Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

If your personal turmoil and professional musical struggles suddenly yielded more success and money than you could ever imagine, what would you do? A lesser '70s rock band recorded Don't Look Back; Fleetwood Mac made Tusk. Whether it was a firm, middle-finger salute to the weighty commercial expectations foisted upon them in the wake of Rumours' burgeoning successes or a restless creative response to the then-shifting tides of pop music taste, this 1979 20-track double album remains the most consistently adventurous project any incarnation of the veteran band ever attempted. This remastered, double-disc deluxe edition's 21-track bonus disc of demos and outtakes seems to argue for the latter, new wave-fueled influences, bringing together a dizzying range of performances that underscore everything from Lindsey Buckingham's Brian Wilson jones (the warm, inventive harmonies of the band's dreamy outtake of the Beach Boys chestnut "Farmer's Daughter") to Christine McVie's knack for jazz-bluesy heat ("One More Time," which ultimately became "Over and Over") and pop hooks ("Think About Me") and Stevie Nicks's pop-goddess hoodoo (deliciously spare, fragile versions of "Sara," "Storms," and "Sisters of the Moon"). Most of the demos and outtakes here are imbued with a funky, loose-limbed spirit that offer new insight into their creation. But, as on the finished album, it's Buckingham's endlessly inventive creative spirit that dominates, from the chunky-rhythmed "Can't Walk out of Here" and "Out on the Road" (which became "The Ledge" and "That's Enough For Me," respectively) to three separate early recordings that chronicle the evolution of "I Know I'm Not Wrong." Rumours may be ubiquitous; Tusk remains unique. --Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

Fantastic Reissue!

Incredible 2nd bonus disc, great booklet, fantastic sound- the 3 Fleetwood Mac reissues are treasures to revisit again and again. If only we could have follow-up expanded reissues of 'Mirage', "Tango In The Night' and anything solo by Stevie Nicks. The 'cleaning lady' version of "Sara" is a gorgeous standout on Disc 2, with some of the most incredible singing ever by Stevie Nicks ("and the wind became crazy")-- Thank you Fleetwood Mac- i see incredibly insightful, VERY well-written song-by-song reviews here, so read those, i just wanted to add my enthusiastic 5 star rating-- and if there were 6 for the 'Rumours' re-issue, i'd give it at least that! November 22, 2008

The formula for a bad album

It's sad when an album is released after an historical one and it bombs. How does this happen? Where did it go wrong? I'll tell you. Lindsey Buckingham. As a solo artist Lindsey Buckingham has a unique style all his own. Even a couple of solo hits. Not many. But still he can hold his own to a point. The great thing that makes fleetwood mac successful is Fleetwood Mac. The formula for making great and inspiring music is the efforts of this band as a whole. There is no recreating this magic. It is what it is. Take away or add from that formula and you have a disater waiting to happen. Sadly when ego's are not in check this happens. Such is the case with Lindsey. The band should have never let him get away with all the creative control he had. It was not fleetwood mac rather Lindsey's Buckingham's Fleetwood Mac. Everyone knows that this is why this album bombed. At least with Stevie Nicks she knows when to throw in the towel. She may offer up her songs, but she offers them to Fleetwood Mac as a whole and it turns out to be a work of Fleetwood Mac rather than just Stevie Nicks. This is important to note because i'm not some huge stevie nicks fan but she's great WITH or without fleetwood mac, she most definitely can hold her own. Need I remind everyone Dreams, which she wrote, was the only fleetwood mac song to go to number one...ever. She just knows how to seperate the two. Lindsey cannot. It's obvious he took his creative control to a level in which he should have saved for himself. I'm thinking it had to be because maybe the rest of the band feared he would have quit, another mistake. Remember when the ship is sinking you are all still going down with it. I blame all the other members of the band for allowing this to happen. Tusk had great potential. But only a few songs were worthy of that fleetwood mac style. Storms, Sara, and Sisters of the moon are the only stand outs. Yes most die-hard fans would disagree. But those are the only "fleetwood mac-ish" songs on the entire album. Considering that it was a double album that's not good. Others will say, "well it's way ahead of it's time", well Lindsey is NOT Frank Zappa. So don't put him in that catagory. Again, most die-hard Lindsey fans will be the first to disagree and respond in anger. The numbers do not lie and even most fleetwood mac fans will reluctantly admit that they hated this album and it was their worst one by far. October 10, 2008

MP3 is the 1st disk only

The MP3 download here is the first disk only, of two. It does appear to be the remastered version, and the sound is strong and delicate. Missing is disk two's inventive outakes and experiments along with the Beach Boys cover "Farmers Daughter" and the great 7-minute version of "Sara", which on the first disk here is the fine 4:40 edit version. Go beat your drum. September 16, 2008

TUSK (WARNER BROS./1979)

REVIEW: Coming after the unparalleled, worldwide success of "RUMOURS": the sonically twisted edginess of "TUSK" pushed Fleetwood Mac's musical sensibilities to the avant-garde limit. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was the prime mover behind the record's skewered, "splatter paint" of a production (the group even went so far as to build a new studio in order to accomodate his artistic vision), and the end result cost over a million dollars to make. And even though it was a more "modest" commercial triumph ("only" going double platinum!!!) in comparison to "RUMOURS": time, critics, and the public alike have been kind to "TUSK", and now it is rightly hailed as a true pop/rock classic. Many artists have released double albums at the height of their careers (The Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, etc.), but few groups have possessed THREE first-rate songwriters capable of sustaining the huge demands such a project warrants. With "TUSK": Buckingham, Christine McVie, and Stevie Nicks showcase their skills as never before. No matter if its the haunting love songs "Sara", "Storms", and "Never Make Me Cry"; the gentle, lulling opening notes of "Over & Over"; the wildly explosive rockers "The Ledge", "Think About Me", "What Makes You Think You're The One", and "I Know I'm Not Wrong"; the triumphant marching band venom of "Tusk"; or the sweetly percolating closer "Never Forget": you come away feeling that the Mac may very well be the greatest band in the world. HARSH LANGUAGE: none. VIOLENCE: none. SEXUAL REFERENCES: about 9 mildly suggestive moments.


THE MORAL COMPASS: although "TUSK" is a brilliant pastiche of itchy, modernist pop/rock: there are a few lyrical conceits that will put Christians a bit on edge (i.e. Stevie Nicks' "witchy woman" persona that crops up on "Sisters Of The Moon"). The intimations of casual sex prominent on several tracks (the phallic symbology of "Tusk" and the defiant "it's not against the law" declaration in "Think About Me" which echoes the truth that, yes, sex before marriage is not against any human law; but certainly doesn't hold up to the higher standards of Godly morality) are somewhat understandable when dealing with the emotional ups-and-downs of worldly romantic love. But because of the adult themes (and "Sisters Of The Moon") the LP deserves a mild CAUTIONARY rating for its content.


HIGHEST BILLBOARD ALBUM CHART POSITION: Number 4

HIT SINGLES:

"Tusk" (BILLBOARD: Number 8)
"Sara" (BILLBOARD: Number 7)
"Sisters Of The Moon" (BILLBOARD: Number 86)
"Think About Me" (BILLBOARD: Number 20)



September 3, 2008

worth buying if you like this kind of stuff

I really like this cd. You have to be in the mood for it. It's great background music or for when you want something a little different, or just to relax and chill out.

Dreams is nice, a very relaxing feel to it. Don't Stop has never been a favorite of mine, same here on this cd, but I'm sure other people may like it. Go Your Own Way comes off well. Although nothing can replace Lindsey rocking this song out live, this string quartet version is really pretty cool. You Make Loving Fun sounds great, like it was meant to be played on strings ~ really beautiful. The Chain has a great feel to it, somewhat eerie, and one of my favorites on this cd. Gold Dust Woman is awesome, but makes you long to hear Stevie Nicks' voice chime in at any moment.....if only they had asked her to do some vocals for just this one song, or put her old, original vocals along with their remake of the music ~ or even just added some of her chanting and oohing and ahhing at the end..... But still, even as an instrumental, it sounds great on strings. Rhiannon is alright. Not my favorite on the cd, but it's okay. I guess it's just not the same as the original, or hearing Stevie Nicks do it live like in the 70's and 80's. This version makes me think of someone sitting at a music store, playing this on an organ, trying to sound really cool to get people to come into the store and browse and shop ~ or like some bad lounge act. It's probably the most disappointing song for me on this cd. Gypsy is beautiful. Little Lies also sounds great, but you keep wishing to hear Christine's voice along with the beautiful string arrangement, but still it makes a beautiful instrumental. Peacekeeper comes across very nicely too, and it's nice hearing a newer song, but most Mac fans would probably have many ideas of other songs that could have taken its place on here. Landslide is nothing exciting. But it's alright.

I don't entirely like the song selections they made. They did so many from Rumours, why not just do the whole entire Rumours album? We would have loved to hear Oh Daddy, Never Going Back Again, and even Silver Springs would have been a fun choice. Also, where's Songbird? If they were going to try and mix it up a little and not do the entire Rumours album, they could have done away with Second Hand News and I Don't Want to Know. Both sound good here, but there are other non-Rumours hit songs that could have been filled in those spaces. Where is Seven Wonders? And what about Say You Love Me, Over My Head, or Hold Me? I would have loved to hear Storms too, but they probably wanted to stick with the popular hits and singles. The last track on the cd, Tomorrow's Love Song, is nice. But most fans would rather have had it been replaced by yet another well-loved Fleetwood Mac song instead, like Sara, which is sadly left out.

All in all, I am glad I bought it and I really enjoy it when I am in the mood. I'd buy a volume II if they did another Fleetwood Mac one. A Stevie solo one would be fun too. August 26, 2008

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