Extraordinarily Detailed Follow-Up to Rumours a Startlingly Brilliant, Uncompromisingly Creative Double Album
Lindsey Buckingham Dominates 1979 Set Whose Merits Continue to Increase With Time
It was viewed as a commercial flop in its time, but the past 30-plus years have revealed Tusk for what it is: An album of sheer genius, brilliant ambition, and a product of its time. The double album remains one of Fleetwood Mac's pinnacle creations, and even as the group was tattered during its making, member Lindsey Buckingham stepped up and produced an artwork of immense proportions. Now, it sounds better than ever.
Despite having extra-large shoes to fill as the follow-up to the group's landmark 1977 release Rumours and an unprecedented $1 million recording budget, Fleetwood Mac's ambitious and experimental 1979 double album Tusk further showcases the songwriting prowess and musical direction of Buckingham and chart dominance with the title track and "Sara."
Drawing comparisons to the Beatles' White Album for its artistic scope and sprawling nature, the wonderfully eclectic and drug induced Tusk is not as commercially viable as Rumours, but it's no matter. The album stands as a brave and uncompromising statement from a band with one of the most intriguing interpersonal dynamics of all-time.
And as Priya Elan of NME aptly notes, "The subversion of what was expected after 'Rumours' and the creative space it created also gave the band (and primarily Buckingham) reason to continue making music in Fleetwood Mac for the next decade."