Fate Takes Time

Fleetwood Mac “Walk A Thin Line” (4/6/79 Version)

Fleetwood Mac’s first two albums with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are so extraordinarily popular that it can be hard to feel like you have an intimate relationship with them – songs like “Dreams” or “Say You Love Me” may move you, but they belong to everyone. The relative commercial failure of Tusk, however, allows the audience to have a different connection with that music, and you can indulge yourself in the fantasy that you have access to amazing Fleetwood Mac music no one else knows about. The most recent deluxe reissue of Tusk really encourages that feeling, and gives us at least one alternate version of every song on the record, so you have the option of being the person whose favorite Fleetwood Mac tune is, like, the alternate take of a song from the 3rd side of the weird album after Rumours.

“Walk A Thin Line” is my favorite Fleetwood Mac song, and though I ultimately favor the original official studio version from Tusk, I am immensely grateful that I can hear the song in slightly different variations. The main difference between the recordings – there’s two alternate takes on this reissue, and there’s another arrangement without Buckingham on Mick Fleetwood’s solo album Visitor – comes down to tempo, the prominence of the wordless vocal hook, and how the instrumental bridge near the end is executed. The structure of the song never changes, and even the glossiest versions keep things very simple and focused on the simple, lovely elegance of Buckingham’s melody. This version, from “The Alternate Tusk” disc, sounds a bit sadder to me than the others. There’s something in Lindsey’s voice here that is just a bit more melancholy and defeated, and I like the way that brings out the lingering doubts in this song about going against everyone else and trusting your instincts. I love the mix of pride and paranoia in his voice, and despite everything, the way he conveys this unshakable faith in himself without seeming arrogant or foolish.

Buy it from Amazon.