The 1979 album Christine McVie hated recording the most: “It was so different”
Christine McVie said she and Stevie Nicks disliked recording Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 album *Tusk* because its sound was deliberately so different from *Rumours*. Lindsey Buckingham pushed the band towards experimental ideas, creating tension in the studio but helping shape a record that later earned McVie’s appreciation.
The article describes Buckingham’s unusual recording methods, including using an empty tissue box as a drum, and contrasts them with the band’s established pop sound. McVie later said she liked *Tusk* in hindsight; the article also links the period’s creative tensions to Nicks’s move towards a solo career.
In short
- McVie and Nicks initially disliked *Tusk*.
- Buckingham deliberately moved beyond *Rumours*’ sound.
- McVie came to appreciate the album later.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Buckingham’s push to break from the polished sound of Rumours can be defended as a worthwhile artistic risk: experimenting with unfamiliar sounds gave Tusk a distinctive identity and let the band explore ideas that a safer follow-up might have left untouched. McVie’s later appreciation suggests the difficult process produced work that could grow on its creators as well as listeners.
The case against
McVie and Nicks had good reason to resist a sharp change in direction while recording: a band’s established sound is part of what its members have built together, and Buckingham’s experimental methods created tension rather than shared enthusiasm. The strain may have come at a real cost to collaboration, even if McVie later came to value the finished album.
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