What if Tusk had appeared in 1977?

[WalkAThinLine.]

Tusk was created as a response to the commercial success of Rumours, so it would be difficult to imagine a world where this would occur. Sure, Mirage was seen by the band as a safe return to the Rumours formula, but the two albums are still very distinct from each other (the byproduct of being recorded six years apart from one another).

But if we were to humor this idea and 'Tusk was released in 1977, I'm not entirely sure if the band would be bold enough to release the title track as the lead single. They may have been inclined to select a more surefire hit. The problem is that the album is somewhat lacking in that department, with only "Think About Me", "Angel", and to a lesser extent "I Know I'm Not Wrong" being the only single-friendly songs on the album. Rumours was released at just the right time, although many of the songs that were successful in 1977 would still be able to attain a degree of chart success in 1979, particularly with "Go Your Own Way" and "Dreams". "Don't Stop" would potentially sound a bit dated by 1979, but programmers could still potentially fit the song on some playlists. I've always thought that "Second Hand News" would be a good contender for a single, but I'm not sure if this would be less likely to happen in 1979.