Tusk contains the best material of Stevie's career, period. Sara, Storms, Sisters of the Moon, Beautiful Child... these songs are a tour de force of what Stevie is capable of. These songs are finest songwriting, singing, and harmonizing she ever put on tape. They show the flexibity of the styles she can pull off, too- rock, ballads, folk, and pop.
Regarding a second album... that's when it gets a bit harder for me. My instinct is to go for Rumours. Gold Dust Woman might just be Stevie's best recorded song. Dreams is probably her finest pop song, too. I Don't Wanna know is a flawless little song, very catchy... but it's a duet, and kinda unremarkable, IMO. Rumours is such an obvious, easy, thoughtless choice... which is why I wrestle with choosing it.
Instead, I contemplate supplanting Rumours with Say You Will. Hear me out. I think Illume is one of the most artistically neat songs of Stevie's career. I think it's every bit as good as Straight Back, and possibly in the echelon of Sisters Of The Moon & Gold Dust Woman. I feel Destiny Rules is right up there with Gypsy. If I hadn't heard the original demos of Smile At You, I'd probably feel as strongly about it as well. Plus, Say You Will contains some great rock songs like Running Through The Garden & Everybody Finds Out. Say You Will is a great little pop song. There's a wide variety of material on Say You Will that showcases that Stevie is still a very capable artist.
So I guess I won't be voting in this poll until I can decide what my second album choice will be. The sheer perfection of Rumours is undeniable, but the grittiness of Say You Well tugs at my heart strings.
