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jbrownsjr 05-29-2019 08:50 AM

Get Tusked
 
I did a quick search to see if anyone posted about this. Apologies if I missed it.
I'll delete this if there's a thread already. This is just one of the links I saw for the book.



https://www.target.com/p/get-tusked-...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

HomerMcvie 05-29-2019 09:07 AM

I wonder how many copies get sold of this stuff. I mean, we're die hards, and buy it, but will 10K people do that? It's difficult to imagine that it would be worth publishing to only sell 1K copies.

I googled CAH's Storms, for copies sold, and couldn't find an answer...

jbrownsjr 05-29-2019 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie (Post 1252985)
I wonder how many copies get sold of this stuff. I mean, we're die hards, and buy it, but will 10K people do that? It's difficult to imagine that it would be worth publishing to only sell 1K copies.

I googled CAH's Storms, for copies sold, and couldn't find an answer...

Depends on marketing budget and distribution.
We shall see. Only 5 more months. haha

bombaysaffires 05-29-2019 01:40 PM

while I'm sure Ken would love to rake in beaucoup bucks from his book(s), one has to also consider that maybe he also wants to document things for the "historical record" as it were. Like other people in the band or whomever may go on to write their own books which will reflect their own perspectives and biases, or... maybe none of the band will and it'll all be lost once everyone involved is gone, so he wants to put his version of the story out there. I also think based on stuff he's said in various interviews etc that he kinda feels a bit slighted by Lindsey, that he (and maybe to some extent Richard also) don't get their fair dues in regards to what they contributed to these FM albums-- what ideas they contributed etc and all credit tends to go automatically to LB (e.g., Richard saying the band didn't really see the potential of Dreams but he did and pushed in his way to get them to give it a go; and Ken saying it was his idea to do the pre-chorus on Dreams (stillness....lonely....heartbeat....etc). People want their contributions recognized
So maybe his goal in getting a book out goes beyond just the NYT best seller list or lots of royalties. :shrug:

elle 05-29-2019 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires (Post 1252996)
while I'm sure Ken would love to rake in beaucoup bucks from his book(s), one has to also consider that maybe he also wants to document things for the "historical record" as it were. Like other people in the band or whomever may go on to write their own books which will reflect their own perspectives and biases, or... maybe none of the band will and it'll all be lost once everyone involved is gone, so he wants to put his version of the story out there. I also think based on stuff he's said in various interviews etc that he kinda feels a bit slighted by Lindsey, that he (and maybe to some extent Richard also) don't get their fair dues in regards to what they contributed to these FM albums-- what ideas they contributed etc and all credit tends to go automatically to LB (e.g., Richard saying the band didn't really see the potential of Dreams but he did and pushed in his way to get them to give it a go; and Ken saying it was his idea to do the pre-chorus on Dreams (stillness....lonely....heartbeat....etc). People want their contributions recognized
So maybe his goal in getting a book out goes beyond just the NYT best seller list or lots of royalties. :shrug:

yes, because Caillat and Dashut actually got both the producer credit and royalties that go with that, in addition to accolades. unlike Lindsey who got no credit and no money for producing those albums with them.

he definitely seems to have some bones he wants to pick with Lindsey, that's been pretty obvious for a while now.

vivfox 05-29-2019 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle (Post 1253002)
yes, because Caillat and Dashut actually got both the producer credit and royalties that go with that, in addition to accolades. unlike Lindsey who got no credit and no money for producing those albums with them.

Good news elle. On my original copy of Tusk from 1979 it says: Produced by Lindsey Buckingham with Richard Dashut & Ken Calliet. And somewhere in it's liner notes it says: Special thanks from the Band to Lindsey Buckingham.

elle 05-29-2019 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivfox (Post 1253004)
Good news elle. On my original copy of Tusk from 1979 it says: Produced by Lindsey Buckingham with Richard Dashut & Ken Calliet. And somewhere in it's liner notes it says: Special thanks from the Band to Lindsey Buckingham.

interesting - would you re-check and please share a photo of it?

i don't have original copy of Tusk, but seems that everywhere else but on that original copy of yours producers of Tusk are Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, and Richard Dashut https://www.allmusic.com/album/tusk-...190000/credits

Fleetwood Mac
Tusk

AllMusic Rating 10 User Ratings (1,582)


Credits
Artist Credit
Peter Beard Photography
Dave Brolan Project Assistant
Lindsey Buckingham Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Quotation Author, Track Engineer, Vocals
Patrick Byrne Crew
Ken Caillat Engineer, Producer
Richard Dashut Engineer, Producer

Jason Day Project Supervisor
Kate Dear Project Supervisor
Sheryl Farber Project Assistant
Rich Feldman Assistant
Fleetwood Mac Primary Artist, Producer
Mick Fleetwood Drums, Group Member, Percussion
Tim Fraser-Harding Project Supervisor
Lisa Glines Project Assistant
Daniel Hersch Remastering
Bill Inglot Reissue Producer
Jim Irvin Liner Notes
Mike Johnson Project Assistant
Raymond Lindsey Crew
Christine McVie Composer, Group Member, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals
John McVie Bass, Group Member
Stevie Nicks Composer, Group Member, Vocals
Jayne Odgers Photography
Ken Perry Mastering
Hernan Rojas Assistant, Engineer
Norman Seeff Photography
Amanda J. Smith Repackaging Supervison
Matt Smyth Project Assistant
John Strother Project Assistant
Olivia Thomas Product Manager
Greg Thomason Crew
Vigon Nahas Vigon Art Direction, Design
Mike Wilson Project Assistant
Rory Wilson Reissue Design
Steve Woolard Reissue Producer


and yes, because Lindsey is NOT listed as a producer on Tusk while he did the work, while FM as a band is listed as a producer, band did give him "special thanks" for basically taking his producing credit.

elle 05-29-2019 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivfox (Post 1253004)
Good news elle. On my original copy of Tusk from 1979 it says: Produced by Lindsey Buckingham with Richard Dashut & Ken Calliet. And somewhere in it's liner notes it says: Special thanks from the Band to Lindsey Buckingham.

this is what i found that it actually says (on remaster):

Produced by Fleetwood Mac (special thanks from the band to Lindsey Buckingham) with Richard Dashut & Ken Caillat.

bombaysaffires 05-29-2019 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle (Post 1253006)
this is what i found that it actually says (on remaster):

Produced by Fleetwood Mac (special thanks from the band to Lindsey Buckingham) with Richard Dashut & Ken Caillat.

this is what I recall it saying from the time of release, because LB commented later that he should have been listed as producer, not the lame "special thanks"

HomerMcvie 05-29-2019 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle (Post 1253005)
interesting - would you re-check and please share a photo of it?

i don't have original copy of Tusk, but seems that everywhere else but on that original copy of yours producers of Tusk are Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, and Richard Dashut https://www.allmusic.com/album/tusk-...190000/credits

Fleetwood Mac
Tusk

AllMusic Rating 10 User Ratings (1,582)


Credits
Artist Credit
Peter Beard Photography
Dave Brolan Project Assistant
Lindsey Buckingham Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Quotation Author, Track Engineer, Vocals
Patrick Byrne Crew
Ken Caillat Engineer, Producer
Richard Dashut Engineer, Producer

Jason Day Project Supervisor
Kate Dear Project Supervisor
Sheryl Farber Project Assistant
Rich Feldman Assistant
Fleetwood Mac Primary Artist, Producer
Mick Fleetwood Drums, Group Member, Percussion
Tim Fraser-Harding Project Supervisor
Lisa Glines Project Assistant
Daniel Hersch Remastering
Bill Inglot Reissue Producer
Jim Irvin Liner Notes
Mike Johnson Project Assistant
Raymond Lindsey Crew
Christine McVie Composer, Group Member, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals
John McVie Bass, Group Member
Stevie Nicks Composer, Group Member, Vocals
Jayne Odgers Photography
Ken Perry Mastering
Hernan Rojas Assistant, Engineer
Norman Seeff Photography
Amanda J. Smith Repackaging Supervison
Matt Smyth Project Assistant
John Strother Project Assistant
Olivia Thomas Product Manager
Greg Thomason Crew
Vigon Nahas Vigon Art Direction, Design
Mike Wilson Project Assistant
Rory Wilson Reissue Design
Steve Woolard Reissue Producer


and yes, because Lindsey is NOT listed as a producer on Tusk while he did the work, while FM as a band is listed as a producer, band did give him "special thanks" for basically taking his producing credit.

I just sent you a pic of it on fb.

Fannymac 05-30-2019 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivfox (Post 1253004)
Good news elle. On my original copy of Tusk from 1979 it says: Produced by Lindsey Buckingham with Richard Dashut & Ken Calliet. And somewhere in it's liner notes it says: Special thanks from the Band to Lindsey Buckingham.

Yep, mine says the same thing!

Macfan4life 05-30-2019 05:44 AM

I am interested in this book. The summer is here and during traveling this summer this book and Howard Stern Comes Again are on the list.

jbrownsjr 05-30-2019 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life (Post 1253013)
I am interested in this book. The summer is here and during traveling this summer this book and Howard Stern Comes Again are on the list.

Comes Again has great interviews. Great read!

elle 05-30-2019 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fannymac (Post 1253012)
Yep, mine says the same thing!

lol I doubt it. Homer just sent me a pic on fb. You guys are separating 1 statement into 2 sentences and splicing together parts that make a completely different meaning. What I wrote above in red is what it says on the original Tusk vinyl. LB does not have a producer credit on Tusk.

elle 05-30-2019 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires (Post 1253009)
this is what I recall it saying from the time of release, because LB commented later that he should have been listed as producer, not the lame "special thanks"

Yup, that’s what it says. So LB should be the one w axe to grind. Not the band and not Caillat. Maybe all those chiffs are correct and the guy is a saint considering all the bs his dear “friends” / band members put him through over decades and he was just taking it and when he dared to take a credit for his work he was immediately labeled as selfish prick or worse.

sleepless child 05-30-2019 09:48 AM

Thanks for finding this. I preordered it. I really liked Kens book on Rumours. I don't doubt that this will be as a good a read too.

aleuzzi 05-30-2019 10:43 AM

On every issue of TUSK that I own, which includes an original album pressing, a cassette, the first cd pressing, then the remastered and extended RHINO package, the language is this:

"Produced by Fleetwood Mac (special thanks from the band to Lindsey Buckingham) with Richard Dashut & Ken Caillat"

I do not know why anyone is suggesting otherwise. But it is clear from the TUSK doc and from all aural evidence that LB is the producer--with some creative assistance from Christine McVie and a lot of technical assistance from Dashut and Caillat.

elle 05-30-2019 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuzzi (Post 1253021)
On every issue of TUSK that I own, which includes an original album pressing, a cassette, the first cd pressing, then the remastered and extended RHINO package, the language is this:

"Produced by Fleetwood Mac (special thanks from the band to Lindsey Buckingham) with Richard Dashut & Ken Caillat"

I do not know why anyone is suggesting otherwise. But it is clear from the TUSK doc and from all aural evidence that LB is the producer--with some creative assistance from Christine McVie and a lot of technical assistance from Dashut and Caillat.

maybe because some of her followers are as ditzy or as uncaring about any actual facts as the ignorant diva they are following? :shrug:

aleuzzi 05-30-2019 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle (Post 1253029)
maybe because some of her followers are as ditzy or as uncaring about any actual facts as the ignorant diva they are following? :shrug:

It would have to be a willing denial of printed matter. That is strange. I mean, I couldn’t care less how it was actually credited on the album but it was credited in a specific way.

StevieandChris 12-03-2019 01:37 AM

150 pages in and loving the book.

Kyle 12-07-2019 10:34 AM

In the book, Ken says that Lindsey "had a persecution complex fueled by the drugs that his girlfriend was feeding him."

Certainly, Carol wasn't responsible for Lindsey's weed of cocaine use. In fact, I seem to remember both Lindsey and Carol saying that he didn't use cocaine whenever he wasn't with Fleetwood Mac.

I wonder what drugs Ken is referring to. With FM, it seems like we always get somewhere between 1% and 10% of the whole story.

michelej1 12-08-2019 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle (Post 1255166)
In the book, Ken says that Lindsey "had a persecution complex fueled by the drugs that his girlfriend was feeding him."

Certainly, Carol wasn't responsible for Lindsey's weed of cocaine use. In fact, I seem to remember both Lindsey and Carol saying that he didn't use cocaine whenever he wasn't with Fleetwood Mac.

I wonder what drugs Ken is referring to. With FM, it seems like we always get somewhere between 1% and 10% of the whole story.

I seem to remember a Christine interview in the late eighties or early nineties where Christine said Lindsey was using weird drugs I think. But that was after Carol. I think Chris was talking about psychedelic drugs. Well, if she divulged that about him I guess I forgive him for telling the world she was “fragile”.

Villavic 12-09-2019 12:13 PM

http://images.45worlds.com/f/cd/flee...tusk-15-cd.jpg

The CD I got in the early 90s is like this. The Deluxe edition includes the special thanks, too.

aleuzzi 12-09-2019 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1 (Post 1255171)
I seem to remember a Christine interview in the late eighties or early nineties where Christine said Lindsey was using weird drugs I think. But that was after Carol. I think Chris was talking about psychedelic drugs. Well, if she divulged that about him I guess I forgive him for telling the world she was “fragile”.

...and in the recent documentary on CM, she volunteers info on Bob Welch being a "heroin junkie" the whole time he was with FM--though she "had no idea about this at the time." I'm not sure if that is accurate. He certainly struggled with heroin addiction later, but not sure if it happened between 1971-74. Life in Benifols seemed pretty close-quarters so it would have been hard for him to hide that from the band.

I guess if Welch and Weston could divulge to the world her long-kept secret affair with Martin Birch, then she could be forgiven for sharing the heroin junkie info.

aleuzzi 12-09-2019 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Villavic (Post 1255184)
http://images.45worlds.com/f/cd/flee...tusk-15-cd.jpg

The CD I got in the early 90s is like this. The Deluxe edition includes the special thanks, too.

Yeah--sometimes doubters need actual pictorial evidence.

David 12-09-2019 04:15 PM

Ken fictionalizes a lot of verbiage in the conversations in the Tusk book. I don’t have a problem with the fictionalizing as long as I trust the writer to nail the general spirit of the conversation, the day, or the experience (Stevie used to be very good at this in radio interviews). But in Ken’s case, it isn’t that I don’t trust him per se, it’s that I think he has developed a political perspective about the old Fleetwood Mac experiences over the years and wants to frame them his way. He has an agenda, whatever it is. So his conversations wind up sounding phony and mechanical. When someone’s pushing a narrative in a certain way, you get typos and non-facts, one right after the other. This is just from skimming the opening few pages on the Amazon preview:

“On September 16, 1978, construction began on our new custom-build studio on the edge of Santa Monica, a new addition to the renowned Village Recorder Studios, and by June, Studio D was complete.” [June 1979? The album was in mastering stage by then! When is chapter 1 actually set? It’s the band’s first day of recording in Studio D, which followed the 1978 tour, which ended late August.]

“Stevie had written it on the couch of Studio D, looking up from her journal occasionally and somehow ignoring Mick during the insanely long hours we spent in the control room.” [Hello? Is there any editor in the room? How could Stevie have written Storms at the Village Recorder when chapter 1 is about the band’s first day (or week) recording?]

“The next song on the tape was Sisters of the Moon, which I recalled from a few years back, written about her failing health on tour. The new voice-and-piano demo was depressing and not very exciting, but it would evolve into a rocker more like Gold Dust Woman. ‘That one’s gonna be ****ing great, Stevie!’ exclaimed Christine, an old rocker at heart, holding her cigarette in the same hand as her glass of burgundy. ‘We should play it live this summer. I’ll play the Rhodes on that.’ ” [Ken is really screwed up by now with his timeline. By the time the band convened at the Village to record, they had already toured and been playing Sisters of the Moon in concert. Stevie would have had no reason to demo it for the band at that point.]

“All of a sudden, Lindsey and Carol walked into the control room, looking as if they had been fighting. Most startling, though, was Lindsey’s extreme haircut. ‘Lindsey, what the hell did you do to your beautiful hair?’ Christine asked, clearly dumbfounded and anxious for his explanation.” [Christine toured with the clean-shaven Lindsey all summer in 1978 before recording started. The impulse to fabricate verbiage here has once again destroyed chronology and facts.]

David 12-09-2019 04:19 PM

Another boner a few sentences from where I left off reading:

“Then, he paused for declamatory effect, ‘I don’t want this to be another Rumours. I don’t want to make the same record twice like the Eagles did!’ ” [Lindsey is supposed to be referring here to The Long Run, which wasn’t released until September 1979, a few weeks prior to Tusk! He would have had no idea what was on the Eagles album as early as September 1978.]

Villavic 12-09-2019 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (Post 1255187)
[The impulse to fabricate verbiage here has once again destroyed chronology and facts.]

After reading your post I thought this book will be exactly like watching Boheman Rhapsody movie. An exciting read! You will enjoy it a lot! But the timeline accuracy is a disaster. Do not take that into account or you will ruin the experience.

HomerMcvie 12-10-2019 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Villavic (Post 1255194)
After reading your post I thought this book will be exactly like watching Boheman Rhapsody movie. An exciting read! You will enjoy it a lot! But the timeline accuracy is a disaster. Do not take that into account or you will ruin the experience.

Suspension of disbelief is difficult for many in this day and age.

jbrownsjr 12-10-2019 09:11 AM

You guys are full of it. Every word of this book happened exactly the way the two authors say it had. Same with Bohemian Rhapsody.

For example,

"Stevie had nothing to do because she was writing about Robin (yet again) in her journal. So she decided to make everyone peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And because she and Christine got on so well, Stevie even remembered to stick a Marlboro Light in Christine's sandwich and even lit it for her."


Oh wait, Christine didn't start smoking Marlboro lights until 1983 during the making of her debut solo album in Switzerland, Great Britain and Los Angeles.

FAKE NEWS!!! :distress:

Macfan4life 12-10-2019 05:22 PM

I don't think this is the only book that's out of sequence. It was discussed in the Stevie forum how wrong the Wilson sisters were in their book about Heart stating Stevie did tons of coke with them on the Bad Animals tour. Well it was not 1987-88 but their 1985 Heart tour that this happened. People's memory gets foggy with timing.

michelej1 12-10-2019 10:03 PM

Chronology is one thing, but at some point you start to distrust events. When you get the things that are documented wrong, how can I believe what you supposedly witnessed when there is no corroborating evidence at all?

jbrownsjr 12-11-2019 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1 (Post 1255203)
Chronology is one thing, but at some point you start to distrust events. When you get the things that are documented wrong, how can I believe what you supposedly witnessed when there is no collaborating evidence at all?

$tevie always gets her timeline's wrong. I think Christine at one point said she left after the Tango Tour. (Meaning, The Dance)

aleuzzi 12-11-2019 11:15 AM

What a disappointment. I would have forked over $ for this book because it is such an unusual record and Ken's first-hand insight should be illuminating.

That the book is marred by factually incorrect information and inaccurate timelines is just sad.

Sad. "Sometimes the most beautiful things pass us by."

Kyle 12-11-2019 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuzzi (Post 1255207)
What a disappointment. I would have forked over $ for this book because it is such an unusual record and Ken's first-hand insight should be illuminating.

That the book is marred by factually incorrect information and inaccurate timelines is just sad.

Sad. "Sometimes the most beautiful things pass us by."

I think Ken had a hard time getting motivated to write this book. He signed the contract 2 1/2 years ago. I got the impression that he didn't get serious about working on it until some time early this year. I wasn't expecting it to ever be completed. Without Hernan, I'm doubtful it would have seen the light of day. It took longer than Rumours and Tusk combined.

It's probably not going to sell enough copies to justify hiring a good editor. Ken should have considered getting a few long term FM fans to proof read it.

Kyle 12-11-2019 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr (Post 1255204)
$tevie always gets her timeline's wrong. I think Christine at one point said she left after the Tango Tour. (Meaning, The Dance)

Didn't Lindsey once say he started Fritz when he was in college?

jbrownsjr 12-11-2019 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle (Post 1255209)
Didn't Lindsey once say he started Fritz when he was in college?

Now that I am getting into my older years. (to be fair)
I sometimes screw up my timeline. I don't really embellish, however.

With this book, it's nearly impossible for me to imagine remembering many of these dialogues. Unless, they have a recording of these instances and someone edited it in the wrong order. Could have some of the conversations been pulled from recordings and then he wrote from memories from those said convos?

That's all I got! :D

cbBen 12-11-2019 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr (Post 1255212)
Now that I am getting into my older years. (to be fair)
I sometimes screw up my timeline. I don't really embellish, however.

With this book, it's nearly impossible for me to imagine remembering many of these dialogues. Unless, they have a recording of these instances and someone edited it in the wrong order. Could have some of the conversations been pulled from recordings and then he wrote from memories from those said convos?

That's all I got! :D

In his book on working with the Beatles (highly recommended), engineer Geoff Emerick prefaces with a caveat along the lines of "These are not all literal quotes. I'm retelling the story as accurately as I can recall it, acknowledging the human error such an exercise inevitably entails, and at times putting things in quotes just to capture the gist of the conversations and of what took place."

kak125 12-12-2019 11:32 AM

New article posted today with Ken Caillat
 
Ken Caillat is the Los Angeles-based record producer and engineer for the Fleetwood Mac albums Rumours,Tusk, Mirage, Live and The Chain Box Set. He won a Grammy Award (Engineer, Mastering) for Rumours (1977 Album of the Year). Caillat has also worked on albums for Billy Idol, Frank Sinatra, Pat Benatar, Wilson Phillips, the Beach Boys, Herbie Hancock, David Becker and Alice Cooper, as well as Christine McVie on her solo album In the Meantime.

In 2012, he released his memoir on his experiences producing the 1977 Rumours album, called Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album. Then in 2019, he authored (with Hernan Rojas) Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac’s Most Anticipated Album, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the band’s epic, platinum-selling album Tusk.

“We were all working under duress with Lindsey saying if we didn’t do what he says, he was going to quit, and he was giving us no clear direction. We were almost in a prison camp for 12 months, I feel like.”

Caillat is the father of singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, and he produced her albums Coco (2007), Breakthrough (2009), All of You (2011) and Christmas in the Sand (2012).

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Ken, why did you name the book Get Tusked?

Ken Caillat: Well, when we were making the album Tusk, somehow the band became very adolescent. Tusk was like a nickname for a male part. So there was all this talk about tusk, tusk, get tusked, and they were always giggling. I said, “What’s wrong with you guys? Are you guys seven-years-old?” At the very end of the record, they made t-shirts for everybody. I got one that said, “Get Tusked.” Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, everybody had the same t-shirt, “Get Tusked.” Get tusked basically means get screwed or screw you or go to hell or however you want to think about that

Smashing Interviews Magazine: It was a penis joke (laughs).

Ken Caillat: Exactly. That’s what I was wanting to say.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: You’ve said that making the album Rumours was a lot of work, pain and anguish, but where the partying started was with the making of Tusk.

Ken Caillat: Right, yes. Making Rumours was actually an experience of real enjoyment. The band were not superstars yet. They were still pretty much normal people. They could go out to dinner and not be recognized all the time. But for Tusk, they had already experienced the wealth of Rumours, and they all had their favorite champagne or liqueur or cocaine, and they all had somebody to do their bidding. I thought the band had grown up. But I was working with a band with a lot of politics and a lot of problems.

We were all working under duress with Lindsey saying if we didn’t do what he says, he was going to quit, and he was giving us no clear direction. We were almost in a prison camp for 12 months, I feel like. We were all sequestered in this room making a record that Lindsey Buckingham didn’t even know what kind he wanted to make. Lindsey thought he had fans that wanted him to be more aggressive, more punk. I think the most interesting part about it is that every one of his songs on the record are full of distortion, anger and just rebellion, while at the same time, if you listen to his work on the girls’ songs, there is some of the most beautiful guitar work he’s ever done. So I think that’s kind of a dichotomy.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Lindsey actually wanted Tusk to be darker than Rumours?

Ken Caillat: Right.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: And he didn’t ask for input from the band?

Ken Caillat: No. As a matter of fact, Lindsey built a little studio at home, so no one would have input. He was particularly annoyed with me. He was in love with me during Rumours because I made everything sound great. He loved how I made him sound. Then he turned on me. I think he decided that I must be the cause of him not being punk enough, aggressive enough.

On the first day we were getting sounds, he said to me, “Turn all the knobs in the opposite direction you’ve already got.” Lindsey knew that would just destroy his sound, and he wanted me to basically baseline the record on that. So I did. He didn’t give me much choice about it, but we made it very aggressive sounding. He would do things like lay a microphone on a tile floor, kneel over it and scream into it, scream as hard as he could into the microphone to distort. He did everything he could to make it as grunge as possible.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: There is a Beach Boys theme with Christine having a relationship with Dennis Wilson at the time and Lindsey being influenced by Pet Sounds during the making of the album.

Ken Caillat: Oh, yeah. If you listen to the background vocals on all of the girls’ songs like “Beautiful Child” and “Sisters of the Moon,” they’re very Beach Boy-esque. So he’s a genius at creating vocal harmonies and orchestrating them. We would sit at the piano, and Lindsey would play each of the notes that people were singing in chords, so then he would play the chord, and he would hear what the vocal sac would sound like when it’s played on the piano. We did that to make sure everyone is doing exactly the right thing. That’s exactly what Brian Wilson used to do with the Beach Boys. That part was very clever.

I want to give Lindsey so much credit for doing some of this. As I said toward the end of the book, in hindsight, I now realize what he was trying to do. I feel like if I were more mature and realized what was going on, we could’ve all walked up to him, given him a big hug and said, “Listen, we know you’re searching for something, and we’re going to give you as much space as you need so you can fly with it. We’ll help you as much as we can.” But he didn’t know how to ask for it, and we didn’t know he was asking for it.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: If Lindsey had explained his ideas in the beginning, there would have been a different process and atmosphere?

Ken Caillat: Right. I think part of it, too, was that cocaine was involved, and pot was involved. He smoked a lot of marijuana. He had a girlfriend who was really into cocaine more, and she was pushing him to be more aggressive. She said, “You need to start wearing eye makeup, color your hair and be more edgy.” So he kind of followed along, and I wanted it to be about the music. The music’s terrific, and it’s different, and it still survives after all these years.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Compared to 1977’s Rumours, which sold 10 million copies by February 1978, Tusk was considered to be a commercial failure by the label, selling 4 million copies. What was your prediction during the time you were producing it?

Ken Caillat: I thought we were going to get slaughtered. There were a couple of unfortunate circumstances. Back then, we had so many songs. At one point, I told Lindsey that they all wouldn’t fit on one record, and that if we kept doing this, we’d have to release a double record. He said, “Okay.” I said, “No. That’s not okay. It’s bad because double records sell for twice as much, and people don’t want to spend $16.00 for a record.” Records at Tower Records used to sell for $3.98 back then. So we all said to him, “Let’s do enough songs for a double record, but let’s put out two single records separately.”

Mick talked to the label and came back and said, “Okay. The record package is going to contain one album, and we’ll drop the next record six months later. When the record comes out, it’ll slide into the double album cover of the first one and complete the picture. So when both records are finally placed together in the same package, they will make a nice picture of something.” So we thought that was terrific. But when it came down to it, the record company got greedy in thinking how many records Rumours sold, so they said, “Why don’t we release it all at once?” So the record company changed their minds at the very end and released a double album instead of two singles.

Secondarily, we used to make cassettes for everybody every night, so they would take it home. Stevie was notoriously forgetful about where she put her cassettes. Anyway, on the day of the release, all the radio stations were about to play the new album, and somehow the RKO Radio Network had gotten a copy of the cassette from somebody and decided to play the album at midnight the night before. So all the radio stations thought we had given RKO an exclusive, and they refused to play the record. All everybody was playing was the controversial song “Tusk” that they decided to make the first single.

The buying public was faced with buying a double album, and the only song that they could hear was “Tusk” on the radio, and the double album would be $16.95 retail. The sales started off really slow until they fixed the radio station dilemma. When the radio stations started playing the nicer songs, people started warming up to it. But I think it would’ve sold for twice as much had it gone out the way I said.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: What did you think the first single should’ve been?

Ken Caillat: Probably “Sisters of the Moon,” or one of Stevie’s or Christine’s songs. That’s what I thought.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Maybe “Sara”?

Ken Caillat: Yeah. “Sara” or a more up-tempo song would’ve been “Think About Me” because usually you want to lead off with an up-tempo song, and “Sara” is too long. We tried to edit that song down, but it was still over four minutes, and the norm was kind of a three-minute single. But again, the label said, “No. We’re just going to go for the money. Let’s release a double record.” So the weird “Tusk” was released as the first single. It didn’t make a lot of sense. I thought having “Tusk” as the first single was the biggest mistake that we made.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Many people speculate that the song “Tusk” was about sex.

Ken Caillat: It’s not about anything. It’s just stupid. The road crew used to just sit there and giggle, and Lindsey would get all excited that he made the road crew giggle. He thought he was one of the guys. It’s not the first single. Maybe it’s somewhere down the line, you know. We had to solve a lot of technical problems to make that record like the live horns in Dodger Stadium.

I came to the stadium in a recording truck and said, “Okay. Here’s all the mics. You guys stand in front of these mics, trumpets stand over here.” They go, “Wait a minute! We’re a marching band.” I said, “Yeah?” They said, “We don’t play unless we march.” I said, “No. Stand in place and march.” They said, “No. We can’t do that. We have to move.” I said, “So how do I make my microphones move?” It was hysterical. I had to figure out how to record a marching band that had to march. Anyway, the double record and the “Tusk” lead off were the biggest mistakes.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: What is your relationship with the rest of Fleetwood Mac?

Ken Caillat: Well, I have a relationship with Mick. The band was not really high tech, so they don’t keep their same phone numbers and emails, and I don’t have any way of connecting with Stevie. Stevie’s got a big entourage of people that are paid to protect her from strangers, and I would be considered a stranger in their eyes. The last time I talked to Christine, we were good. I produced a record for her in 2005. But I talk to John. I talk to Mick. I wish John a happy birthday every year, so I think I’m fine with everybody.

I’d probably be fine with Lindsey if I ever saw him. But he’s just got so much hatred now with the band for firing him when he’s the one that brought it on himself. He again demanded that they would delay their world tour for a year or a year and a half while he finished his solo record, and his solo records never sell anything. He gave them the ultimatum that he would quit, so the band talked and said, “You know what? Why don’t we just fire you? You’ve pulled that trick one too many times. We don’t care.”

Smashing Interviews Magazine: And along came Neil Finn.

Ken Caillat: Right, and he was the solution.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: So no one thinks Lindsey may rejoin the band in the future after a reconciliation?

Ken Caillat: Well, Lindsey had a heart attack, and they apparently damaged his vocal chords. I don’t know anything, but people I know who are very close to him don’t know whether he’s able to sing anymore. It’s too bad. Lindsey was a very angry man, and I believe he still is. Most of my comments about Lindsey are based on when I knew him.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Of course. What’s going on with you now, Ken?

Ken Caillat: I’m still making music. I have a company called ArtistMax, and we try to develop young artists. We try to provide a pathway to stardom and avoid most of the speed bumps in Hollywood, so we try to give the artists the tools for a successful career. I tell them that it’s a lot easier if you get your vocal lessons, learn to play an instrument and get allyour fundamental stuff. It makes it so much easier.

Most artists, when they try to find their paths, make a number of mistakes. They may have to change their minds and directions a number of times, and by the time their may be ready to make it in the business, they’re almost 30 years old. So ArtistMax can take off about 10 years of that path. We put them together with choreographers, vocal coaches, songwriters and publishing attorneys so they learn the ins and outs of the business. That’s what we do. I’m looking for new artists and working with new artists. I feel very fortunate to be able to still be making music with the best of them.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: How’s Colbie and her band Gone West?

Ken Caillat: Colbie’s great. I think she was very brave to leave her successful solo career to create a career with a group. The reality is she’s not the boss anymore. It’s not a one-man band. She’s now one of four people, and I think she’s having a little bit of a challenge to be a team player. But she’s writing great songs.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Will you be helping her plan a wedding in the near future?

Ken Caillat: She’s been engaged for 10 years to her fiancée Justin Young. She said that she has no plans on getting married and that if she decides to get married, she doesn’t want a big church wedding and might even elope.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Whatever makes you happy is what I always say.

Ken Caillat: Yeah. That’s all I care about. I just want her happy.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Is there anything you’d like to add about Get Tusked?

Ken Caillat: I’m always concerned that I’m maybe too negative. I certainly want to say that people should read it if they want to know how real records are made. Fleetwood Mac were ultimate professionals. As professionals, they had to solve a lot of problems on the fly, and many bands have issues.

Each of the Fleetwood Mac songs are usually about one or the other band members, usually about breaking up and usually hurtful. That was something I never realized until I wrote the books. So these artists are listening to their counterpart saying something negative about them every day and trying to sing pretty harmonies to it. I respect Fleetwood Mac for the job. It’s just like if you go to work with different people. You may not like everybody, but you’ve got to get along with them.

Making this record was a labor of love, especially with the girls. They cared very much about what they did, and Lindsey was a big enough guy to display some of his most beautiful music onto their music. So I’m going to say to read the book if you want to know how Fleetwood Mac makes records.

https://smashinginterviews.com/inter...sk-a-nightmare

aleuzzi 12-12-2019 12:20 PM

Wow--Ken has a real beef with Lindsey. So much so that his point of view sounds distorted. Or, as he says, "too negative."

He's bought into the initial story about Lindsey being fired for wanting to delay the tour by one year, which we now know is false. Has he learned that was false and is just holding onto that excuse because it serves his purposes?

This section of the interview is awful and fascinating:

Smashing Interviews Magazine: What did you think the first single should’ve been?

Ken Caillat: Probably “Sisters of the Moon,” or one of Stevie’s or Christine’s songs. That’s what I thought.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Maybe “Sara”?

Ken Caillat: Yeah. “Sara” or a more up-tempo song would’ve been “Think About Me” because usually you want to lead off with an up-tempo song, and “Sara” is too long. We tried to edit that song down, but it was still over four minutes, and the norm was kind of a three-minute single. But again, the label said, “No. We’re just going to go for the money. Let’s release a double record.” So the weird “Tusk” was released as the first single. It didn’t make a lot of sense. I thought having “Tusk” as the first single was the biggest mistake that we made.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Many people speculate that the song “Tusk” was about sex.

Ken Caillat: It’s not about anything. It’s just stupid. The road crew used to just sit there and giggle, and Lindsey would get all excited that he made the road crew giggle. He thought he was one of the guys. It’s not the first single. Maybe it’s somewhere down the line, you know. We had to solve a lot of technical problems to make that record like the live horns in Dodger Stadium.

I came to the stadium in a recording truck and said, “Okay. Here’s all the mics. You guys stand in front of these mics, trumpets stand over here.” They go, “Wait a minute! We’re a marching band.” I said, “Yeah?” They said, “We don’t play unless we march.” I said, “No. Stand in place and march.” They said, “No. We can’t do that. We have to move.” I said, “So how do I make my microphones move?” It was hysterical. I had to figure out how to record a marching band that had to march. Anyway, the double record and the “Tusk” lead off were the biggest mistakes.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: What is your relationship with the rest of Fleetwood Mac?

Ken Caillat: Well, I have a relationship with Mick. The band was not really high tech, so they don’t keep their same phone numbers and emails, and I don’t have any way of connecting with Stevie. Stevie’s got a big entourage of people that are paid to protect her from strangers, and I would be considered a stranger in their eyes. The last time I talked to Christine, we were good. I produced a record for her in 2005. But I talk to John. I talk to Mick. I wish John a happy birthday every year, so I think I’m fine with everybody.

I’d probably be fine with Lindsey if I ever saw him. But he’s just got so much hatred now with the band for firing him when he’s the one that brought it on himself. He again demanded that they would delay their world tour for a year or a year and a half while he finished his solo record, and his solo records never sell anything. He gave them the ultimatum that he would quit, so the band talked and said, “You know what? Why don’t we just fire you? You’ve pulled that trick one too many times. We don’t care.”


There's a lot to unpack here.

1. I always thought having "Tusk" be the lead single was an instance of genius AND deliberate sabotage. It made total sense to issue the strangest song on the record as the lead single, a song with sexual overtones that ultimately doesn't mean anything but has a lot of character. A song that is as iconic as GYOW in its own way.

2. I never heard of the initial plan to stagger the release of the two discs, so that the second of the two would come later and fit into the packaging that came with the first disc. Interesting and ultimately problematic--how many people would have declined to buy the second disc? If I were one of the songwriters, I wouldn't want half of my material in limbo with the hope that the initial purchasers would complete the purchase down the line. Moreover, how would the two discs have been reviewed? Would Rolling Stone, for example, devote equal space to both discs. As an artist, I wouldn't want to take that chance. I'm glad WB got greedy and issued both at the same time. This makes TUSK the excessive, spectacular success/failure it is.

3. "The road crew used to just sit there and giggle, and Lindsey would get all excited that he made the road crew giggle. He thought he was one of the guys.--Ken is suggesting that the road crew were laughing AT not with Lindsey. Even if this were true, why would he want to bring this up? It's hurtful. And anyway, time has shown that Lindsey was RIGHT. We're still talking about TUSK in 2019 because it is what it is.

4. "I’d probably be fine with Lindsey if I ever saw him. But he’s just got so much hatred now with the band for firing him when he’s the one that brought it on himself."--clearly Ken would NOT be fine with Lindsey if he ever saw him. He still has a lot of anger over him and lashes out by saying spiteful things.

Of course I enjoyed reading this, but I enjoyed reading this the way I might enjoy the bitchy private camera testimony of a SURVIVOR contestant who may or may not be delusional and is smack-talking the others who have a greater chance of winning the game.

Mind you: I have a lot of respect for Ken's work. I really enjoyed how he made IN THE MEANTIME sound and credit him for helping Dan Perfect allow Christine to sound as great as she did on that solo effort. I also think he probably has a real basis for claiming that working with Lindsey was traumatic--or at least exceptionally difficult. But....But.


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