Tusk Still Rules (Decider, Milwaukee)

[michelej1]

Decider, Milwaukee

http://milwaukee.decider.com/article...l-rules,28813/

30 years later, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk still rules
Rumours has the hits, but this album has the (dark) soul

by Steven Hyden June 8, 2009

Fleetwood Mac plays The Bradley Center tonight, and while Decider is planning on hitting up the Grizzly Bear concert instead, we still have a lot of love for a band that we grew up listening to with our parents. As Wayne Campbell once observed, if you grew up in the suburbs, you were pretty much issued Rumours by the government. Not that we’re complaining: The mega-hit 1977 album is one of the few perfect pop-rock records ever made, and even though we heard Rumours approximately 3.1 billion times before the age of 10, we still pull it out at least once a year.

We love Rumours, but our favorite Fleetwood Mac record has to be the double-album follow-up, 1979’s Tusk, a record that found the biggest pop-rock band in the world taking full advantage of the spoils of overwhelming stardom and success, both good (million-dollar recording budgets, lots of drugs) and destructive (artistic self-indulgence, lots of drugs).

The old joke about Warner Bros. executives seeing their checks fly out the window the first time they heard Tusk has a ring of truth: This is a far cry from the über-commercial Rumours, and it ended up doing a fraction of the business. Of course, that seemed to be the point—the band’s chief studio architect Lindsey Buckingham was enamored of The Clash at the time, and he sought to apply punk's unpolished rawness to Brian Wilson-style songcraft. Buckingham wrote nine of Tusk's 20 songs, and his eccentric-yet-catchy numbers play like a nervy new-wave-inspired solo album stuffed inside a Fleetwood Mac record.

Buckingham's minimalist aesthetic translates to the rest of Tusk (the band gave him a "special thanks" for his production in the liner notes) but this isn't a one-man show: Christine McVie contributes some of her most haunting songs (including the lost classic "Brown Eyes"), and the band's weariness of superstar rock at the end of the Me Decade is best articulated by Stevie Nicks' rough, coke-addled vocals on songs like "Storms" and the hit single "Sara."

After leading off with the fine McVie ballad “Over And Over," Tusk really gets going with Buckingham's "The Ledge," a manic two-minute rocker that sounds like Rumours’ lead-off track "Second Hand News" after a Scarface-sized pile of blow. (It's likely the point where label executives started to freak out.) Given how many hits Fleetwood Mac has to pack into a single concert, we’re assuming “The Ledge” won’t make the setlist. So here’s some fuzzy footage of the band performing the song 30 years ago.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by michelej1

As Wayne Campbell once observed, if you grew up in the suburbs, you were pretty much issued Rumours by the government.

I freakin' love this article!! I love it when journalists have the same self depreciating sense of humor of the band that we do . Throughout all the silly snarkiness, great points and kudos were given to the band. Fun read, thanks for sharing!!

[Skyveris]

Good read. Thank you for posting this article.

-Matt

[Steviefan49]

To everyone going to this show tonight- I hope you all have a BLAST!!! I know Alicia is going, and a few friend's are going to other shows, this Wednesday, and next week! I'm SOOOOOO excited for you all! Have a wonderful time tonight, and SOO can't wait to see those awesome pictures!


Hugs and love,

Arlene

[TrueFaith77]

Of course, that seemed to be the point—the band’s chief studio architect Lindsey Buckingham was enamored of The Clash at the time, and he sought to apply punk's unpolished rawness to Brian Wilson-style songcraft. Buckingham wrote nine of Tusk's 20 songs, and his eccentric-yet-catchy numbers play like a nervy new-wave-inspired solo album stuffed inside a Fleetwood Mac record.

I feel like this is a cliched description -- and not at all what I hear.

[DigYourGrave]

Wait though, does that mean TUSK ISN'T IRRELEVANT?

Well, isn't that a wee noddle scratcher!

[David]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I freakin' love this article!! I love it when journalists have the same self depreciating sense of humor of the band that we do.

Louie, how did you know to use the correct phrase "self-depreciating" rather than the more common (but incorrect) "self-deprecating"?

You amaze me, Louie. You do. I'm going to go listen to some Beethoven.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

Louie, how did you know to use the correct phrase "self-depreciating" rather than the more common (but incorrect) "self-deprecating"?

You amaze me, Louie. You do. I'm going to go listen to some Beethoven.

At this point, I don't think that self-deprecating can be considered "incorrect" any longer. Certainly, deprecation used to mean something different, but at this point, given the evolution over many, many years, I think modern usage of the term "self-deprecation" is quite correct or at least equally correct.

I don't just feel "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." I stubbornly refuse to spell "subpoena" as "subpena" because I won't give in, but I think the deprecation fight was over some time ago.

Michele

[David]

Originally Posted by michelej1

At this point, I don't think that self-deprecating can be considered "incorrect" any longer. Certainly, deprecation used to mean something different, but at this point, given the evolution over many, many years, I think modern usage of the term "self-deprecation" is quite correct or at least equally correct.

I don't just feel "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." I stubbornly refuse to spell "subpoena" as "subpena" because I won't give in, but I think the deprecation fight was over some time ago.

Michele

Excellent points, Mish. These are calls I have to make for myself & my work as an editor pretty frequently. In temperament, I'm a holdout. I get addled unless I wait for Bryan Garner or Jacques Barzun to jump boldly into new water, & then I gladly follow. I used to wait for Wilson Follett, but then I found out he was dead, so I stopped waiting for him.

One thing's for sure: When Robert Burchfield says "yes," I say "no."

P.S. Stevie Nicks IS Fleetwood Mac.