What Makes You Think You're the One

Last updated
"What Makes You Think You're the One"
Song by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Tusk
Released1979
Recorded1979
Genre Rock
Length3:32
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Lindsey Buckingham
Producer(s) Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat

"What Makes You Think You're the One" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on the US 2002 and UK 2009 editions of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac . [1]

Contents

Background

In February, Buckingham entered Studio D of The Village Recorder with a JVC ghetto blaster. After playing producers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut a demo of "What Makes You Think You're the One" through some JBL speakers in the control room, Buckingham suggested that they create a new version using the JVC deck's input as the recording device. Caillat pushed back against this, contending that the boombox would make the song excessively compressed, but Buckingham insisted that they use the device to emulate the distorted sounds of old rock and roll recordings. [2]

Fleetwood set up his drums in the corner of Studio D and recorded the song with Buckingham using the boombox as the recording device for the drums. [3] Fleetwood said that they "opened the mics up so that it was recording straight onto tape, and that overload and compression is straight off the ghetto blaster. It gave it that "suck and push" sound". [4] More conventional studio microphones were also placed throughout the studio to give Caillat and Dashut further options during the mixing process. [2]

Buckingham and Fleetwood stated that the song was created as a two-piece without any other band members, [3] [5] although Caillat recalled that John McVie was also present in the studio during the song's recording sessions. For the song's original tracking, Buckingham was on piano and Fleetwood used an 18-inch Paiste China cymbal in his drum set. Caillat posited that the song was directed at Stevie Nicks and that Buckingham "imitate[d] Stevie's distinctive vibrato, giving it a bleating, goat like quality, and her rudimentary piano quality, which he knew made her self conscious". [2]

Critical reception

Paste ranked the song number 26 on its list of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs, commenting that it sounds "like a demo, [which] is perfect for Buckingham’s ragged, drug-addled vocals". [6] Rolling Stone said that "Buckingham rocks out with the raw spirit of a freewheeling garage band" on "What Makes You Think You're the One" and also placed the song at number 36 on its list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. [5]

Tyler Golsen of Far Out likened the song to "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" by the Beatles, adding that the song was "complete with percussive piano and simplistic observations on love. Buckingham leads the march to the outer realms of what the average Fleetwood Mac listener would put on. Buckingham’s one-man mission to diversify the scope of what Fleetwood Mac can do isn’t always successful, but it’s always fascinating." [7]

Live performances

"What Makes You Think You're the One" was played on the Tusk Tour. [2] A November 1979 live recording from St. Louis was included on the super deluxe edition of Tusk. [8] Christine McVie played piano for live performances of "What Make Makes You Think You're the One" despite not appearing in any capacity on the song's studio version. She remarked that "'What Makes You Think You're The One' from Tusk is especially tough to play. You have to keep crashing away at chords through the whole thing. By the time it's finished my wrists are like spaghetti." [9]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Fleetwood</span> British musician and actor (born 1947)

Michael John Kells Fleetwood is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John "Mac" McVie to form the name of the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

<i>Tusk</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

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 by Warner Bros. Records. 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. The production costs were initially estimated to be about $1 million but many years later were revealed to be about $1.4 million, making it the most expensive rock album recorded to that date.

<i>Rumours</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is the eleventh studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977, 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 the band members dealt with breakups and struggled with heavy drug usage, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.

<i>Tango in the Night</i> 1987 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Tango in the Night is the fourteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 April 1987 by Warner Records. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)</span> 1977 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Dreams" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by Stevie Nicks for the band's eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours in March 1977, while in the United Kingdom, the song was released as the third single in June 1977. A stage performance of "Dreams" was used as the promotional music video.

Richard Charles Dashut is an American record producer who produced several Fleetwood Mac albums including Rumours, Tusk, Live, Mirage, Tango in the Night, and Time.

"Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album Rumours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusk (song)</span> 1979 single by Fleetwood Mac

"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.

<i>Live</i> (Fleetwood Mac album) 1980 live album by Fleetwood Mac

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.

"The Ledge" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the second song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The band rehearsed “The Ledge” several times for the Tusk Tour, although it was ultimately not included in the set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara (Fleetwood Mac song)</span> 1979 single by Fleetwood Mac

"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 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.

"I'm So Afraid" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham for the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac for their tenth album, Fleetwood Mac. The song was intended for a second Buckingham Nicks album, but the album never came to fruition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusk Tour</span> 1979–80 concert tour by Fleetwood Mac

The Tusk Tour was a world concert tour by the rock group, Fleetwood Mac. The tour began on October 26, 1979, in Pocatello, Idaho and ended on September 1, 1980, in Hollywood, California. The Live album contained many of the live recordings of songs from the Tusk Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think About Me</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Think About Me" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in the US in March 1980. The song was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. "Think About Me" was slightly remixed for single release.

"I Know I'm Not Wrong" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was recorded as the final song of side three of the LP on 19 September 1979, written by Lindsey Buckingham, whose sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of punk rock and new wave were the leading creative force on it and other Tusk tracks. The song was worked on for the duration of the Tusk album and took around a year to complete.

"Oh Daddy" is a song written by Christine McVie that was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the tenth song off their 1977 album Rumours.

"Walk a Thin Line" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album.

"That’s All For Everyone" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on Fleetwood Mac's 1992 box set, 25 Years – The Chain.

"Brown Eyes" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was one of six songs from the album composed and sung by Christine McVie. The song includes uncredited playing from founding member Peter Green.

"That's Enough For Me" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk, on which it is the shortest track. It was one of nine songs from the album composed and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, who also supplied all of the instrumentation. The song was released a B-side to "Sara" in December 1979.

References

  1. ↑ Wild, David (2002). The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Liner Notes). Fleetwood Mac. Los Angeles: Warner Bros. Records Inc. p. 13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Caillat, Ken; Rojas, Hernan (2019). Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac's Most Anticipated Album. Guilford, Connecticut: Backbeat Books. pp. 209–213. ISBN   978-1-4930-5983-6.
  3. 1 2 Fleetwood, Mick; Bozza, Anthony (October 2014). Play On: Now, Then & Fleetwood Mac. New York: Little, Brown And Company. p. 231. ISBN   978-0-316-40342-9.
  4. ↑ "Modern Drummer: Hot Products! Great Gear For '03" (PDF). Modern Drummer: 120. June 2023.
  5. 1 2 Weingarten, Christopher; et al. (2 May 2022). "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (7 August 2023). "The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs". Paste . Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Golsen, Tyler (25 April 2023). "Fleetwood Mac - 'Tusk' album review". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac, Tusk: Deluxe Edition". Rhino. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Doerschuk, Bob (October 1980). "From the Archive: Christine McVie - KeyboardMag". www.keyboardmag.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.