Tusk singles
 

I've been listening to Tusk a lot lately and I'm wondering if WB gave up on promoting the album too quickly back in the day. Granted it wasn't Rumours II and so everyone was reacting to that, but hearing some of these songs now it seems like they could have been singles:

"Brown Eyes" (edited)
"Storms"
"I Know I'm Not Wrong"
"Beautiful Child"
"Angel"
"Honey Hi" <--I used to basically hate this song, but I've come to love it listening to it on the Tusk remastered CD

What do you all think?

I agree. There were a ton of single possibilities. The only singles were Tusk, Think About Me and Sister's of the Moon. Tusk was the only single that did well. Think About Me did receive airplay but I wouldn't consider it a hit for them and Sister's basicly bombed. I thought it was gonna be a huge hit for Stevie. Sadly I was very wrong.
Though the album sold well the industry considered it a failure when it didn't sell as many copies of Rumours.

True....although you forgot "Sara", that was a sizable hit for them along with "Tusk". I wonder if the extended version of "Sisters of the Moon" would have done better?

I agree that Tusk was actually a hit....it was just that in comparison to Rumours it was a "flop".

OMG how in the world could I have forgotten SARA!!!???!!! Yes, yes, yes that was a HUGE hit for them. The video was shown a lot on several tv shows back then(pre MTV).

Hmmm, I don't know. I'm trying to put myself into a 1980 frame of mind and thinking about what would be radio-friendly at that time. I don't think anything from the list above would have had hit potential at that time...they all lack strong enough hooks for Top 40 ("Angel" probably comes the closest but the chorus doesn't quite achieve a hit-level hook).

While it's certainly true that the title track was an unconventional choice and very different than anything on the radio, it was likely carried on the radio and charts by built-up anticipation for a new Fleetwood Mac song.

With more commercial production and arrangements, it's possible that "Over & Over", "Never Forget" or even "The Ledge" could have been singles.

I really don't hear any hit singles on Tusk, apart from the first three that all made the Top 40. That's not to say there aren't numerous top-notch tracks, just not many with hit single potential.

If Tusk were to have another hit single, wouldn't it be one of Christine's, since she was the one who typically had the "hit" singles. :shrug:

Agreed, although Angel is a great pick for a single... It almost sounds like Christine wrote it.

I'm surprised that Think About Me didn't do better. Although I think it had more of a 70's sound. It might have done a lot better in 78 or 79.

Every time I hear The Ledge and it gets to that middle part with the voices going in and out I always picture them in a big room with one mic and they're all just sort of running up to the mic and away again, like The Cure does with the camera in the Why Can't I Be You video.

Have you guys heard Camper Van Beethoven's full album cover of Tusk. I absolutely love their cover of Honey Hi. They sing it in Spanish and there's all these street sounds like they're playing it on a street corner with people and cars going by. It's really cool.

According to wikipedia, Think About Me got up to #20 in US. That's pretty good, actually.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusk_(album)

I do think Angel would have made great single. Maybe it doesn't have the great hook in the chorus, but the beat is strong and the melody is "up" while the lyrics have "a definite eeriness to it" ;). I also think that Stevie's voice sounds amazing on "Angel".

Does anybody else think that "Save Me A Place" would have made a good single? It's a very beautiful song and although not upbeat is very catchy and again the melody is rather easy to get stuck in your head.

Generally yeah, but it was following 8 singles that had done better (the latest 6 all having hit the Top 10), so considering that, "Think About Me" was a chart disappointment.

Ordinarily yes Christine was the most consistent hit single writer, but I think Tusk was actually something of a weak album for her. Her songs on Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, Mirage and Tango In The Night - taken as groups of songs - are all more hook-laden and radio friendly than her Tusk batch was.

I think the mayhem and strain of Rumours eventually impacted all 3 writers on the consequent albums. McVie was sub-par on Tusk, then Buckingham had a weak spell on Mirage (probably from being burned by fan and band reaction to the "failure" of Tusk), then Nicks turned in her weak set on Tango In The Night.

Its interesting that a number of people are citing "Angel" as a shoulda-been single. When I think about possible other Tusk singles I also often come back to this song...in some ways, I think it might have done better chart-wise than "Sisters of the Moon" did.

As for "Save Me A Place", I initially *hated* that song when I first got Tusk. Like many people, in 1979 I rushed out and bought Tusk, put it on my record player and then sat there stunned not knowing what to make of the entire album. I admit that I, again like many people, was expecting and looking for Rumours II and I didn't know what to make of it that Tusk was so wildly different. The closest I could come to a Tusk moment was that I thought "Storms" was sort of "Dreams"-ish, but wow was Stevie's voice different! Anyway, I generally disliked most of Lindsey's songs with the exceptions of "Tusk", "That's All For Everyone" and "Walk A Thin Line". "Save Me A Place" in particular seemed like a misbegotten attempt to do some kind of country-ish gospel tinged SOMETHING (I wasn't sure what it was). In the following years though I have to say that I often find myself suddenly singing this song! So there definitely is something about the song that burrows into your mind and lodges there. I don't know that it would have made for a successful single, but clearly the song isn't as throw-away as I initially took it.

In 1980 I felt that these two songs would have made hit singles. I thought the same about SOTM though and look how that turned out.

This record is a must have for all the Tusk album die hards. My favorite song is their version of the title track.

Your comments are always so spot on, drzubritsky.

Look at some of the big hits that year:

"Rock With You" Michael Jackson
"Escape" Rupert Holmes
"Ride Like the Wind" Christopher Cross (who opened for Fleetwood Mac)
"The Long Run" & "Heartache Tonight" the Eagles
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Queen
"Longer" Dan Fogelberg
"Call Me" Blondie
"Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer" Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
"Another Brick in the Wall" Pink Floyd
"Against the Wind" Bob Seger

You had the first wave of British synth pop on American charts by Gary Numan ("Cars") & Devo.

And you had a whole lot of syrup from people like Air Supply, Robbie Dupree, Olivia Newton-John, Christopher Cross, Kenny Rogers, Captain & Tennille, Cliff Richard, Diana Ross, Dan Fogelberg, Ambrosia, Stephanie Mills, Leo Sayer, ad nauseam.

In my high school, they were listening to Devo, Pat Benatar, Pink Floyd, & the usual slew of headbangers.

I'm surprised that Fleetwood Mac's "Sara" captured the attention it did. But there wasn't anything else on "Tusk" that was going to do that.