Catching up here: "Over and Over" was an unusual opening song, I'll agree. Both of the Fleetwood Mac albums before Tusk started with up-tempo Lindsey Buckingham compositions that became FM radio staples but weren't released as A-sides of singles ("Monday Morning" from Fleetwood Mac and "Second Hand News" from Rumours), so already, Tusk was different. Also as already stated, the album doesn't have an obvious opening song. Perhaps Side 2's opener, "What Makes You Think You're the One," might have worked, or even Side 3's opener, Stevie Nicks' "Angel." Using "Over and Over" was as good as anything else, unless "Tusk" would have been the opening track. But opening an album with its title song, if it had one, was almost a cliche. Two weeks before Tusk came out, the Eagles released their also eagerly-anticipated The Long Run, and "The Long Run" was Side 1, Song 1. I remember buying the Eagles' album -- which debuted at #2, rocketed to #1 two weeks later past Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door and spent the last two months of 1979 there -- and was thoroughly unimpressed. But this thread is about Tusk, so I'll change the subject back. As I mentioned, I'd already heard Christine McVie's "Never Make Me Cry" before the album, so the mellowness of "Over and Over" was not a surprise. What came next, well... "The Ledge" is like cold water in the face after falling asleep. It is harsh, unrelenting, and barely two minutes long, and I thought it was wonderful. I'm not sure if it would have worked if it was much longer. Lindsey's vocals are almost impossible to understand; also unlike its two predecessors, Tusk was not released with a lyric sheet, so my guess as to what anyone was singing was as good as anyone else's. Lyrics are usually the last thing I discern about a song; many decades after I first heard "The Ledge," I still had no idea what on earth Lindsey was singing until this thread. This was yet another indication that Tusk was different -- in all the right ways. There were times when part of me thought that "The Ledge" would have been a quirky, offbeat possible single. But the radio-friendly part of me quickly put the kibosh to that idea of mine.
Pop/rock music had changed between the release of Rumours and Tusk. When I first heard "The Ledge", it was like an adrenaline rush... modern, odd, exciting, and fun fun fun.... not exactly garage rock, perhaps bathroom rock?... Anyway, at this point I was not sure what might come next.
Over and Over is a great sing, but very understated. I can almost imagine Danny Kirwan playing on this track. The live version has a little more oomph
thanks for posting live version. Have often played the album version followed by this live version. With a Super Deluxe I have played the outtake and the other live cut that’s on it. Yes I really love O&O
over and over - one of christine's best. in the top 10 i think. its a very mellow start to the album. very beautiful song. the ledge- what the hell is this?? haha thats the kind of reaction people have after the really calm over and over. basically if you listen to the whole album in context and see this little lindsey filler pieces are actually tying the album together and bringing a palette cleansing after each song from stevie or christine.
I dipped my toe in the FM pool throughout all their incarnations but didn't pay close attention until the first Buckingham /Nicks collaboration. They played Warm Ways quite a bit on the radio but I never saw a single so I ended up getting the album not knowing what to expect. Turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving. Fast forward some 3+ years and they were now a mega-selling hit machine with a highly anticipated new release, a double album no less. I'll leave my thoughts on the title track on the side for now although I will say it wouldn't have bothered me if it led the album off. I, too disregarded Over and Over as a low-key snoozer and that's saying something considering I liked Warm Ways immediately. It took me awhile to come around on this one but I did eventually appreciate it's charms although I still wouldn't place it among her best. The Ledge didn't inspire me either and I began to despair that the one-two punch of the last two albums was about to come crashing down. I wasn't into punk and this just sounded like Lindsey's version with it's fast-paced, stripped-down drone. In light of the title track's quirkiness, I figured the album was going to be different but this was certainly not the direction I was expecting.
Over And Over - love the crawling tempo, the build-up in the outro, and Lindsey's final guitar lick. A great, low-key charmer that had me from day one. The Ledge - the complete opposite, but love its quirkiness.
The Ledge In a complete mood whiplash from Over And Over we get The Ledge,the song itself is completely barmy with Lindsey getting influences from new wave with a really weirdly tuned guitar and crazy vocals dominating the track. Although it wouldn't be one of my favourites on the album it stands as an important part of Tusk,all these strange Lindsey songs really add character and to me seems quite influential on a lot of lo-fi music being made even today. There was a quote I think from Lindsey that when Warner Bros first heard Tusk they watched their Christmas bonus go flying out the window, I get the feeling that it might have been The Ledge that have might inspired that comment!
The Ledge I remember this was one of my favourite tracks after release; not anymore. Never paid much attention to the lyrics and now that I do they don't make much sense It's a quirky track, like participating in a crazy obstacle run at top speed with someone whipping your a$$. Still it's good to have, with those pumping fuzzy guitar/bass sounds, slappy drums and backing vocals that weave through it all, sometimes mimicking the lead. Getting ready to be hit immediately by the full Mac experience in the first seconds of Think About Me....
The Ledge Not one of my favourite Lindsey songs, but it's certainly an eye-opener after the opening track. It is remarkable how Lindsey is able to make his voice sound like Stevie's vocals by speeding them up - makes you wonder how much of Stevie's vocals on Tango is actually her.
The Ledge Love it! This is one of my favorite Lindsey songs on Tusk. I think it is unrelentingly catchy. Immensely fun to sing along with, propulsive and great. I heaped praise on Christine in my first post, and now I'll do the same for Lindsey Buckingham. He's fantastic. In addition to being an incredibly talented guitarist and songwriter, I think Lindsey's real gift and maybe even his biggest contribution to the band was his genius for arrangement. Stevie has said that Lindsey always seemed to bring out the best in her songs through his arrangements (I agree) and the way he puts together even a song as zany and brief as "The Ledge" shows his innate understanding of pop music--and his willingness to experiment. The layered vocals, the percussion, the guitar tuning. As a composition, this is very simple. But the way it was performed, arranged and recorded is what makes it pop. Great song and perfectly placed in the second position on the album.
'The Ledge' is one of my favourites on the album. Unrelentingly quirky and energetic with percussion placed right up front — it's a real declaration that Fleetwood Mac was much more than a slick and predictable hit machine. Lindsey Buckingham has my eternal admiration for what he did on this album. I particularly love how this song ends: it's as though it's exhausted even itself.
Yes! Lindsey does a great job covering for Stevie's absence on the 2017 Buckingham-McVie album - to the point where I really "hear" her on several tracks, even though I know she's not there.
Speaking of "Over Yes - the book is full of anecdotal recollections from the two authors (Rojas' appear in italics, so you know which of the two is remembering what - which is great), as well as specific details about how various tracks were recorded, in many cases solving the questions of who-did-what (for instance, it's Lindsey playing the piano on "What Makes You Think You're The One", which is something I always wondered about). And being a huge Beach Boys fan, it's always cool to read some new Dennis Wilson stories. Speaking of "Over And Over", as we are - the book describes how Dennis had tried to offer some input into another of Chris' songs, "Brown Eyes", but his ideas were quickly dismissed by the other Macsters, who hadn't really gotten to know him yet. But once Dennis endeared himself to them through a single act of self-depreciating humour (notice how I spelled it here!), they were much more accepting of his ideas for "Over And Over" (I won't spoil the fun by revealing just what Dennis did to endear himself to them - you'll have to read the book to find that out!).
Thanks for this! I am also a big Dennis fan and didn't know this book featured any Dennis anecdotes. I want it more now! I've always been pretty curious about the Christine/Dennis overlap in the musical sense. (Loved the story recently shared about "Farmer's Daughter"!)
Here's a pretty great overview of the making of Tusk and its legacy, featuring interviews with Lindsey, Stevie, Mick and Ken Callait.
I love that 'Hold Me' (my all-time favourite Mac song) is about Christine's relationship with Dennis. I'm not a Beach Boys fan, but he was such an interesting figure — so handsome and charismatic, although ultimately tragic, and his Manson connection is such a great story.
"Over And Over" The more I listen to Tusk, the more I agree with the idea of opening the album with a slow song. "Over and Over" has a soothing vibe that is maintained over the course of the song even as the dynamics increase a little bit toward the end. It lulls you into a false sense of security that is ultimately shattered by...... "The Ledge" I had read about how different Lindsey's songs were on this album but nothing could have prepared me for what I was hearing. "The Ledge" sounded like a half-finished demo that that didn't belong on such a high profile release. I soon grew to love "The Ledge" as a quirky, lo-fi gem that wouldn't have come off as well utilizing more conventional instrumentation and production.
I am really excited to find this thread! Tusk is my all-time favorite Fleetwood Mac record and it sent me off into focusing on Lindsey's solo work. Over & Over is a great way to begin the album, it's a catchy song and Christine handles it very well. Kind of a safe song before we get into the more stripped down and punky work of Lindsey. The Ledge is totally inspired Lindsey. Loved it from the get-go and still to this day. In always the thought The Replacements should have covered it. Weird and wonderful!
Huh, I don't think I knew that about "Hold Me," though I knew "Only Over You" was about Dennis. He really was fascinating, I'm bummed none of the potential bio-pics about him ever came to fruition, there is a LOT there.
I really like The Ledge. It had a kind of charming goofiness for me. The detuned guitar is a nice textural change up, and it kind of announces that this isn't going to be all smooth west coast pop/rock. I understand the statements folks have made about this not really being an experimental album, but the point really wasn't that Fleetwood Mac were suddenly playing a hybrid of Yoko meets Beefheart in Zappa's jacuzzi, it is more that the band leaped out of the pigeonhole they were being put in. The hyper fast styling with the melodic machine Gun lyrics works well for me. Cool harmonies, and just a lot of little quirks lifting this one up for me.
I really hear all of Christine's songs on Tango In The Night as being chronological chapters in her relationship with Dennis - whether or not she was consciously writing them that way. Try listening to them back-to-back in sequential order: "Everywhere", "Mystified", "Little Lies", and finally "Isn't It Midnight", and you'll get what I'm talking about. One of Dennis' closest friends who was around a lot during his years with Christine has agreed with me that this is a great way of thinking about these songs as they relate to her feelings on their relationship at its various stages.
Well , you must truly love this album because it's Lindsey Buckingham's shining hour. He has the lion's share of the songs and his fingerprints are all over the rest of them. I don't know if it's this album or 'Rumours ' that is featured in a ' Classic Album ' episode but there's a bit where Buckingham is listening to some unused guitar tracks for one of the songs and he grimaces at a certain take saying : " Too much cocaine. "
