DISCUSSION: Lindsey's songs from Tusk

[MacShadowsBall]

Here is the 2nd discussion thread on Tusk, all about Lindsey's songs...

Songs up for discussion

1. The Ledge
2. Save Me a Place
3. What Makes You Think You're the One
4. That's All For Everyone
5. Not That Funny
6. That's Enough For Me
7. I Know I'm Not Wrong
8. Walk a Thin Line
9. Tusk

Alot of songs from Lindsey...

[Silver Springs]

I guess it does seem like alot, but considering that the band predominantly has only three songwriters and it is a big album, it's not so bad. I guess Tusk was pretty much his boutique effort, his baby if you will. And the rest of the band hopped on for the ride. But you can't argue with a great album.

[tilthefirefades]

This album barely has any bad songs The Ledge is slowly becoming my favorite of his on Tusk, next to Tusk of course.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by tilthefirefades

This album barely has any bad songs

Agreed. Though one can argue the sequencing is where the slack materializes itself on Tusk. I know it's intentional, I know it's supposed to be shocking, purposefully violent, and provocative... but segueing from Sara to What Makes You Think You're The One seems unnecessarily abrasive to the listener. I know that was the point, I know it's meant to challenge the listener, but after all these years of listening to Tusk, I still don't like it. Opening the album with Over & Over is seemingly another stumble in regards to sequencing. I wouldn't change it, because it's part of what makes Tusk, Tusk... but I still think they should have had a bolder start for the album. Though in it's own way, the segue from Over & Over to The Ledge is the signal that this isn't just any regular Mac album.

Back to the songs. I think The Ledge is tremendous fun. I love singing along to this one... such a fun energy.

Save Me A Place... I think it's an excellent song that suffers from poor production. I think the early version we hear of this tune on the Tusk Documentary is superior to the final album cut. I think mainly I don't like the lower vocal on the double harmony that carries through the entire song. It's always come across as a bit Statler Brothers to me.

What Makes You Think You're The One: I LOVE the lyrical honesty of this tune. Lindsey was venting and putting it all out there, and good for him. Between the vitriolic lyrics and the sneering production, this song has always bothered me. I get it's message, I get it's very deliberate home in the running order. I understand what Lindsey was going for, and all of it combined to make the song exceedingly successful in accomplishing it's aspirations. I still can't find myself to like it though, and perhaps that was the point all along.

That's All For Everyone: beautiful vocals. To me, this song is a good example of compromise: it's an experimental song, yet it's not coarse. Same could be said for That's Enough For Me and I Know I'm Not Wrong.

Not That Funny: basically any thing I said about What Makes You Think You're The One is applicable here. I respect it's successful artful aims, but it still doesn't tug at my heart strings.

Walk A Thin Line: I think this is a gorgeous song. I really adore the way Mick's drums close out this one.

Tusk (the song) is to Tusk what The Chain is to Rumours, in my eyes. It's the group song that showcases all, and it's epic.

[MissLadyLoki]

I'll admit, Lindsey's songs on this album are bizarre, and some aren't as great as others, but there's nothing on there that is truly bad. BTW, Louie, hope you don't mind that I'm taking a lot of what you said. You had great ideas going on that I had to agree with

1. The Ledge- It's just like the forum of the same name: strange as hell, crazy, yet somehow quite awesome
2. Save Me a Place- I never really cared for the album version, and I do have a preference for the Tusk doc version, like Louie said
3. What Makes You Think You're the One- I've been meh on this song
4. That's All For Everyone- Like what Louie said, good harmonies and manages to be experimenal and acessable
5. Not That Funny- Album version is OK, but Mirage show version...well, that's a different story
6. That's Enough For Me- Ditto with What Makes You Think You're the One
7. I Know I'm Not Wrong
8. Walk a Thin Line- I thought it was interesting when i heard it, and I enjoyed it when I heard it on my Unleashed show (in fact, that and Storms got me started on Tusk)
9. Tusk- I got one word to say: TUSK! Weird, wacky, and awesome

[nailatixela]

Tusk has to be my favorite. But I love The Ledge since it's such a fun song. And I love WMYTYTO, especially if I'm in the mood, because it's such a great, angry song. Save Me A Place is my least favorite, and normally makes me want to rip my ears off.

[holidayroad]

I absolutely love every song on Tusk, except for 'Save Me a Place'!!

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Agreed. Though one can argue the sequencing is where the slack materializes itself on Tusk. I know it's intentional, I know it's supposed to be shocking, purposefully violent, and provocative... but segueing from Sara to What Makes You Think You're The One seems unnecessarily abrasive to the listener. I know that was the point, I know it's meant to challenge the listener, but after all these years of listening to Tusk, I still don't like it.

Well, as someone who still considers Tusk as a four-sided double vinyl LP, I think the sequencing is quite brilliant; each side has its own arc- an opening and conclusion. Accordingly there is bound to be some friction/dissonance when LP sides are played continuously. I agree that "What Makes You Think..." is rather abrupt when it follows "Sara." Same with "Angel" following "Sisters of the Moon." But when carved up into little LP-side chunks, it definitely works.

As for Lindsey's songs on Tusk, I think there is a good deal of filler to be found. It's not bad filler... but they're like the French fries added to a pizza- lots of unnecessary empty calories. What annoys me with songs like "That's Enough for Me" and "Not That Funny" is that they seem to be like unfinished fragments of songs that probably would not have amounted to very much. And I do get this impression that Lindsey was trying very, very hard to hang out with the cool kids smoking in the boys room. He's almost saying, "Yeah... punk, I've heard of it." Some of it just seems so affected to me.

[jeffd8382]

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").

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Well, as someone who still considers Tusk as a four-sided double vinyl LP, I think the sequencing is quite brilliant; each side has its own arc- an opening and conclusion. Accordingly there is bound to be some friction/dissonance when LP sides are played continuously. I agree that "What Makes You Think..." is rather abrupt when it follows "Sara." Same with "Angel" following "Sisters of the Moon." But when carved up into little LP-side chunks, it definitely works.

These are excellent points.. I think in lots of cases LPs didn't translate terribly well to the continually playing format on CDs. This is particularly an issue here with it being a double LP. For people of my generation, and certainly younger who become acquainted with older albums on CD, this is bound to be an issue.

[GypsySorcerer]

I guess I'm in the minority in that "Save Me a Place" is one of my favorite Lindsey songs. I think it's beautiful. I also really like "The Ledge".....crazy, manic, and perfectly jarring after "Over & Over."

Truth be told, the only song of Lindsey's I don't like on Tusk is "That's Enough for Me." I can't take the yeahs yeahs.

[luckydimecaper]

I'll be honest, it took me a while to warm to Lindsey's contributions to this album.. but once I actually took the time to listen to them in detail, I found them to be incredibly interesting and intricate. Especially with all of the wonderful layering of vocals and drums tracks on a lot of the songs. I think Lindsey's songs play an important part in breaking up the overall slower pace of the album, which is set by the majority of Chris and Stevie's songs.

[aleuzzi]

1. The Ledge
2. Save Me a Place
3. What Makes You Think You're the One
4. That's All For Everyone
5. Not That Funny
6. That's Enough For Me
7. I Know I'm Not Wrong
8. Walk a Thin Line
9. Tusk

I like them all, really. My favorites are "Save Me a Place," "Not That Funny," and "Tusk"--and maybe "Tusk" the most of all.

[Kayli]

I think Not That Funny is self-righteous and theatrical. Personally, I see this song as Lindsey trying way too hard to be edgy. However, the rest of his Tusk songs I love tremendously with my whole heart

The title track and I Know I'm Not Wrong are my favorites. It's really too hard to pick, isn't it?

[Silver Springs]

Originally Posted by Kayli

I think Not That Funny is self-righteous and theatrical. Personally, I see this song as Lindsey trying way too hard to be edgy. However, the rest of his Tusk songs I love tremendously with my whole heart

The title track and I Know I'm Not Wrong are my favorites. It's really too hard to pick, isn't it?

That's pretty much how Lindsey approaches his music, I feel. He likes to be on the edge and pushing his boundaries on what he can do with his music. I've always found this endearing. Like I always say, when placed with a guitar in front of a microphone he becomes almost like a child in a sweet shop, wanting to dip his hand into everything and just enjoying the freedom of being able to do so.