Review Summary: The inevitable result of Rumours' aftermath.
In the wake of
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac was emotionally drained, caused by the turmoil in the relationships within the band. On top of that, they were burdened with following up an album that became an unseen success for them, and eventually a timeless classic. The quintet created
Tusk, an album that was ambitious, but inevitably fell short of the expectations set by their preceding magnum opus.
Such is of course no surprise. The compositions on
Rumours were amazing, and you'll not find as many on here by a long shot. That said,
Tusk is, overall, still a pretty great album. It finds its main flaw in its incoherency: where the compositions of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie felt unified even though they were basically solo compositions, this album really
does feel as the solo work of three musicians put together. Lindsey Buckingham takes the lead, not only creating 9 out of the 20 tracks, but also being responsible for a great deal of the production. His contributions, however, are generally the weaker offerings on the record. Buckingham's songs are, unlike his earlier ones, fuzzy and loud, which often enough makes them even slightly annoying.
Save Me a Place and
That's All for Everyone are certainly not highlights, and the only real high point Buckingham makes is the title track, a unique-sounding song because of the addition of a marching band. On paper, that doesn't seem like it would work, but it certainly does here.
Christine McVie still finds herself in her comfort zone, as opposed to Buckingham. Her straightforward approach to songwriting carries through from the band's earlier records, and most of her songs are pleasurable listens, although you won't find anything of the
Don't Stop or
You Make Loving Fun-caliber here. The woman who really saves the day for
Tusk is unsurprisingly Stevie Nicks, who had already proven to be the strongest writer of the three. Nicks plays her usual strengths, and she plays them well. Despite only appearing as a lead on 5 tracks, these are all among the best on the album, especially the well-known
Sara and the often overlooked
Storms. Without these,
Tusk would barely be passable.
The fact that
Tusk has some issues is almost solely the doing of
Rumours' aftermath. The album doesn't feel as unified, and the overall songwriting by Buckingham and McVie isn't as focused as it has been. Nevertheless, there is enough here to make the album work just well enough. Fleetwood Mac were having some harsh times, which would in a few years bring them even further down the spiral, but it depends just how much you love this era of Fleetwood Mac. You can shed a forgiving light on
Tusk, or you can feel free to critisise it. Both have been done, and it seems right to keep the rating in the middle area, in all objectivity. This is a worthy Fleetwood Mac get, but go with their self-titled,
Rumours or
Tango in the Night over it.
Mac Classics:
Sara
Storms
Sisters of the Moon
Tusk
