Search - Camper Van Beethoven :: Tusk

An experiment gone wild

J. McVie | Houston, TX United States | 08/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I found this album very interesting to listen to. I am a huge Fleetwood Mac fan who just happened to stumble across this from reading Lindsey Buckingham's interview where he mentioned that he'd been listening to it a lot at the time. Whenever he mentions music I'm not familiar with, I look into it.



I can see why he'd be interested in it. Tusk is by far the roughest cut and most experimental of the Fleetwood Mac albums, and some of that same spirit is definately in Camper Van Beethoven's version of it. I've never heard of anyone covering an entire album before though.



I would say that this album is not for fans of Fleetwood Mac who keep close to the pop side of the music industry. It is waaay out there (what they used to call "alternative") and is just not intended for the average music consumer. The sound effects are warped and layered heavily upon each other. The vocals are strained and at times can be considered "bad singing" in the same way that some people think Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Neil Young can't sing. It's very expressive and odd, but I still enjoy listening it to anyway.



I love this album and listen to it repeatedly. But I have very broad tastes in music. I wouldn't recommend this album to people who have trouble expanding their musical universe very far beyond the typical mainstream rock/pop genre. It's only going to appeal to people who can accept that it's really waaaay out there and just enjoy it for what it is.



It's not as good as the original Tusk album, but it shines a fun and interesting light on songs that I've loved for many years."

David Lowery

rezarad | Mesilla Park, NM United States | 02/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The more I hear this album the more I love it. This is one of the albums that Lindsey Buckingham (one of my favorite guitarists of all time) was listening to "from his Rolling Stones interview 2003 ?" for a while. I think David is geneous (like Bob Dylan) and the musicians are some under rated cool guys. I can't wait for the next CVB or Cracker album."

Hilarious fun, but no dumb joke.

William J. Walker | England | 09/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered this only recently. It coincided with my revisiting the "Fleetwood Mac" original(Tusk)for the first time in a long while, having previously dismissed it as 'a patchy follow-up to the "Rumours" album'. Well the 'original' sounded better than I recalled but the overall verdict remained the same. This, however, is very enjoyable and all the more so if you don't regard it as defaming an untouchable classic.



Apparently recorded in '87 over just two days, before the tapes were lost and nearly trashed, requiring some restoration and additional (re)recording before its eventual release in 2002. It could be seen as the antithesis of the original, which was renowned for the expense of its production and lengthy recording process, no matter, it certainly doesn't sound like a cheap throwaway effort.



The only tracks that disappointed, a little, were 'Tusk' and 'Sara' I don't know if that is because they are two of the strongest on the original album, but having said that the readings of 'Sisters of the Moon' and 'Storms' are excellent. The real joy is the way the band have been irreverent and, no doubt, 'had fun' while keeping a tight enough rein on proceedings, to ensure, that it still works as a serious musical endeavour.



One interesting thing is the way that some of the lesser tracks on the 'original', tracks I'd dismissed as sub-standard, really come into their own here. In fact the album feels as consistent, in terms of quality, as it is wild and variable, in terms of sound. Another thing that surprised me is the way the lyrics come across more strongly on some of tracks, often having more resonance in this starker setting, phrases I'd barely considered before, suddenly, full of meaning. All of which is a bit of a tribute to the quality of the source material, I think.



So who will this appeal to? Well if like me you like "Fleetwood Mac" AND "Sonic Youth" then this should certainly be well worth getting, manic FM fans may be offended(incidentally, I gather, Lindsey Buckingham thought it was great) but if you come at it from the other direction, be careful, you might find yourself buying the 'original' soon after.

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