Soul Drifter
{{Infobox song
| name = Soul Drifter
| cover = LBuckingham-Soul_Drifter.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Lindsey Buckingham
| album = Out of the Cradle
| B-side = Say We’ll Meet Again
| released = 1992
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Soft rock
| length = 3:27
| label = Reprise (North America), Mercury (Europe)
| writer = Lindsey Buckingham
| producer = Lindsey Buckingham, Richard Dashut
|chronology = Lindsey Buckingham
| prev_title = Countdown
| prev_year = 1992
| next_title = Don't Look Down
| next_year = 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 Buckingham's Out of the Cradle Tour, "Soul Drifter" was included as the final song of the set.{{Cite news |last=O'Hare |first=Kevin |date=March 27, 1993 |title=Talented Buckingham dazzles on his own |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republican-talented-buckingham-dazzl/169692575/ |access-date=April 6, 2025 |work=The Republican |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com}} Buckingham later performed the song in support of his self-titled album in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Stephanie |date=December 23, 2021|title=Lindsey Buckingham Hits the Holiday Road in Houston |url=https://rockandrollglobe.com/rock/lindsey-buckingham-hits-the-holiday-road-in-houston/ |access-date=January 21, 2024|website=Rock and Roll Globe |language=en-US}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Zollo |first=Paul|date=1997 |title=Songwriters On Songwriting, Expanded Edition (1997), (Book Excerpt) |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=145&c=9 |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=The Blue Letter Archives |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161910/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=145&c=9 |url-status=dead }} Buckingham wrote the song while Fleetwood Mac was at his house mixing Tango in the Night.{{Cite web |last=Boehm |first=Mike |date=December 10, 1992 |title=LIFE AFTER MAC : At the Coach House, Lindsey Buckingham Will Be Playing His First Concert Since His Old Band Broke Up |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-10-ol-2617-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130210616/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-10-ol-2617-story.html |archive-date=November 30, 2022 |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times}} He commented that the song was about "taking off and leaving it up to fate as to what will happen."{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Justin |date=5 April 1993 |title=Buckingham's Happy to be Alone |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=135&c=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230162843/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=135&c=9 |archive-date=30 December 2015 |access-date=24 November 2024 |work=Rocky Mountain News|via=The Blue Letter Archives}}
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."{{cite web |last1=Holdship |first1=Bill |date=May 1992 |magazine=BAM Magazine |title=Out of the Cradle...And Into The Blue |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=92&c=9 |via=The Blue Letter Archives |access-date=January 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230162846/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=92&c=9 |archive-date=December 30, 2015 }} According to Buckingham, "Soul Drifter" was his mother's favorite song on the album.
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.{{Cite magazine|last=di Perna|first=Alan|date=August 1992 |magazine=Musician Magazine |title=The Speed of Sound: Lindsey Buckingham Gets Tight with Tone |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=103&c=9|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161515/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=103&c=9|archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=January 21, 2024 |via=The Blue Letter Archives}} 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!"
Critical reception
BAM highlighted the song's commercial appeal, saying that it "wouldn't sound out of place on any radio format". 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."{{Cite web|last=White|first=Timothy|date=May 23, 1992 |title=Out of the Cradle (Billboard) Lindsey Rocks the Cradle |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=6858&c=9|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161725/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=6858&c=9|archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=January 21, 2024|website=The Blue Letter Archives}} The New York Times characterized "Soul Drifter" as "a gorgeous folk-cowboy song" that "ends with quotes from The Tokens' "Lion Sleeps Tonight."{{Cite web |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=June 21, 1992 |title=Recordings View: A Studio Wizard Takes a Psychic Journey |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/21/arts/recordings-view-a-studio-wizard-takes-a-psychic-journey.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116072733/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/21/arts/recordings-view-a-studio-wizard-takes-a-psychic-journey.html |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=January 13, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}
Personnel
- Lindsey Buckingham – all instruments and vocals
Chart performance
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1992-1993) !Peak |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM){{Cite web |title=RPM 100: January 30, 1993 |url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.1825.pdf |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Collections Canada}}
|align="center"|31 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary Singles (RPM){{Cite web |title=RPM Adult Contemporary: February 6, 1993 |url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.1849.pdf|access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Collections Canada}}
|align=center|15 |
| {{single chart|Germany|53|artist=Lindsey Buckingham|song=Countdown|songid=7943|access-date=October 8, 2023}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|38|artist=Lindsey Buckingham|accessdate=January 21, 2024}} |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Lindsey Buckingham}}
Category:Lindsey Buckingham songs