Tusk | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 12 October 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||
Studio | The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 74:02 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer |
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Fleetwood Mac chronology | ||||
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Singles from Tusk | ||||
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Tusk is the twelfth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released as a double album on 12 October 1979 in the United States and on 19 October 1979 in the United Kingdom [5] by Warner Bros. Records. [6] [7] It is considered more experimental than their previous albums, partly as a consequence of Lindsey Buckingham's sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of post-punk. [8] The production costs were initially estimated to be about $1 million but many years later were revealed to be about $1.4 million (equivalent to $5.88 million in 2023), making it the most expensive rock album recorded to that date. [9] [10]
The band embarked on a nine-month tour to promote Tusk. They travelled extensively across the world, including the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. In Germany, they shared the bill with Bob Marley. On this world tour, the band recorded music for the Fleetwood Mac Live album, released in 1980. [11]
Compared to 1977's Rumours , which sold ten million copies by February 1978, Tusk was regarded as a commercial failure by the label, selling four million copies. In 2013, NME ranked Tusk at number 445 in their list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". [12] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [13] In 2000, it was voted number 853 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [14]
Going into Tusk, Lindsey Buckingham was adamant about creating an album that sounded nothing like Rumours: "For me, being sort of the culprit behind that particular album, it was done in a way to undermine just sort of following the formula of doing Rumours 2 and Rumours 3, which is kind of the business model Warner Bros. would have liked us to follow." [15] Mick Fleetwood decided early on that Tusk was to be a double album. [16] Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, who was dating Christine McVie at the time, offered to host the band at the Beach Boys' studio, which they were about to renovate. While the band initially agreed to this idea, an attorney for the Beach Boys later told Fleetwood Mac that they would still have to pay for the facility even if they decided not to use it. Fleetwood Mac subsequently backed out of the deal and approached Geordie Hormel, who offered to construct a custom studio for the band at The Village Recorder and presented them with an option to either purchase the studio or rent it. Fleetwood Mac producer Ken Caillat suggested that the band purchase the studio, reckoning that this would be the cheaper option. However, Fleetwood's attorney opted to rent the custom studio, which was named Studio D. [17]
Production costs rose beyond a million dollars, far more than Rumours. Regarding the album's production costs, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham stated: "During the making of Tusk, we were in the studio for about 10 months and we got 20 songs out of it. Rumours took the same amount of time. It [Rumours] didn't cost so much because we were in a cheaper studio. There's no denying what it cost, but I think it's been taken out of context." [18]
After the studio was built, Buckingham queried Fleetwood about recording some songs at his home studio. Fleetwood acquiesced, but told Buckingham that the other members needed to be integrated at some point. For certain songs, Buckingham played a Kleenex box as a snare drum and had Fleetwood overdub his own drums over Buckingham's demo. [19]
Several songs were recorded with Buckingham playing all of the instruments, including "The Ledge", "Save Me a Place", and "That's Enough for Me". [20] Caillat commented on Buckingham's obsessive nature in the studio: "He was a maniac. The first day, I set the studio up as usual. Then he said, 'Turn every knob 180 degrees from where it is now and see what happens.' He'd tape microphones to the studio floor and get into a sort of push-up position to sing. Early on, he came in and he'd freaked out in the shower and cut off all his hair with nail scissors. He was stressed." [21] Buckingham had expressed interest in starting a solo career during the making of Tusk so in an effort to appease him, the rest of the band acquiesced to Buckingham's desire to create a more experimental album. [22]
I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall when Warner Bros. put that on in their boardroom and listened to it for the first time. [23]
Buckingham – infatuated with bands such as Talking Heads – was "desperate to make Mac relevant to a post-punk world", according to music journalist Bob Stanley, who commented that, compared to Rumours, Tusk was "unleavened weirdness, as close to its predecessor as the Beach Boys' lo-fi Smiley Smile had been to Pet Sounds . Much of it sounded clattery, half-formed, with strange rhythmic leaps and offbeat tics." [24] Journalist Adam Webb described the Tusk recording sessions as a "cocaine blizzard" from which Christine McVie's then-boyfriend, Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson, "never really came out." [25] Music historian Domenic Priore claimed that, for research purposes during the album's recording, Buckingham accessed the master tapes for the Beach Boys' unreleased album Smile , and that the tracks "That's All for Everyone" and "Beautiful Child" most strongly exemplify its influence. [26]
Peter Beard was one of the three photographers enlisted to supply images for the album sleeve and spent two weeks in the studio taking Polaroids of the band and its inner circle. He also augmented this footage with images of elephant tusks. [22] During one of those sessions, Beard took a photo of Caillat's dog biting his leg, which ultimately became the album's cover art. Fleetwood had originally promised Nicks that the cover art for Tusk would be an image of her twirling and dancing, and later told Caillat that she placed a curse on his dog for "stealing her cover". [27]
Bassist John McVie commented that the album "sounds like the work of three solo artists", while Fleetwood said it was his second favourite Fleetwood Mac studio album behind Then Play On . [28] "You got that sweetness [from Nicks and McVie] and me as the complete nutcase," Buckingham observed. "That's what makes us Fleetwood Mac." [29]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [30] |
Blender | [31] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [32] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [33] |
Mojo | [34] |
Pitchfork | 9.2/10 [35] |
Record Collector | [36] |
Rolling Stone | [37] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [38] |
Uncut | [39] |
Tusk peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spent almost nine months on the chart. It was certified double platinum for shipping two million copies. [40] It peaked at number one in the UK and achieved a platinum award for shipments in excess of 300,000 copies. [41] The album gave the group two US top-10 hit singles, with the Buckingham-penned title track (US number eight/UK number six), and the Stevie Nicks composition "Sara" (US number seven/UK number 37). [42]
In his review for Rolling Stone , Stephen Holden emphasized the experimental nature of the album, comparing it to the Beatles' "White Album" in that "Tusk is less a collection of finished songs than a mosaic of pop-rock fragments by individual performers." [2] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was more ambivalent, lauding Buckingham's production and experimentation, while dismissing Christine McVie's and Stevie Nicks's contributions. [43] Retrospectively, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found the album to be timeless, calling it "a peerless piece of pop art" that rivals the more accessible Rumours album in terms of quality. [30] Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork found the album "self indulgent" and "terrifically strange". [35] Contemporary and retrospective reviewers alike have noted the stark contrast between the album's lush opening track, "Over & Over", and jarring production of the following track, "The Ledge". [44] [45]
Though the album sold four million copies worldwide, and earned a Grammy nomination in 1981 for its art design in the category "Best Album Package", the band's record label deemed the project a failure, laying the blame squarely with Buckingham (considering the comparatively huge sales of Rumours and the album's unprecedented recording expense). [46] Fleetwood, however, blames the album's relative failure on the RKO radio chain playing the album in its entirety prior to release, thus allowing mass home recording. [47] In addition, Tusk was a double album, with a high list price of US$16.00, or $56.00 in 2019 terms. [48] The band originally considered the idea of releasing Tusk as two single albums each with the price of $7.98, but the record label decided against this. [49]
Further releases from the album "Not That Funny" (UK-only single release), "Think About Me", and "Sisters of the Moon" were slightly remixed for radio, and were less successful. The latter two appear in their 'single versions' on the 2002 compilation The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac , while "Sara", which was cut to 41⁄2 minutes for both the single and the first CD release of the album, appears in its unedited form on the 1988 Greatest Hits compilation, the 2002 release The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, and the 2004 reissue of Tusk. [50]
The album was recorded by American alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven and released in 2003.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "Over & Over" | Christine McVie | C. McVie | 4:34 |
2. | "The Ledge" | Lindsey Buckingham | Buckingham | 2:08 |
3. | "Think About Me" | C. McVie | C. McVie, Buckingham | 2:44 |
4. | "Save Me a Place" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 2:42 |
5. | "Sara" | Stevie Nicks | Nicks | 6:22 |
Total length: | 18:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "What Makes You Think You're the One" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 3:32 |
2. | "Storms" | Nicks | Nicks | 5:31 |
3. | "That's All for Everyone" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 3:03 |
4. | "Not That Funny" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 3:11 |
5. | "Sisters of the Moon" | Nicks | Nicks | 4:42 |
Total length: | 19:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Angel" | Nicks | Nicks | 4:54 |
2. | "That's Enough for Me" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 1:50 |
3. | "Brown Eyes" | C. McVie | C. McVie | 4:27 |
4. | "Never Make Me Cry" | C. McVie | C. McVie | 2:18 |
5. | "I Know I'm Not Wrong" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 3:05 |
Total length: | 16:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Honey Hi" | C. McVie | C. McVie | 2:41 |
2. | "Beautiful Child" | Nicks | Nicks | 5:21 |
3. | "Walk a Thin Line" | Buckingham | Buckingham | 3:46 |
4. | "Tusk" | Buckingham | Buckingham with C. McVie | 3:37 |
5. | "Never Forget" | C. McVie | C. McVie | 3:34 |
Total length: | 18:59 |
Notes:
Fleetwood Mac
Additional musicians
Production and design
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [82] | 3× Platinum | 150,000^ |
France (SNEP) [83] | Gold | 100,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [84] | Gold | 300,000 [85] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [86] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [87] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [41] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [40] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 4,000,000 [88] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green recruited drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist and singer Jeremy Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning, with John McVie replacing Brunning a few weeks after their first public appearance. Guitarist and singer Danny Kirwan joined the band in 1968. Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician starting with the band's second album, married McVie and joined Fleetwood Mac as an official member in July 1970 on vocals and keyboards, two months after Green left the band; she became known as Christine McVie.
Christine Anne McVie was an English musician and singer. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of Fleetwood Mac.
Rumours is the eleventh studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977 in the United States and on 11 February 1977 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The recording sessions took place as band members dealt with breakups and used drugs heavily, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.
Fleetwood Mac is the tenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 11 July 1975 in the United States and on 1 August 1975 in the United Kingdom by Reprise Records. It is the band's second eponymous album after their 1968 debut album and is sometimes referred to by fans as the White Album. It is the first Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as a vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. It is also the band's last album to be released on the Reprise label until 1997's The Dance; the band's subsequent albums until then were released through Warner Bros. Records, Reprise's parent company.
Mirage is the thirteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 2 July 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. This studio effort's soft rock sound stood in stark contrast to its more experimental predecessor, 1979's Tusk. Mirage yielded several singles: "Hold Me", "Gypsy", "Love in Store", "Oh Diane", and "Can't Go Back".
Say You Will is the seventeenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 April 2003. It followed 1995's Time and was their first album since 1970 without vocalist/keyboardist Christine McVie as a full member following her departure in 1998, although she participated in some songs as a guest musician; it would be her last time being involved with the band in a studio capacity before her death in 2022. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks shared keyboard duties throughout the album.
Tango in the Night is the fourteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 April 1987. As a result of Lindsey Buckingham's departure later that year, it is the fifth and final studio album with the band's most successful lineup of Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks, though Christine McVie would make guest appearances on the band's 2003 album, Say You Will. This lineup was not seen again until 1997's live album The Dance.
Behind the Mask is the fifteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 9 April 1990. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. He was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, both guitar players, singers and songwriters. Fleetwood Mac thus became a six-piece band with four singer/songwriters. The album was not as successful as its predecessor, Tango in the Night, nor did it spawn any big hit singles, although "Save Me" made both American and Canadian Top 40, while "Love Is Dangerous" and "Skies the Limit" enjoyed some airplay. Though Behind the Mask barely reached the US Top 20, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1 and achieved platinum status there. Following the album's release and subsequent world tour, band members Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito left the band, though Nicks would rejoin in 1997.
The Dance is a live album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 August 1997. It hailed the return of the band's most successful lineup of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks, who had not released an album together since 1987's Tango in the Night, a decade earlier. It was the first Fleetwood Mac release to top the U.S. album charts since 1982's Mirage.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 21 November 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. It covers the period of the band's greatest commercial success, from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s.
"You Make Loving Fun" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by Christine McVie. It was released as the fourth and final 45 rpm single from the band's 1977 album Rumours. "You Make Loving Fun" peaked at No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the album's fourth top-ten hit.
"Tusk" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States for three weeks, reached number six in the United Kingdom, number five in Canada, and number three in Australia. Lindsey Buckingham wrote the song and is the lead singer on the track.
"Rhiannon" (released as a single under the title "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)") is a song written by Stevie Nicks and originally recorded by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eponymous album in 1975; it was issued as a single the following year. The song's U.S. chart peak was in June 1976, when it hit no. 11. The song peaked at no. 46 in the UK singles chart for three weeks after re-release in February 1978.
Live is a double live album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on 5 December 1980. It was the first live album from the then-current line-up of the band, and the next would be The Dance from 1997. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1981. A deluxe edition of the album was released on 9 April 2021.
25 Years – The Chain is a box set by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac originally released on 24 November 1992. The set contains four CDs, covering the history of the band from its formation in 1967 to 1992. The set features four new tracks as well as several previously unreleased studio and live tracks from the archives, while some of the classic tracks were included in different and new mixes. The four new songs were "Paper Doll", which was recorded earlier than the others as it was written by and recorded with Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito, both of whom had left the band in 1991, "Love Shines" and "Heart of Stone", both Christine McVie songs, and "Make Me A Mask", contributed by then-former member Lindsey Buckingham. "Love Shines" was released as a single to promote the box set in the UK, whereas "Paper Doll" was the single in the US.
"Sara" is a song written by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks of the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, which was released as a single from the 1979 Tusk double LP. The vinyl album version length is 6 minutes 22 seconds, and the edited single version length is 4 minutes 37 seconds. The song peaked at No. 7 in the US for three weeks, No. 37 in the UK for two weeks, No. 11 in Australia, and No. 12 in Canada.
"Sisters of the Moon" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was written and sung by band-member Stevie Nicks and was released in the US as the fourth single from the 1979 album Tusk. The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it was not released in the UK. The single version of "Sisters of the Moon" is included on the compilation The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac and both the 2004 and 2015 remasters of 'Tusk'.
"Think About Me" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1980. The song was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. "Think About Me" and "Not That Funny" were the first Tusk singles released in their remixed form.
Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie is a studio album by Fleetwood Mac vocalists Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, released on June 9, 2017. Four of the five "classic members" of Fleetwood Mac are featured on the album; vocalist Stevie Nicks is the sole member absent. The album sold over 22,000 units in the United States in its first week and debuted within the top 20. It proved to be even more successful in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at No. 5. In November 2017, the album was also certified silver with sales exceeding 60,000 units.
"Over & Over" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the opening song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. The was played on the Tusk Tour and also appeared on the Live album in 1980.