Tusk Volumes 1 and 2?
 

I'm sure it's been debated endlessly here already, what a single LP version of Tusk might have looked like in 1979. Don't get me wrong. I love it as is but what if the rest of the band and maybe even Warner's had balked at a double album. They could have released an album before the tour and another later on in 1980 around the end of the tour. With that in mind, this is what I came up with. I included the two singles from Live to balance things out and a couple of alternate takes from the 2004 reissue simply because I prefer them to the originally released versions. Ironically, I didn't include "The Ledge" because I can't stand it. Feel free to be critical of my choices. I can take it.

Tusk (single LP)

Side 1

Over And Over
I Know I'm Not Wrong
Sara
Walk A Thin Line
Think About Me (single version)

Side 2

Storms
Out on the Road (That's Enough for Me)
Brown Eyes
Sisters Of The Moon
Tusk
The Farmer's Daughter


Second album from Tusk sessions (I'm calling it Fireflies)

Side 1

Fireflies (proper studio version)
Save Me A Place
Honey Hi
What Makes You Think Your The One
Beautiful Child

Side 2

Not That Funny
Never Make Me Cry (alternate version)
Angel
That's All For Everyone
Never Forget

I wonder if a one lp version would have produced more sales and then changed the 80s live of fleetwood Mac. Like Mirage been released in 1981 instead of 1982 and with a longer tour

Tusk has aged well over time. It's much more appreciated now than when it was released. I remember being fascinated by the packaging - sleeves within sleeves! It took some effort just to get to the records.

Like many others, I was a bit challenged by the album, being that much of it didn't resemble the production values of the two previous albums (mostly on Lindsey's songs). It was noted at the time that when the record company executive listened to the album, they saw their bonuses fly out the window.

In hindsight, the album was the boldest move the group ever made. I'm glad the senario of them being pressured into making it a single album never happened.

I think Tusk is fine as it is, to be honest. I love the reissue from 2004 - I own that one - seeing what could've been. If I were alive then, I would be intrigued to see the band release "The Farmer's Daughter" as a preliminary, solely single. I feel like it would have warmed the public up to the significant change that was Tusk - a new wave beat, but with beautiful Fleetwood Mac harmonies. It also would've boosted the overall revenue from Tusk materials since you couldn't get the song on the album.

I can picture it now: someone listening to the radio on the road to a new tune, digging it...Then the radio host tells them it's Fleetwood Mac and the person's like "whaaaat???" :laugh:

I remember running in the backyards of my friend's house. One of my older cousins was blasting WMMS in Cleveland. The DJ said, this is the new Fleetwood Mac tune we've all been waiting for.

I remember going, "Wow!" I was 11.

That's awesome. :nod:

I was 9 when I saw the premier of the Tusk video on Solid Gold. I loved it--a marching band! A baseball stadium! But when my sister told me it was the same band that did Rumours, which we had heard repeatedly in our house for about two years, I was shocked. Nothing on THAT album sounded like THIS song.

Three years later, when I was old enough to buy Tusk myself, I was pretty underwhelmed at first. It all sounded like such an odd blend of slick California pop (albeit from a slightly skewed sonic attack) and bizarre explosions of guitar and screaming. The three hits and all of Stevie's songs were the only parts I loved.

But like someone else said above, Tusk has aged very well, and within a few years it became one of my favorite albums. I like hearing the songs back to back because the programming is deliberately bizarre. The first three songs is the perfect case in point. To lead off with one of the most conventional songs in the band catalogue and follow it up with one the band's strangest moments was a ballsy, provocative move.

This is my 12 track Tusk

Side 1

Never Forget
The Ledge
Sisters Of The Moon (single mix)
Walk A Thin Line
Sara
Never Make Me Cry

Side 2

I Know I'm Not Wrong
Beautiful Child
Brown Eyes
That's All For Everyone
Tusk
Over And Over

I love Tusk - especially the Ledge and Sisters of the Moon.

However, I agree that some of the slick production values of the two previous albums were lost, which made the album more raw. Whether this made it more appealing or not is debatable, but it certainly makes it interesting.

I've always had a problem with the double tracked vocals on Tusk however. For example, on Think about me and Brown eyes you can clearly tell that the vocals are double tracked, as there are slight variations between the two vocal lines. This makes it seem quite "blocky", so to speak, as you wouldn't get that in a live performance. As I've said before, it adds to the rawness.

Had Mac ever covered The Farmers Daughter before Live? If they had then it should have gone on Tusk, which makes me wonder if they did, and if it could have gone on one of these albums?

There are so many possibilities with these songs. I can't think of an album where you can shuffle the tracks around so much and it still work as a cohesive piece. At least that's my opinion. The only issue I see with splitting the album into two separate ones or even a single LP is that Stevie's songs are such drawn out epics. It would be hard to make three of those songs fit on two sides and still represent all of Lindsey and Christine's essential tracks. If I'm not mistaken, Stevie still got the largest time allotment and the fewest songs on the actual Tusk album.

Huh? The Farmer's Daughter was a single from the LIVE album, and not surprisingly, it didn't light up the charts. And how exactly do you equate an oldies cover song with the Tusk album? The two are worlds away from each other.

By the way, I was recently stuck in an airport for three hours trying to pass the time, escaping the environment. I had the Tusk album on my laptop. I decided to listen to it differently, as three distinct EPs - Christine songs/Stevie songs/Lindsey songs. By isolating them, it really gave me a new perspective on the album. While Rumours will likely remain their most solid, consistent and popular album, I believe that Tusk will always be their most creative and diverse album. And while Lindsey's songs seemed the most challenging when it was first released, over time, with familiarity, I've really come to really appreciate what he was doing and why he was doing it at the time in their career. It's such a pivotal and somewhat influential album. No surprise that an alt band like Camper Van Beethoven found it so intriguing that they covered the entire album!

But that was the intent. It's what delineates a studio recording from a live performance. They don't have to be the same.

:nod:
I just went back and listened to both songs, and don't hear the "double-tracking." Christine's voice is not doubled in the verses of either song - Lindsey sings under her. The rest is studio effects - the raw, echo-like quality. The Beach Boys often double-tracked vocals, though.

Huh? Listen to The Beach Boys' Farmer's Daughter, then listen to the one from FM in-studio. The latter has a new wave sound, just like I said. And there's a difference from being released as the live version *after* Tusk, and being released as a preview of the style of music *before* Tusk.

I think "The Farmer's Daughter" would have made a nice lo-fi hidden track at the end of Tusk. Oh, those harmonies.