Tusk singles

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by MacShadowsBall

So when they were making Tusk, did they think about what hit singles could be on the album? With a double-album you would think there would be room for more that just Tusk and Sara.

Well with Buckingham at least there was a determined effort NOT to be commercial. Nicks pretty much stuck to her usual recipe and IMO produced her best group of songs. McVie was normally the most commercial radio-ready writer, but not on Tusk. She had "Say You Love Me", "Over My Head" and "Warm Ways" on Fleetwood Mac, all hits/potential hits, and "Don't Stop", "You Make Lovin' Fun" and "Songbird" on Rumours. On Tusk, she had "Think About Me" - which had heavier guitar than usual on a McVie song - and that's kind of it. Maybe "Never Forget", although there is something slight about that song that makes it a great album track but probably not a single. "Brown Eyes", if edited, might have worked. "Over & Over" and "Never Make Me Cry" lack real hooks, and "Honey Hi" was a little too non-traditional to have made a single.

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by MacShadowsBall

So when they were making Tusk, did they think about what hit singles could be on the album? With a double-album you would think there would be room for more that just Tusk and Sara.

As indicated by the other responses, the general answer would be "no", the album wasn't crafted with hit singles in mind. There's the oft-repeated story about the initial listening session with the suits at WB and the executives watching their bonuses fly out the window.

I'm sure they must have been getting pressure from the label as well as within the band to include a few more radio-oriented tracks yet the final results demonstrate that they stayed the course, for better or worse. The only track that sounds like an obvious attempt at something commercial would be "Think About Me", but that could just as well be due to Christine's natural tendency to compose in a more conventional, pop-oriented manner. Even then, "Think About Me" was only a modest chart hit.

"Sara" is a rather curious case in that it doesn't appear to have the ingredients of a hit on the face of it (too long, unconventional no-chorus structure, cryptic lyrics). The winning factors were likely the sheer beauty of the melody, pent-up demand for a Stevie Nicks song, and that it was edited for single release.

A couple of folks mentioned "Save Me A Place" but there is absolutely no way that would have ever been considered for single release. I like SMAP quite well myself and those thick, odd-sounding harmonies can be hypnotic. But that song would have been ratings suicide for a Top 40 station in 1980.

[PenguinHead]

I was living in the Boston area when Tusk came out. Sara, Tusk and Think About Me got heavy radio air play. Also, I recall Angel being played (at a time when DJs could air what they wanted, and were not beholden to corporate dictates).

Note that Angel was a single in some European markets. Not That Funny was also a single. I have picture singles of both songs.

[jellyman10]

Originally Posted by David

Your comments are always so spot on, drzubritsky.

[..]

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.

Two things.

1) I am so sick with envy that drzubritsky has earned David's approval.
2) David, you're out of your mind if you seriously don't get why 'Sara' connected.

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by jellyman10

Two things.

1) I am so sick with envy that drzubritsky has earned David's approval.
2) David, you're out of your mind if you seriously don't get why 'Sara' connected.

Have to agree with #2....."Sara" was a pretty amazing song to everyone who heard it at the time.