#2 Best Albums of 1979- Tusk

Fleetwood Mac's masterwork of a double-album is a bizarre, cocaine-fuelled frenzy of Lindsey Buckingham's wild, short rockers, and bizarre Stevie Nicks tracks with mystic lyrics and instrumental textures ranging from hard rock to bare, quiet ones reminiscent of their interesting 1972 work Bare Trees, albeit that was with a different incarnation of the band.  Christine McVie would be the same as ever, but with Buckingham at the production helms, her songs are turned into interesting guitar tracks (Think about Me), quietly stirring pieces (Brown Eyes, which features Peter Green, the Mac's blues-era leader), and gentle country-pop-rock-folk-somethings (Over and Over, Never Forget).  This album is definitely a grower, don't just take it at face value.  And if you don't have the volume high enough, you'll miss most of the gorgeous intros. 

The best songs here are Sara, Think About Me, Sisters of the Moon, Angel, Walk a Thin Line, Tusk, Storms, Brown Eyes, and The Ledge.  The interesting guitar effects throughout, especially in The Ledge, show you the high points of the production.  Especially on Buckingham's tracks, you hear a coiled, dense, distorted yet not-disagreeable sound, while the sounds on McVie's tracks are more open-ended.  Nicks' tracks are the most varied, from mystic hard rock (Sisters of the Moon) to mystic incredibly-quiet tracks (Storms) to mystic groove tracks (Angel).  Under-acclaimed at time of release, it is now widely recognised as the great album it is. -Ian, 5/5