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Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac/Rumours/Tusk |
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05 August 2005 |
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac / Rumours / Tusk - (Warner Brothers) (Ah, reissues - gives a guy like me a chance to write about tunes first heard when he was but a lad...) What comes to mind when you hear the words "Fleetwood Mac"? Your infatuation with Stevie Nicks? Buckingham's crisp and clear pop? The fact that there was a time when you couldn't turn any corner without the cover of Rumours staring at you? Whatever the case, this three album run has been given the deluxe treatment and it's well-deserved. For all intents and purposes, Fleetwood Mac was really the introduction of a brand new band. After years with the likes of Jeremy Green and Bob Welch at the helm, Fleetwood Mac's rhythm section plus Christine McVie appropriated the not-that-successful duo of Lyndsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks into their fold. The band reinvented themselves as "California cool" and - kaboom! - great big ol' hit. Other than sounding a hell of a lot better, the reissue of Fleetwood Mac offers little in the way of bonus tracks demonstrating this metamorphosis. Instead, we get single edits and a rather pointless jam. Nothing wrong with these tracks, but it doesn't really add a lot to the album we know and, uh, like. Fleetwood Mac may have played it somewhat safe, but that isn't to say that there wasn't some great songs here. Buckingham's "Monday Morning" is one of the finest moments here, and his collaboration with McVie, "World Turning", is not far behind. The Nicks tracks may have been less successful, but her "Landslide" is about as pretty as folk music gets. Add McVie's "Say You Love Me" and there was enough here to keep this on your turntable. Some of the songs don't really stand the test of time that well, and the bulk of them on Fleetwood Mac are McVie's. It's actually her songs that end up being the most "70's" here. Hey, this isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but you definitely have to be in the mood for nostalgia. Ok, now that that one's out of the way... The success of the followup Rumours was nothing short of phenomenal - we all know that. In fact it was probably one of the last popular records that kids liked that their parents could get behind. The sight of my own mother dusting furniture in our living room to the sounds of "Dreams" wasn't all that uncommon a sight. Yes, Rumours was THAT lightweight but it somehow managed to be, for lack of a better word, cool. The diversity obviously had much to do with it. "Go Your Own Way" was an all-out rocker, "Dreams" improved on Rhiannon, and McVie was at the top of her game with the likes of "Don't Stop" and "You Make Lovin' Fun". Buckingham and Nicks were "having it out" over their breakup with their contributions to Rumours , adding more than a little drama to the album's themes of breakup. In fact, rumour has it that Rumours was built around everyone sleeping around with everyone in a complex series of triangles. Investigate further - you may have even been involved somehow. But it's Tusk that stands out as the real prize here. Tusk was a difficult album upon its release, since it broke away from the conventions of Rumours thanks to Lindsey Buckingham. Utilizing a creative freedom with the entire band's blessing, it's Buckingham's tracks that stand out far above the rest. We're not just talking about the quality of his songs, but the experimental arrangements that Buckingham pursued - the seemingly intentional muddy backing vocal on the great "The Ledge", the simple strum of "Save Me A Place", and the full "I Know I'm Not Wrong" (perhaps the greatest thing he - and by default, the band - has ever done). The bonus tracks are definitely the most satisfying, again because of Buckingham and the instrumental treatments of his Tusk songs. They're good enough to make you overlook Nicks' ridiculous "cleaning lady" opening on the alternate version of "Sara". I really would have liked to have seen the series continue on to the underrated Mirage (there are some standout Buckingham moments there), but I can't say I'm disappointed in what we have here. Fleetwood Mac commercially made the most out of their three singer/songwriters even though I'm sure it's quite clear that Buckingham is the one that moves yours truly the most. There's a lot of fine music contained here, and I've gotta say that these are three most welcome reissues.
Fleetwood Mac 7.0
Rumours 7.5
Tusk 8.5
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