Law and Order (album)
{{Infobox album
| name = Law and Order
| type = studio
| artist = Lindsey Buckingham
| cover = LindseyBuckinghamLawandOrderAlbumcover.jpg
| alt =
| released = October 16, 1981{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/FMQB-Album/1981/FMQB-1981-10-02.pdf|title=FMQB|page=33}}
| recorded = 1981
| studio = {{plainlist|
- Larrabee (West Hollywood)
- Wally Heider (Los Angeles)}}
| genre = Rock
| length = 36:13
| label =
- Asylum (US/Canada)
- Mercury (outside US/Canada)
- Warner Bros. (reissue)
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Go Insane
| next_year = 1984
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Law and Order
| type = studio
| single1 = Trouble
| single1date = October 1981{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Lindsey+Buckingham&titel=Trouble&cat=s|title=Lindsey Buckingham singles}}
| single2 = It Was I
| single2date = March 1982
| single3 = The Visitor (Bwana)
| single3date = March 1982 (UK)
| single4 = Mary Lee Jones
| single4date = May 1982 (UK)
}}
}}
Law and Order is the first solo album by Fleetwood Mac guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham, released in 1981. "Trouble", featuring drumming by Fleetwood Mac bandmate Mick Fleetwood, reached {{abbr|No.|number}} 9 on the U.S. charts; the album itself reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200. Lindsey appeared on Saturday Night Live on February 6, 1982, and performed "Trouble" and "Bwana" with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/season-7/episode/11-james-coburn-with-lindsey-buckingham-65176|title=SNL Season 07 Episode 11 - James Coburn, Lindsey Buckingham - NBC.com|website=NBC|access-date=2020-02-27}}
Background
Following the relative commercial failure of Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album, where many of the tracks were recorded in Buckingham's home studio, Mick Fleetwood informed Buckingham that the band was not interested in recording subsequent releases in the same manner. This was the impetus for Buckingham to create Law and Order. "In that moment, I realized, 'If I wanna continue to take risks [and] try to define myself as an artist in the long term, I'm gonna have to start making solo albums.'"{{Cite web|last=Chiu|first=David|date=September 15, 2021|title=Lindsey Buckingham looks for life after Fleetwood Mac|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2021/09/24/lindsey-buckingham-looks-life-after-fleetwood-mac-1629086.html|access-date=September 17, 2021|website=Newsweek|language=en}}
Buckingham began Law and Order in February 1981 with a setup that included a multi-track tape machine, a couple of microphones, and a small console. The solo album was temporarily put on hold when Buckingham worked with Fleetwood Mac for the initial Mirage recording sessions. Buckingham resumed progress in June and spent the next few months making final adjustments to Law and Order until its eventual release in October.{{Cite web |last=DeRiso |first=Nick |date=October 3, 2016 |title=How Lindsey Buckingham Tried to Break Free on 'Law and Order' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/lindsey-buckingham-law-and-order-album/ |access-date=July 7, 2023 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}} "I'll Tell You Now" was the oldest song on the album; Buckingham posited that it would have been included on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album had the song been written a few months earlier.{{Cite web|title=I'm 40: Lindsey Buckingham, Law and Order|website=Rhino |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/im-40-lindsey-buckingham-law-and-order |access-date=July 7, 2023 |language=en}}
When asked about the title of the album by Jim Ladd, Buckingham explained that it did not pertain to the contemporary context of the term, but was instead about establishing personal laws to abide by. "I think that in order to keep that sense of innocence, you really have to instill a sense of discipline in yourself and a sense of commitment, really. Commitment is a key word too. A sense of order about your life, if you will. And that's how the title came about."{{Cite web |date=1981 |title=Innerview with Jim Ladd (1981), (Radio Show Partial Transcript) |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=41&c=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230162851/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=41&c=9 |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=January 29, 2024 |website=The Blue Letter Archives}}
In a 2018 interview with Stereogum, Buckingham described the album as a sarcastic body of work that was "almost verging on a comedy album". He further explained that "Law And Order doesn't speak in a sincere way. It speaks more in an ironic way, a tongue in cheek way."{{Cite web |date= December 10, 2018|title=Lindsey Buckingham Reveals Stories Behind His Solo Songs And Whether He'll Ever Rejoin Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2025688/lindsey-buckingham-interview-fleetwood-mac/interviews/ |access-date=July 7, 2023|website=Stereogum |language=en}}
Music promo videos
Two promotional music videos were shot for Law and Order, "Trouble" and "It Was I", both directed by Jerry Watson and produced by Paul Flattery. "Trouble" featured friends of Buckingham playing either guitar or drums. They included Mick Fleetwood, Bob Welch, and Bob Weston from Fleetwood Mac and singer-songwriter Walter Egan.{{Cite web|title=Trouble Video|website=Go Your Own Way : The UK Resource for All Things Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/trouble.html|access-date=2021-09-29}}
Reception
{{Music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r31798/review|pure_url=yes}}
|rev2 = Record Mirror
|rev2score = {{Rating|1|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Robin|date=7 November 1981|title=Lindsey Buckingham: Law and Order|magazine=Record Mirror|page=19}}
|rev3 = Robert Christgau
|rev4 = Rolling Stone
}}
Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone, in a 4/5 star review, wrote that "based on the evidence of Law and Order... Lindsey Buckingham's biggest contribution to Fleetwood Mac has been his unabashed fondness for pop music at its most hokey and hooky." Billboard said that the album balanced Buckingham's "elegant guitars work and deft melodic sense against a newer element of rhythmic playfulness and a more urgent vocal attack."{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Album Picks|date=October 24, 1981|accessdate=October 26, 2024|page=76|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-10-24.pdf}} On the other hand, Robin Smith of Record Mirror panned the "miserable" album in a 1/5 star review, saying that it "sounds like the out takes of Mac's worst studio sessions delivered around [Buckingham's] reedy little voice."
In a retrospective review, William Ruhlmann of AllMusic gave the album 3.5/5 stars, saying that it "comes off as a high-quality demo of largely unfinished material".
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Law and Order track listing
| all_writing = Lindsey Buckingham, except where indicated
| title1 = Bwana
| length1 = 3:08
| title2 = Trouble
| length2 = 3:56
| title3 = Mary Lee Jones
| length3 = 3:15
| title4 = I'll Tell You Now
| length4 = 4:21
| title5 = It Was I
| writer5 = Gary Paxton
| length5 = 2:39
| title6 = September Song
| writer6 = Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill
| length6 = 3:17
| title7 = Shadow of the West
| length7 = 3:59
| title8 = That's How We Do It in L.A.
| length8 = 2:53
| title9 = Johnny Stew
| length9 = 3:09
| title10 = Love from Here, Love from There
| length10 = 2:50
| title11 = A Satisfied Mind
| writer11 = Red Hayes, Jack Rhodes
| length11 = 2:49
}}
Personnel
Main performer
- Lindsey Buckingham – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- George Hawkins – bass on "Trouble"
- Mick Fleetwood – drums on "Trouble"
- Carol Ann Harris – harmony vocals on "It Was I"
- Christine McVie – harmony vocals on "Shadow of the West"
Production
- Lindsey Buckingham – producer, recording, Polaroid art
- Richard Dashut – producer, recording
- David Brown – recording
- Sabrina Buchanek – recording assistant
- Judy Clapp – recording assistant
- Dennis Mays – recording assistant
- Larry Emerine – mastering
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Precision Lacquer (Hollywood, California) – mastering location
- Larry Vigon – art direction, design
- George Hurrell – front cover photography
- Sam Emerson – back cover photography
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart performance for Law and Order !Chart (1981) !Peak |
| {{album chart|Canada|27|chartid=0459|rowheader=true|access-date=28 January 2023}} |
| {{album chart|New Zealand|28|artist=Lindsey Buckingham|album=Law & Order|rowheader=true|access-date=28 January 2023}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|32|artist=Lindsey Buckingham|rowheader=true|access-date=28 January 2023}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Law and Order}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Australia|award=Gold|certref={{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1982/1982-12-25-Billboard-Page-0103.pdf|access-date=20 December 2020|title=1982 was a Big Year|magazine=Billboard|date=December 25, 1982|page=103}}|certyear=1982}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Lindsey Buckingham}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Lindsey Buckingham albums
Category:Albums produced by Richard Dashut
Category:Albums produced by Lindsey Buckingham
Category:Asylum Records albums
Category:Mercury Records albums
Category:Reprise Records albums