Then Play On better than Tusk?
 

I’m not so fan of the very early years Fleetwood Mac music. So finding this best album list in a Mojo article (Fleetwood Mac’s and related bands’ albums) where Then Play On is at #2, and Tusk at #3 position, it’s kind of a surprise to me. I can't question it because I haven't listened or analyzed TPO enough. But what do you think?

10. Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie
9. Buckingham Nicks
8. Bare Trees
7. Tango in The Night
6. Future Games
5. Fleetwood Mac (1975)
4. Fleetwood Mac (1968)
3. Tusk
2. Then Play On
1. Rumours

https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/...albums-ranked/

Everyone has their different rankings. Its what makes us unique. Catch me on a day and I will tell you Mystery To Me is better than Rumours. Then another day Heroes is better than Mystery To me.

I’m not sold it’s better than Tusk, but English Rose might be. Then again, they’re so unlike, with completely different musical concerns. I think English Rose (an import here in the US) is one of the greatest albums of all time.

It's not a completely bold decision to place Then Play On that high. Mick Fleetwood has listed Then Play On and Tusk as his two favorite Fleetwood Mac albums. Personally, I would probably go with Tusk over Then Play On, although I would still rank Then Play On within the top half when accounting for all of their studio albums.

My rankings change often. But, THEN can rise above Tusk in my rankings (sometimes).

It's a moving target.

English Rose is really a compliation album, though. Half of Mr Wonderful, bits of Then Play On, two or three singles and Danny's Something inside of me.

So it's not really an apples-to-apples comparison to other albums. Having said that , Then Play On is an apple to the orange of Tusk.

Behind the Mask is a banana. Say You Will is a lemon. Rumours is a Golden Apple. Mirage is a purple carrot. Tango is a Sweet Honey Dew. White Album is a Pineapple.

Behind the Mask is a more of a raspberry.

A black raspberry!

They're so different, essentially different bands, too.

But they do have some weird things in common. Both are considered intentional departures from the band's celebrated "winning" formula. For TPO it was leaving a lot of the 12-bar blues behind to explore west-coast folk and acid jams. For Tusk, it was about "sound painting" and deconstructing the limits of slick production. Both exploit fragmentation as an aesthetic. I listen to Tusk far more frequently but think TPO is probably the better record.

Both got mixed reviews at the time. Both are considered classics now.

Damn, it is so embarrassing. Sounds so bloated and sad.

I agree that English Rose is one of the best in the band's catalogue--compilation or not.

Rumours is the goose that laid the golden eggs. Ask Mick if you don't believe it.

and when we do, I think about you... how can we fail? :xoxo: