The box sets 1975-1987
 

I was just going through my box sets of those 5 amazing albums released by Fleetwood Mac. I will say that’s got to be the best thing that was ever released for a true fan of their MUSIC.

I think the Tusk deluxe is the best group release since — Tusk.

I’d like to be picky about two things:

—The live cuts from Wembley, Tucson, and Omaha are a live nut’s dream, but the seven cuts from St. Louis disappoint, mostly because we got that soundboard years ago but also because some of these choices were easily beaten by later performances (“Tusk,” for example, should have been taken from the Los Angeles shows with the Trojan Marching Band).

—The deluxe edition omits about five studio tracks that were included on the earlier expanded edition—unacceptable. For completists, that requires us to buy both editions and double up on 90 percent of the product. The deluxe is missing:

• Demo #2 instrumental
• I Know I’m Not Wrong #2
• I Know I’m Not Wrong #3
• I Know I’m Not Wrong (1.15.79)
• Never Make Me Cry

Alternatively, the Rumours deluxe incorporated everything from the earlier expanded.

Otherwise, the Tusk deluxe is spot-on in every respect (although we could quibble about which mix is best, the expanded or the deluxe—sometimes the deluxe mix sounds colder or washed out in reverb). I remember first hearing it online, before the hard copy arrived in the mail. I had a Proustian moment where I was reliving the excitement I felt in 1979 listening to the album for the first few times. Very little else the band has done has so acutely transported me back in time emotionally, having the band’s long-lost (and little remembered) style flood my senses.

Yes the Tusk set is a masterpiece of a masterpiece. I enjoyed listening to the tracks back to back for the first time in a long time. I loved reading all the comments from Stevie , Lindsey and Mick. It’s a shame Christine wasn't in the band when these sets were released....we could have had her perspective.....

My Tango favorite today was You and I pt 1&2 from alt disc. Love it!

The Chain - Wembley June 20, 1980
 

The June 20, 1980 Wembley version of the The Chain is fantastic 7 minutes and 57 seconds of pure bliss. Ironically, they did not release a version on the Live album.

Couldn't agree with your assessment of the Tusk Deluxe release anymore if I tried. As a "live nut" myself, the tracks from those shows are simply amazing. I never knew or thought we'd get something like that at that point. The Chain, Rhiannon, Sara, and Go Your Own Way are simply amazing. I always thought The Chain peaked on the Mirage Video, but no, that performance from Wembley is by far the best released version of that song ever.

And speaking of Mirage...how awfully disappointing was the Mirage Deluxe release just rehashing the Mirage Video performances instead of giving us either an entire show or a cobbled together show like they did on Tusk Deluxe? After Tusk Deluxe, they **** the bed so bad on Mirage Deluxe that it isn't even funny.

My favorite is the White Album box. Love the live performance and those lovely harmonies.

The Mirage one blew me away and still does. It's almost like a completely different album when compared to the original CD release. I've never not been a fan of it but the remasters gave me a better appreciation for the album as a whole. The Tango one was disappointing just for the fact that it didn't have a DVD-A release included. That was what I was looking forward to the most.