Tusk (studio album) by Fleetwood Mac

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
Year: 1979
Overall rank: 664th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 567 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1979 (10th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (153rd)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (664th)

Fleetwood Mac bestography

Tusk is ranked 2nd best out of 41 albums by Fleetwood Mac on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Fleetwood Mac is Rumours which is ranked number 21 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 34,396.

Fleetwood Mac album bestography « Higher ranked (21st) This album (664th) Lower ranked (716th) »
RumoursTuskFleetwood Mac (1975)

Upcoming concerts

Mar
22
Fri
20:00
Rumours: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute
The Show - Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, United States. United States
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Mar
22
Fri
21:00
Big Love - Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Impact Fuel Room, Libertyville , United States. United States
Tickets from $25.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Mar
23
Sat
19:00
Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Voodoo Room at the House of Blues S, San Diego, United States. United States
Tickets from $20.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

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Tusk track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 83 (128 votes)Comments: 5
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2.
Rating: 81 (120 votes)Comments: 2
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3.
Rating: 82 (120 votes)Comments: 2
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5.
Track pick
Rating: 89 (195 votes)Comments: 5
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7.
Rating: 85 (130 votes)Comments: 3
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9.
Rating: 79 (117 votes)Comments: 4
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11.
Rating: 80 (109 votes)Comments: 2
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13.
Rating: 80 (108 votes)Comments: 2
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16.
Rating: 77 (106 votes)Comments: 2
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17.
Rating: 83 (117 votes)Comments: 3
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19.
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Rating: 88 (182 votes)Comments: 2
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20.
Rating: 80 (106 votes)Comments: 2
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Tusk rankings

Tusk collection

Tusk ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 567 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 567 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
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03/08/2024 16:29 Fevernova  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,98282/100
 
80/100
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02/27/2024 03:32 gregthealien  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 78977/100
 
80/100
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02/22/2024 15:55 JamesMowbray  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,88470/100
 
80/100
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02/13/2024 12:29 wadwicz5  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 73386/100
 
70/100
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02/10/2024 04:19 Gendjar  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,69856/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.5/100, a mean average of 76.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.5.

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Tusk comments

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Rating:  
85/100
From 12/11/2023 23:42
Like many double albums, Tusk perhaps overstays its welcome a little bit, and it doesn't reach the same heights as often as Rumours or 1975's self-titled, but what it does do is stay remarkably consistent for all 75 minutes. The low points are very few and far between; it's pretty dang solid all the way through. Highlights for me would be Sara, Storms, That's All for Everyone, Sisters of the Moon, Brown Eyes, I Know I'm Not Wrong, Beautiful Child, and Tusk. That alone would be a fantastic single album—throw in the rest of these good tracks and you've got a fine double album, even if it's not as immediately powerful and approachable as other FM records.
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Rating:  
100/100
From 03/17/2023 21:52
Rumors was an incredibly focused, accessible, and well written album. Most of Fleetwood Mac's fanbase undoubtedly came from that album for those reasons. Tusk has the misfortune of being the followup to Rumors, and was specifically designed to turn the Rumors formula on its head, while still making a great piece of art. This means that Tusk was designed to be messy, inaccessible, but still well written. I feel that a lot of the detractors that this album has are hung up on the fact that this album is long and varied, and tend to overlook the incredible innovation and incredible songwriting on this beast. I first listened to this album probably seven years ago, and I could not make it through on my first few listens. However, as I have grown older, I have learned to appreciate this album more than Rumors. If Rumors is about the deconstruction of relationships, then Tusk is about the deconstruction of the self. Here we have a band who know each other very intimately- Stevie and Lindsay were a couple, Stevie and Mick had a fling, and the McVie's recently had a divorce. Each member is dealing with the memories of their intense relationships with each other, and coping in different ways. Buckingham has devolved into a paranoid cocaine abuser, Stevie Nicks is clearly traumatized by the betrayal of her new lover Mick Fleetwood as well as her recent abortion, and Christine McVie is still processing her divorce, and the breakdown of the band. This leads to a variety of music that ranges from beautiful, to heart-wrenching, to utterly deranged. "Sara" has one of my favorite drumming performance of all time, and is an utterly beautiful song where Nicks alludes to her aborted baby, Sara, as well as her friend that Fleetwood left her for (also Sara). Fleetwood apparently put 24 hours straight of effort into making the drumming for this song as perfect as possible, and it shows. I could be reading into it to much, but the drum tone almost conveys a sense of remorse that adds to the ethereal bitter-sweetness of the song. McVie's songs aren't quite as depressing as Nicks' contributions, but they exude a similar energy. "Over and Over" is a beautiful opener that sets the tone for what the rest of the album will be, but then is quickly subverted by the bonkers "The Ledge". Buckingham had succumbed to a "blizzard of cocaine" when writing this album, and was apparently obsessed with appealing to Talking Heads fans and Beach Boys fans alike with his compositions. This leads to occasionally beautiful harmonies like those in "Save Me a Place", but usually results in paranoid, angry songs like "Not that Funny". "Tusk" is the culmination of Buckingham's paranoia, which is essentially a song about telling Nicks and Fleetwood that he knows their dirty little secret and can blackmail them whenever he wants, then forces Fleetwood to give the best damn drumming performance of his career on it.

At this point I am rambling, but that in a way is part of what Tusk is. It is rambling and unfocused, but contrary to what other commenters on here say, is devoid of filler. Filler implies that an artist wanted to reach the length of time required for a full album, but that is definitely not what is going on here. Each song has a unique soundscape and purpose that contributes to themes and sound that is Tusk.
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Rating:  
75/100
From 11/06/2022 09:23
Tusk is one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs and the rest of the tracks are good but the album would work better as two single albums rather than a double
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Rating:  
75/100
From 09/06/2022 17:20
Not my favorite from FM
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Rating:  
80/100
From 06/19/2022 15:44
If they cut some of the songs here, this album would've been much better, but still great listening experience.
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Rating:  
50/100
From 01/25/2022 20:19
A double album that could have done with a bit of trimming, there are a few duds here but there are still enough good songs to make this a good album. My highlights are Sara, Tusk and Save Me A Place.
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Rating:  
75/100
From 01/01/2022 08:57
Some awesome songs. Some not so awesome songs. Really raw & stripped down which makes it quite a document of their creativity and skill.
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Rating:  
50/100
From 10/14/2021 18:32
too much filler Sara saves it
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/09/2021 08:37
Coming after the blockbuster success of 1977's Rumours, Tusk is a very weird yet highly interesting and experimental pop/rock album. Lindsay Buckingham was the main driving force behind this album, and due to his fascination with bands like the Talking Heads and in an attempt to make an album that would relevant to the post-punk world, the band made this avant-pop masterpiece. Of course, not every song on this double album is weird and experimental, with songs such as "Sara" sounding more like conventional post-Green Fleetwood Mac songs, albeit of significant high quality. It''s these balance of styles that makes this album great.

I applaud them for not taking the easy route and simply replicating Rumours on this album, when they could very well easily have done so. I would highly recommend a listen. It might not grab you immediately, especially if you listen to this just after Rumours, but it is a fascinating listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/12/2021 03:53
Sara is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard
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Best Albums of 1979
1. London Calling by The Clash
2. The Wall by Pink Floyd
3. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
4. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
5. Entertainment! by Gang Of Four
6. Breakfast In America by Supertramp
7. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
8. Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
10. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
11. Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
12. Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
13. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
14. The B-52's by The B-52's
15. Specials by The Specials
16. Armed Forces by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
17. Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks
18. 154 by Wire
19. Setting Sons by The Jam
20. Y by The Pop Group
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