447. Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (1979)

















Track Listing

1. Over & Over
2. The Ledge
3. Think About Me
4. Save Me A Place
5. Sara
6. What Makes You Think You’re The One
7. Storms
8. That’s All For Everyone
9. Not That Funny
10. Sisters Of The Moon
11. Angel
12. That’s Enough For Me
13. Brown Eyes Never Make Me Cry
14. I Know I’m Not Wrong
15. Honey Hi
16. Beautiful Child
17. Walk A Thin Line
18. Tusk
19. Never Forget

Review

I never thought I'd really like a Fleetwood Mac album until today. This is a really great collection of songs, there is no single bad track here, some better than others, but they are great and all reveal the individual sensibilities of the different members.

In a sense this is quite similar to a CSNY album in the way that different tracks display the different talents in the band, this is also a symptom of how band dynamics work... or how they don't work. But great things come from conflict and this is one of them.

This is a very long album, and therefore all the more surprising for its consistent quality. Forget Rumors, this is the album you want, it hasn't been overplayed, and allows you to appreciate Fleetwood Mac in a fresh way. This is also a considerably more experimental album particularly in its mixing, frequently bringing the rhythm section up front giving some of the tracks a distinct stomp, which really suits them. Highly recommended.

Track Highlights

1. Tusk
2. Beautiful Child
3. Save Me a Place
4. The Ledge

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The unusual title track, "Tusk", featuring the University of Southern California's Spirit of Troy marching band, proved to be a hit, reaching both the US and UK Top 10. The accompanying promotional film was often played as a fill-in segment by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV channels during the 1980s (the single had enjoyed its highest international chart placing in Australia, peaking at #3 in the singles charts).

The album was one of the first to employ digital mixing.

The project had apparently made some record executives nervous, not only for its million-dollar production budget, but the label had expected a similar formula to that which had made Rumours so successful. The luxurious packaging and product that resulted did top the UK album charts on 10 November 1979, but only reached #4 in the US. Warner Bros attributed this to the record being "over produced" by Buckingham, making it less commercially viable. However, Fleetwood himself stated that matters were not helped by a major US radio station playing all 20 of the tracks in their entirety just prior to the album's release, thus allowing for home taping.

Tusk: