If 'Rumours' was the sound of a band breaking up, then 'Tusk' is the fragments of that band; disjointed, erratic but ultimately fascinating. Despite contributions from Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, this is very much Lindsay Buckingham's record. Although it's business as usual with the tracks from Nicks and McVie, these are interspersed with experimental, almost punk rock, tracks from Buckingham. Flipping between beautiful ballads such as 'Storms' to left of centre tracks such as 'Ledge' can be a bit disorientating. But when you have pristine pop tracks such as 'Sara' you can forgive an awful lot. Everything in fact.
'Tusk' contains some of Fleetwood Mac's best lesser known songs. Take 'Brown Eyes' for example. It's a stunning lament and is even more so for the guest appearance of Peter Green.
After repeated listens, however, the quirky songs that act as a buffer between the more Mac-like tracks start to make sense - melodies appearing out of the fuzz. Fleetwood Mac have gained a reputation for being a bit middle of the road and.... well boring. Some of this criticism is justified but in these odd songs there is evidence that would suggest otherwise.
It's also conveniently forgotten just how much the post-Peter Green Mac have influenced guitar pop music. Don't believe me? Just listen to 'Think About Me' and imagine it bring played by someone like Teenage Fanclub. Spookily close to their style of music don't you think?
So 'Tusk' is a flawed masterpiece and an unlikely but worthy follow up to 'Rumours'. Approach it with an open mind, don't expect to like it all first time round and you might just be surprised.
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