guitar developed by Rick Turner, the latter of which was recorded directly into a distorted preamp and "came off sounding like elephants mating" according to Buckingham.[6]
Release
Billboard announced that the song would be serviced to AOR stations on May 19, 1992.[1] For the week dated May 29, 1992, Radio & Records reported that the song received 30 adds to AOR stations, which was enough for the song to debut at number 59 on the publication's listing of the top AOR tracks.[7] The song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and instead reached number 23 on the Mainstream Rock chart; it also peaked at number 50 in Canada. Buckingham was surprised that his record company picked "Wrong" as the album's first single;[8] he wanted "Don't Look Down" to fulfill that role instead.[9] "Wrong" was performed a few times during the Out of the Cradle tour, although it was later dropped from the setlist due to the band's belief that the song did not translate well to a live setting.[10]
In the song's music video, which was directed by Julien Temple, Buckingham engages in a series of guitar duels with doppelgängers emerging from a mirror. Buckingham described it as "a fun romp whose narrative pits an artist who values integrity against his own alter ego driven by baser instincts, cheered on by a boardroom of mercenary executives watching from the sidelines."[2][11]
Critical reception
The New York Times noted that the song "takes a look at music industry crassness".[12] Jean Rosenbluth of the Los Angeles Times seconded this analysis and wrote that "the vitriol in 'Wrong' about the business of being a rock star, comes through best in the vocals".[13]Stereo Review highlighted Buckingham's "neurotic falsetto" vocals, which created a "dramatic effect".[14]BAM magazine called "Wrong" "a wailing, dark view of classic rock stardom and the 'biz'".[9]Billboard described the song as "uptempo" and "feverish".[1]J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone characterized "Wrong" as the only song on Out of the Cradle "explicitly addressing the music business."[15] In a retrospective analysis of Out of the Cradle, Michael Roberts of Westword identified "Wrong" as one of the few unreserved songs on the album and labeled it as a "biting music-biz exorcism".[16]
↑ Trost, Isaiah; Tolinski, Brad (September 1992). "The Cradle Will Rock". Guitar World. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2024– via The Blue Letter Archives.
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