“We do not deny the reality of death, or the degradation of suffering. But we do claim the victory of life over death, of light over darkness. And so we defy anything which would degrade our humanity.”
~ Fr. Mark Brown
Working my way through the vinyl archive I came across a pivotal album for me; Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk. Lisa Clevenger Fannin gave it to me for Christmas in 1979, just a few months after its release. The double album made a huge impression, and it’s still my favorite Fleetwood Mac album. It was their follow-up to Rumors, one of the highest selling, chart-topping albums of all time. How do you follow that, really? In Fleetwood Mac’s case, you let Lindsey Buckingham do whatever he wants. By all accounts, he drove the band insane with his constant experimentation. Critics panned it, but music and sound enthusiasts heard the brilliance right away. Lindsey doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves, as a guitarist, and especially as a sound engineer. Not all of his experiments are great, but when they are, they’re really great. Tusk is loaded with audio brilliance. It contains songs that have stayed with me for nearly 40 years like Brown Eyes, Beautiful Child, Sisters of the Moon, and of course, Tusk, featuring the USC Marching Band. It’s an epic track; the album a masterpiece. Thank you, Lisa, for the gift of a lifetime. It still sounds as great as the first time I dropped the needle on it.
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