Fleetwood Mac Tusk CD

2cds: 1=LP Remastered; 2=Bonus Material,Outtakes,Demos ++

Fleetwood Mac: Lindsay Buckingham (vocals, guitar); Christine McVie (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Stevie Nicks (vocals); John McVie (bass); Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: The U.S.C. Trojan Marching Band.
Producers: Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat.
Engineers: Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut, Lindsey Buckingham.
Recorded at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California.
This deluxe edition of Tusk includes a bonus disc featuring roughs, outtakes and demos.
Fleetwood Mac: Lindsay Buckingham (vocals, guitar); Christine McVie (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Stevie Nicks (vocals); John McVie (bass); Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: The U.S.C. Trojan Marching Band.
Producers: Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat.
Engineers: Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut, Lindsey Buckingham.
Recorded at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California. Originally released on Warners Bros. (3350). Includes liner notes by Parke Puterbaugh.
Personnel: Lindsey Buckingham (vocals, guitar); Christine McVie (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Stevie Nicks (vocals); Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion).
Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Liner Note Author: Parke Puterbaugh.
Recording information: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA; Home; Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, CA.
Photographers: Jayne Odgers; Norman Seeff; Richard Aaron; Sam Emerson; Peter Beard; Laura Levine.
More than any other Fleetwood Mac album, Tusk is born of a particular time and place -- it could only have been created in the aftermath of Rumours, which shattered sales records, which in turn gave the group a blank check for its next album. But if they were falling apart during the making of Rumours, they were officially broken and shattered during the making of Tusk, and that disconnect between bandmembers resulted in a sprawling, incoherent, and utterly brilliant 20-track double album. At the time of its release, it was a flop, never reaching the top of the charts and never spawning a true hit single, despite two well-received Top Ten hits. Coming after the monumental Rumours, this was a huge disappointment, but the truth of the matter is that Fleetwood Mac couldn't top that success no matter how hard they tried, so it was better for them to indulge themselves and come up with something as unique as Tusk. Lindsey Buckingham directed both Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, but he dominates here, composing nearly half the album, and giving Christine McVie's and Stevie Nicks' songs an ethereal, floating quality that turns them into welcome respites from the seriously twisted immersions into Buckingham's id. This is the ultimate cocaine album -- it's mellow for long stretches, and then bursts wide open in manic, frantic explosions, such as the mounting tension on "The Ledge" or the rampaging "That's Enough for Me," or the marching band-driven paranoia of the title track, all of which are relieved by smooth, reflective work from all three songwriters. While McVie and Nicks contribute some excellent songs, Buckingham owns this record with his nervous energy and obsessive production, winding up with a fussily detailed yet wildly messy record unlike any other. This is mainstream madness, crazier than Buckingham's idol Brian Wilson and weirder than any number of cult classics. Of course, that's why it bombed upon its original release, but Tusk is a bracing, weirdly affecting work that may not be as universal or immediate as Rumours, but is every bit as classic. As a piece of pop art, it's peerless. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
No home should be without at least one copy of TUSK. Fleetwood Mac's magnum opus of 1979 is considered by some to be their greatest work. And while you are probably familiar with the hits, you may not realize that this recording is full of gems like Christine McVie's gorgeous "Brown Eyes" and Lindsey BuckinghUncut (4/04, p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[T]his was the exact AOR equivalent of PiL's METAL BOX, where a mainstream icon suddenly subverts their art from within the system..."
Mojo (Publisher) (4/04, p.122) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]he collection had some moments of shimmering beauty....TUSK's greatest worth is as an accurate and telling musical indication of where the band members' solo albums would go."