Tusk was the sixth Fleetwood Mac album I heard all the way through, following 1988's Greatest Hits, The Dance, Tango In The Night, the S/T White album, and Rumours. If memory serves, my sister bought it before I did on CD when I was about 15 (so somewhere around 1997.. it was obviously after The Dance was released). The album was an enigma to me at the time, because the only tracks from the album I knew were the beautiful "Sara" and the quirky "Tusk". I was shocked by the production, particularly on Lindsey's tracks... but this came from someone whose first popular music love was ABBA, so immaculately produced, multi-layered and tight, cleanly arranged tracks were what I was accustomed to listening to (hence why Tango In The Night was my favorite at the time). I think both my sister and I found Lindsey's tracks either amusing or annoying, and not particularly appealing (with the exception of "Tusk"). But my perspectives have changed a lot, and my musical tastes have expanded by light years in every direction.. so I have much more appreciation for what he was trying to achieve here. I do still find most of his tracks the weaker parts of the album.
Here's what my impressions were then and now for each of his tracks:
1. The Ledge - I didn't want to admit it to myself at the time, but I always found this track to be a catchy sing-along track. It remains one of my favorites (particularly of Lindsey's contributions).
2. Save Me a Place - I HATED this song when I first heard it (as did my sister).. I still don't much care for the production on it, but like Louie, I appreciate the melody now.
3. What Makes You Think You're the One - Strangely, I found this track the most accessible of Lindsey's tracks (besides "Tusk") at the time, but my sister hated it right from the start of the loud, opening snare hits. I always liked the simple chord progression here and his vocals on it.. the raw production never seemed to bother me either. It still remains one of the better Lindsey tracks for me... I feel like I'm usually in the minority on this one! I'm not one to ever pay attention and care much about lyrics, so you won't find me commenting much on lyrical content... but despite the obvious message here, it never actually struck me as that angry of a song.
4. That's All For Everyone - I didn't care at all for this track when I first heard it.. Over time, it's grown on me some. I actually really like the production and instrumentation here, but the melody still never grabbed me.
5. Not That Funny - This was a song I was lukewarm about.. I probably didn't like it at first listen. But this was a track that grew on me quickly and I didn't skip like some of the others. After all this time, I guess I'm still lukewarm about it, but listen to it less than I used to.
6. That's Enough For Me - At this part of the album on first listen, it felt like a pattern was forming where Lindsey's songs were concerned... either very fast-paced or very slow-paced raw-produced garage band-like songs. I think this sounded like a sped up cousin to "The Ledge", which I didn't like nearly as well. The track's alright now, but not a favorite by any stretch. The "yeah, yeah, yeah..." gets annoying depending on my mood.
7. I Know I'm Not Wrong - Hmmm, almost like "The Ledge" part 3! Or maybe "That's Enough For Me" part 2! Either way, a continuation of the Lindsey sound! (At least that was my impression at the time.) But this one I always found more appealing. I still do, and enjoy the simple accordion sections and Lindsey's multi-tracked backing vocals.
8. Walk a Thin Line - I think I used to just ignore this song (I had probably had enough of Lindsey at this point and I was almost at "Tusk" anyways!) I still don't ever pay much attention to it, but I don't dislike it. Having heard Mick's Zoo cover of it, blasphemous as it may seem to say, I may like that version a little better. The "ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh-ah" thing always annoyed me a bit in both versions. But overall, not a bad track; just doesn't grab me... maybe after reading Louie's interpretation, I need to revisit it some time!
9. Tusk - Liked this track at the time. LOVE this track now... Like Louie said, epic production and a very unique sound achieved here, while still very commercially appealing.
Mirage was the next album I heard, and I probably had similar reactions to his tracks on there when compared to Christine's and Stevie's... but like here, many of them grew on me. It wasn't long before I had even bought Lindsey's solo albums (largely due to the appeal of "Trouble" and "Go Insane").
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