Wammers Album Club Tuesday 9th July - Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

[kernow]

Hello!

My choice for WAC is Fleetwood Mac - Tusk, a bit of a safe choice maybe but it was either that or Pulp - This is hardcore and I didn't really have enough time to think about it so I'll just go for this.

Considered a flop after a certain successful album called 'Rumours'

The first time I heard it after the easily accessible precursor I wondered what the hell I was listening to, and it was only on repeated listens I realised it's a masterpiece. Lindsay Buckingham basically got free reign to do what he wanted and it shows, lots of odd songs with a folk twang, a fair few of the same old ballads but there's so much of his influence on the album it led me to look into his solo stuff which is even more of a drawing board for just making random noise pretty much.

I think it might have been made under the influence of lots of cocaine, and didn't do very well because it was an expensive double album, and just generally a bit odd.

Anyway, try it out, don't, up to you innit.

Better than Rumours - I think so, by quite a margin

Too long - possibly, boring? might be, I feel some of the ballads are a bit dull, and it seems to have sooo many songs on it I don't always manage to finish it.

I still love it though

Sorry this is so short, but you all probably know the album well enough anyway..

Maybe one day you'll realise it's better than Rumours too!

Cheers!

 

[notaclue]

I feel some of the ballads are a bit dull, and it seems to have sooo many songs on it I don't always manage to finish it.

That is problem I have with it too. Do own this and some really good songs but I'm not sure if I have ever listened to it all the way through from start to finish.

 

[rockmeister]

give us some links pls!

 

[kernow]

Erm, I don't use groove shark or spotify I'm afraid.. Anyone?

 

[Ozexpat]

Interesting (?) choice. It's MOR, non ? Not the usual WAC fodder but a decent call.

It's certainly less accessable than their previous album, and it was a Buckingham "pet" project and the attention to detail is exemplary. I heard this for the first time (in it's entirety) only last year. My wife has a copy and it never got played. I quite enjoyed it (but I was veeery drunk at the time).

I shall dig it out and give it a go :^

 

[notaclue]

Whole album here

[video=youtube;2KlumjcOg9k]

Spotify at Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

 

[notaclue]

Having a listen and thinking, actually, this isn't very good... Then you get 'Sara'. Sublime MORness.

 

[kernow]

What is mor?

 

[Ozexpat]

What is mor?

Middle Of the Road.

More accurately, it is probably Adult Orientated Rock. But some of it is bland enough to be classed as the former

 

[Leonard Smalls]

On a positive note, it's well-played. And it's less painfully square than Rumours.

Otherwise, it's tedious.

And mediocre.

In fact it's tediocre.

It's the sort of album which, though not actually offensive, would not really be missed if every single copy suddenly disappeared in a puff of fart-gas.

In fact, the fart-gas would be considerably more entertaining, especially if it had that ultimate eggy smell which is rapidly approaching hydrogen telluride mixed with putrescine.

To think they were so off their faces they were producing this kind of average nonsense in 1979!

 

[notaclue]

Buckingham's tracks are sharp and catchy. All a bit similar, though. 'Not that funny' especially good. 'That's All...' also really good (but a bit of a Beach Boys rip-off).

Nicks has two great songs in 'Sara' and 'Sisters of the Moon'. Sublime. 'Sara' is sublimeness squared.

The other woman (name escapes me at the moment) let's the side down with her Magic FM type stuff. 'Honey Hi'? :nup:

Not something I would want to listen to as a whole - too much doesn't make the quality grade, for me - but always worth hearing the handful of classics on it. Would have made a classic EP, but a curate's egg as a double album.

 

[NAM]

On a positive note, it's well-played. And it's less painfully square than Rumours.Otherwise, it's tedious.

And mediocre.

In fact it's tediocre.

It's the sort of album which, though not actually offensive, would not really be missed if every single copy suddenly disappeared in a puff of fart-gas.

In fact, the fart-gas would be considerably more entertaining, especially if it had that ultimate eggy smell which is rapidly approaching hydrogen telluride mixed with putrescine.

To think they were so off their faces they were producing this kind of average nonsense in 1979!

An Air Biscuit

The only Fleetwood Mac album I own is this one but i really like it. Peter Green is fantastic. His recent Splinter Group albums and the Robert Johnson songbook are worth checking out. Is Tusk similar?

 

[batman]

Love tusk , thank fuck it wasn't pulp ( god I hate Jarvis cocker )

 

[whizzkid]

Love tusk , thank fuck it wasn't pulp ( god I hate Jarvis cocker )

He's not too keen on you I've heard ;-)

 

[rockmeister]

Poor old Fleetwood... there they were, being 'way out there man' as a cool blues group with 'Pious bird...' etc then this happens.

So Rumours was a classic album that exactly hit the right notes in 1975 or whenever it was, and it DID, with the McV and Nicks harmonies being spot on etc, (though it isn't going to suit those who like spit with their guitar,) but this is just not good enough for me to forgive them for splitting up in the first place.

Sorry. Never bought it, and won't be doing so now.

I'll try again on Tuesday as a sort of RIP.

 

[Hornucopia]

MOR like drug addled rock?

Oh, and Shaun, it's 'free rein'...though I guess they reigned for a little while.

Middle Of the Road. More accurately, it is probably Adult Orientated Rock. But some of it is bland enough to be classed as the former

 

[Guest]

Believing in his own publicity, this is Lindsey Buckingham's response to Punk & New Wave.

Thinking he could do no wrong, led to the over blown title track and it becoming a double album.

No doubt thinking twice as much F Mac has got to be twice as good.

At this stage of the game, "new wave/punk" was all about shorter tracks, energy, attitude, 2 minute singles etc

Tusk was about as up to date as flared trousers.

Its really the work of 3 individual songwriters, some pharmaceuticals & suffers accordingly.

At the time, fans thought it would have made a decent single album & that hasn't really changed.

 

[Hayward]

Had a bang on this this morning and found myself enjoying bits of it despite my preconceptions. However, now I have been there the fart gas can do it's thing

 

[browellm]

Fleetwood Mac get a free pass from me. I like almost all their stuff.