Some people were disappointed by "Tusk," in 1979, the Mac's follow-up to their 1977 smash "Rumours." I was pretty impressed by it. This, however, I did not like so much. I found that the only saving grace on this album was Lindsey Buckingham and the song Gypsy by Stevie Nicks.
It seemed like the band had been wrung dry of every drop of creativity after the emotional experience of Rumours and the ambitious project that was Tusk. The party seemed to be over for the band after their phenomenal success in the mid and late 70s. The experimental tones are still there... but the emotion isn't. Half the time it seems like McVie, Nicks and Buckingham would much rather be doing or singing something else... maybe something for their upcoming solo projects? After the success of her debut solo album Bella Donna, this is particularly believable for Nicks.
The standout song of the album is most definitely Gypsy. A firm favourite with Mac fans, it's rumoured to have been inspired by many things, including the death of Nicks' best friend Robin... "I still see your bright eyes..." An extrememly meorable tune with great vocals from the lady herself, nice backing vocals from Lindsey "lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice," and that great little guitar solo at the end really make the song.
Then there's Lindsey Buckingham, the only member who seems at all interested. The fourth track on the album "Book Of Love," is probably his best, with it's great chorus. Lindsey churns out the first few words of every sentence which gives it a really nice touch. Lindsey's vocals sustain throughout the album on each of his tracks, most notably heard on "Oh Diane." Beautifully sang, he also shows off his great voice when singing with Stevie. Those two have always been able to wrap their voices around each other, whether it's backing or lead vocals, and there's some of that on this album, which is nice.
But that being said there are some bloody awful songs here. Trach 3, "That's Alright," is soooo country/folk style and that's fine if you like that sort of thing, but the Mac had seemed so much more poprock than country and then there was this shambles thrown on?! Now I love Stevie Nicks as much as the next person-actually probably more-but I was so disappointed by this track of hers. A HUUUGE let down when you compare it to Gypsy, and some of the tracks that appeared on her solo album and the album she was working on at the time. Christine McVie failed to impress me here. Only Over You is the only decent track of hers on the album because it's the only one that shows any form of emotion. Otherwise... she may as well not have been there.
It really did hurt for me to write such a not nice review on this band who are my absolute fave ever, especially regarding Stevie Nicks... the woman is my hero. But they really didn't impress me this time and it would've been a good album for your average band but for the Mac, it's in reverse... it's simply just an average album for a bloody excellent band. Lucky they redeemed themselves with Tango In The Night... but that was five years later...
