Fleetwood Mac PART ONE: The Popular Years (TUSK)

The other day I was listening to albums for this blog and I was thinking of doing artists who have great albums in different decades.  First band I thought of was Fleetwood Mac.  Then Play On is one of their best 60's effort and Tusk was one of their best 70's.  I thought of Fleetwood Mac because of the recent tour and stupid and petty fanfare with the new lineup and the squabbling between the great talents of Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood.  Then I thought of Lindsey's health scare as well.  The members of Fleetwood Mac seemed like a soap opera (things I hate).  While Fleetwood Mac is far different from each decade I figure I talk about the time Mac was on top of the world first.  Songs on Tusk such as "That's All For Everyone" and "Save Me A Place" are my highlights and are heavy favored because of being a Buckingham fan.  This album has gone through 2 re-issues and each time they find more and more music to knock off Rumours off the mountain.  Mac was a great band in the 70's this album shows so much creativity and for me it's an album I will happy to hand over to someone who needs something new listen to.  

There are too many incarnations of Fleetwood Mac that I cannot count them and even if I could count that high, it would bore you to tears and wonder if I was really foaming at the mouth. I will admit to anyone that the music of Fleetwood Mac that I love is their first era. This beginning period of Fleetwood Mac was when they played pure Blues. Some of this music is the stuff of legend. I posted a while back about the time I picked up a greatest hits collection of their first few years. The music on that is quite amazing. It's raw and quite fun to see the differences of the evolution of Fleetwood Mac. I am a person who believes that the music of Fleetwood Mac early years should be played more often. It does not get the credit rightly deserves. Peter Green (the first guitarist) is a wonderful player. His gift and his starting Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood is something that is quite a treasure. To me the point where he left the band is about the same time is where I stop listening to the band.

I say that and then I regret those same words. I could listen to Rumours and go a bit crazy. There is one song I could listen again and again on that album it's called "Never Going Back Again" that is a wonderful Lindsey Buckingham song. Then I face the truth and mention If I could choose any Fleetwood Mac album from the later years I would chose Tusk. This thought did not materialize till my first year back at college. I would be extremely discriminatory towards anything that Fleetwood Mac did in the 70's and beyond. I did pick up later albums like the somewhat bad Behind the Mask or Tango in the Night and eventually did get Rumors, but I figure another simple Greatest Hits would cover my ignorance or for that matter hatred for a period to me that was too commercial. Having this in the collection would make anybody think that I was just keeping it because of their wide catalog of stuff during this period.

While at school I was approached on my flaw of only having a greatest hits collection and the early albums. I was asked where is the album Tusk. I had a copy at home on record, but really did not listen to it all that much. I mean the two singles were covered on the Greatest Hits that I had, and why on earth did I have to listen to a supposedly long and drawn out album such as Tusk. I made the grave mistake of not bringing it with me. I was told by this person that next time I go home for the weekend from school I should bring up that copy and he will show my what songs are the better album tracks. It was odd thinking of me that Tusk could be much better then Rumours.

When I brought the record up I sat and listened to with this person and more and more the layers of the album appeared. It was more complex then Rumours and most of all it was the more songwriting and much better song writing as well. It was an album that reviled to me as a much more classic in everything that Fleetwood Mac has ever done. This time for Fleetwood Mac it was personal. There are songs that just make you shake your head and wonder what they were thinking. "Save Me A Place" for instance is my favorite song on the album. "Never Make Me Cry" is a song that creeps up on you when you least suspect it. That's just the part of it. Lindsey's songwriting on this album is pretty close to brilliant. In 2004 I picked up the Rumours and Tusk re-issue. Both of these were deluxe 2CD sets.

I picked up these 2CD sets and to my surprise the second Tusk CD could be an album on their own. The experiment of this album worked for all parties involved, but the album was a failure. At present time I am reading a book about Tusk and it reveals to me how much it costs to work on. This album costs over million dollars to work on. That might sound cheap, but back when this album came out, that was more then any album at the time. This album could only come out after Rumours allmusic pointed out. I could not agree more.

So, If you are trying to add to your collection more then a greatest hits of Fleetwood Mac and you know if you hold Rumours up to your friends and go "I've got the classic," Think again. Pick up Tusk and I am sure you will understand that this is the one to own. Many critics and musicians alike think this is the better one. Enjoy and I am sure you will get it like I did. It's an album that bleeds greatness. I know after listening to this you will hear what I hear. Turn it up and hear the brillience of an album first would pass you by, but after one listen you will understand why I can hold this album in my hand and say how wonderful it is to listen.