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Review
Tusk’ price doesn’t reflect quality
Fleetwood Mac used to be good. Before
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined
the group, Fleetwood Mac was known as one
of the best British blues bands around. Howev
er, a lot of their best work went unnoticed in the
United States. That all changed in 1975 when
the new Fleetwood Mac (featuring Nicks and
Buckingham) began recording. Along with
bassist John McVie, keyboardist Christine
McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, the new
Fleetwood Mac set sales records as an easy
going, laid-back vocal group. In 1976 they re
leased “Rumours” and sat on the charts for
almost two years. Since then they have not
released a new album.
That was true until December 1979 when
Fleetwood Mac’s long awaited double album
set “Tusk” was released. With a list price of
$15.95, “Tusk” was the most expensive record
ever released. The price does not reflect the
quality.
“Tusk” contains 25 songs, an impressive
number by anyone’s standards, but at least
half of them should have been re-mixed, re
arranged, re-recorded or just scrapped. The
best way to look at this album is one side at a
time.
Side one opens with “Over and Over,” a
Christine McVie song. The lyrics are typical,
about loving and leaving, etc. But the drums
and bass plod along, seemingly with no direc
tion.
Two of the cuts on side one are penned by
Lindsey Buckingham, and are probably the
lowest points of the album. Before “Tusk” was
released, there was a lot of press about Buck
ingham recording some of his parts at his
home. If “The Ledge” and “Save Me a Place”
are examples of Buckingham’s in-home pro
duction, he should stick to the studio. The
drums sound as if they’re being beaten with a
wet newspaper and the entire recording has a
hiss in it like a $2 tape recorder.
Side one rounds out with “Sara,” the Stevie
Nicks song that was released as a single. Now,
this song is good. Stevie’s voice is strong and
the recording is clear and crisp. It’s no wonder
this song was released as the single, because
“Sara” is probably the high point of the album.
It’s pretty much downhill from here.
The second side of the first record is prob
ably less erratic but not necessarily any better.
There are three Buckingham and two Nicks
songs on side two, but only the Nicks songs
stand out.
Stevie’s “Storms” and “Sisters of the Moon”
are interesting cuts that should remind the list-
ner of “Rhiannon” from the 1975 album “Fleet-
wood Mac.” Both are listenable ballads and
make great background music. The only com
plaint I have is that Stevie should learn to sing
in something other than a monotone.
The other three songs are Buckingham’s
“What Makes You Think You’re the One,”
“That’s All for Everyone” and “Not That Fun
ny.” Of these three, the only one that is remote
ly interesting is “That’s All for Everyone,” a
song that reminds me of Bob Welch. While the
lyrics are not great, Lindsey’s voice doesn’t
sound better anywhere on the album.
Side three. By this time the listener is grow
ing weary. But three of the five cuts provide a
little bit of hope. But not enough. "That’s
Enough for Me” (I won’t touch that with a 10-
foot pole) and “I Know I’m not Wrong” provide
a good listen to Buckingham’s acoustic guitar.
Maybe Lindsey should stick with the instru
ment and leave the producing alone. “Angel,”
“Brown Eyes” and “Never Make Me Cry” are
just re-hashed from “Rumours.”
Side Four. (Almost through.) The first three
songs plod and drag. If you are planning to
listen to “Tusk” all the way through, “Honey
Hi” may force you to remove the album from
your turntable. The same goes for “Beautiful
Child” or “Walk a Thin Line.” These songs go
absolutely nowhere.
However, “Tusk” does close on a more lis
tenable note. The title track is fun and Mick
Fleetwood is provided a bit of a showcase.
The USC Marching Band is featured on
“Tusk,”-its part recorded live at Dodger Sta
dium in Los Angeles. Like I said, it’s fun. Christ
ine McVie’s “Never Forget” closes the album
and this song sounds tighter than anything
else on the album.
“Tusk” has been compared to the Beatles
“White Album.” This album could have been
made a lot shorter by cutting away some of the
deadwood songs that permeate the record. A
possible explanation for the poor quality of
“Tusk” lies in the expectations of the record
buying public. Many people were expecting
another “Rumours” and the band may have
felt pressure to change their already success
ful formula.
This is all speculation, of course, but I doubt
that anything could have followed the success
of “Rumours.” Until the next album we’ll have
to wait and see how “Tusk” fares. Don’t hold
your breath.
— Geoff Hackett
KANM — 99.9 FM
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