Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac's Most Anticipated Album

by Ken Calliat, Hernan Rojas

In this behind-the-scenes look at the making of Fleetwood Mac’s epic, platinum-selling double album, Tusk, producers and engineers Ken Caillat and Hernan Rojas tell their stories of spending a year with the band in their new million-dollar studio trying to follow up Rumours, the biggest rock album of the time.

Following their massive success, the band continued its infamous soap opera when its musical leader and guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham, threatened to quit if he didn’t get things his way, resulting in clashes not only with his band but especially Caillat, who had been essential to the band’s Grammy-winning sound.

Hernan Rojas’s story recounts a young man who leaves Chile after General Pinochet’s coup to seek his future in the music industry of Los Angeles, where he finds success at one of the hottest studios in town. When Fleetwood Mac arrives, Rojas falls in love with its star singer, Stevie Nicks, and the two of them become romantically involved.

Throughout the book, both Caillat and Rojas detail not only the trials and sacrifices they made to finish the album, but also triumphs of musical inspiration and technical innovation that have made Tusk the darling of music critics and indie rockers today.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History

Audiobook

Published November 15, 2019

Reviews

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed Caillat's Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album book, and I'd had my eye on this one for a couple of years.

Unfortunately, the anticipation was higher than the quality of the final product.

Anyone who's read anything about Fleetwood Mac already knows Lindsey Buckingham is, while talented, also a fairly big asshole. And all the various personal aspects of the band have been written about over and over again.

Honestly, what I got from this book can be summed up in these points:
- Buckingham, while brilliant, is even better at self-sabotage and holier-than-thou attitudes
- The entire band and their hangers-on act like insanely spoiled six-year-olds, but with far more drugs, alcohol, food, sex, and temper tantrums
- Calliat should never, ever talk about anything other than music, because as soon as he delves into personal relationships, even in his 70s, he sounds like a horny just-hit-puberty pre-teen, and his writing about is absolutely cringe-worthy
- With the possible exception of Christine McVie, the entire damn band should spend several years in therapy
- The audiobook really should have used better scene breaks or different narrators to better delineate between the Hernan and the Ken passages.

There's an interesting story in here somewhere, but the authors weren't strong enough to provide it. So many points were brought up, then never mentioned again. So many dull details (and boring transcripts of actual in-studio dialogue), and not enough about what mattered.

Big disappointment.

[David Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a review in an industry magazine which said you really didn't have to be familiar with the album to appreciate the book. I'm not sure I agree, but if that's true, it's probably because what the book says about the album could have been summed up in the first paragraph: "Lindsay Buckingham decides he doesn't want to make "Rumors 2", instead makes everyone's life miserable. The end." The rest is mostly stories of drug induced excesses, coupled with (or caused by) a combination of typical musician insecurities and false bravado. What little "insider" information there is regarding the music outside of that (technical details or recording techniques) are really not revelatory to anyone who's worked or been in a studio in the last 30 years.

In addition, having a female read a book written in a male voice is confusing at times - particularly since there are TWO authors (both men), and you never know whose perspective from which she is reading. Don't waste your time.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about Fleetwood Mac (I’ve been a fan since 1975), and I enjoyed the story. I found the lack of editing and the numerous misspellings of words a disappointment, though.

[Caiden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not entrely sure what Ken Calliat's sex life has to do with the making of this album but pop off I guess.

[Brielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

okay what in the hell. I usually refrain from reviewing books I couldn’t finish because I didn’t read the entire thing but in this case, I feel that it’s a public service for me to keep others from suffering reading or listening to this book. I only made it a couple hours in to the audiobook and could not force myself to go on. where Caillat’s previous book on the making of Rumours was interesting enough to help me get past his disturbing personal anecdotes, this book is just downright unreadable, unless you want to basically know the entirety of someone’s sex life in the seventies, who by other than his own opinion, was NOT a goddamn rockstar.

Dear Ken Caillat: while I do believe engineers and producers are a very important part of the music making process, YOU ARE NOT THE TALENT HERE. I’m sorry, but no one cares about every single woman you found attractive while working on this album or wants you to describe their bodies or go on and on about how young they were. I’m honestly just fucking disgusted, and it’s no wonder Fleetwood Mac cut ties with him. I don’t know who I pity more, the poor woman they hired to read this audiobook, or Ken Caillat’s daughter. Yuck.

There is also a second author of this book, another engineer on the album, and his parts were just as insufferable. I wish I could scrub my ears out. In case I haven’t said it enough: neither of you are rockstars. You are not Mick Fleetwood or Lindsay Buckingham, and no one gives two shits about your shameful personal life.

All that aside, this wasn’t even interesting. Two hours in neither of these guys told me a single thing about the actual process of recording Tusk, aside from the fact that Lindsay Buckingham spent this period behaving insanely, which is not news to anyone. It’s too late for me, my ears and mind have already suffered, but it’s not too late for you. Do not read this book. Watch Tusk tour videos and interviews instead if you care about the making of this album.

Public service announcement over.

[Joe Buck]

A NOTE ON THE AUDIOBOOK: The audiobook version of Get Tusked is a little bit disorienting. This book has two authors, and the narrative switches between the two of them throughout, within the same chapter. The audiobook doesn't do anything to distinguish whose POV we're getting at any given point, and since the authors talk about their own personal lives at the time too, sometimes I'd think we were still hearing from Ken and we were actually hearing from Hernan (or vice versa). I'm guessing the print version has some way that distinguishes whose story we're getting, but the audio version doesn't. So if you're on the fence about listening or reading, reading may be better.

That said, it was an interesting look at an always-dramatic band, fueled up on cocaine and booze and interpersonal tensions, attempting the impossible follow-up to one of the biggest albums of all time, Rumours. Always been pretty ambivalent about most iterations of Fleetwood Mac, but I've also always had a soft spot for Tusk. It's a truly inconsistent listen. The three songwriters are pulling in wildly different directions. Christine continues onward with her pop tunes (including "Think About Me," my favorite of hers); Stevie's songs get even more rambly and unfocused; and Lindsey is having an identity crisis over essentially being the honky-fro'd poster boy for mid-brow L.A. cocaine radio soft rock and decides to LARP as a punk rocker. Make it a double-album and slap a prohibitively expensive price tag on it, and you have all the makings for career suicide. So... y'know... lots of fun!

[Cory Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning of the making of one of my favorite albums. However, Ken's personal life was, shall we say, gratuitous and unnecessary - dude, you are not a rock star. The escapades that did not involve the band were frivolous.

Additionally, I did this as an audiobook and when the author changed there was no notification. I did not know if it was Ken or Hernan's narration until they referred to either the other person or something personal of their life came up.

Otherwise, it was very interesting to learn the different techniques applied to get the sounds in the album and the numerous instruments and methods that Lindsey Buckingham brought to the recording. My appreciation for this album is much higher now.

[Mark Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable listen (audiobook) that documents a snapshot in time. I particularly enjoyed the high level of detail with all of the equipment such as microphones and techniques during the transition from analogue to digital technology. The rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle aspects were also intriguing and enjoyable! Love it or hate it, this particular album is a milestone in time. Great analysis of how each song was approached and produced. Don’t say that you love me. Tusk.

[Charles James · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was uneven . It is divided up between two authors and you know which one is contributing by a different type face . I read this one because I had always seen Tusk as a fascinating album . The book does cover the making of the album , but gets distracted by the personal life's of the two authors. Do we really need an update on their love lives during the recording of Tusk ?
It took me a long time to get through .

[Lüdi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author wrote more about himself than the band and the album which would have been fine if I had been expecting a memoir but was very uninteresting to someone who wanted to learn more about Fleetwood Mac

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caillet’s romantic exploits made this one lose a star. Otherwise, a good read. Careful what you wish for if you want to be a rock star.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps it’s the audible version of this, and the person reading just does not fit at all, especially having listened to Rumors book first and the author actually read it. It was just a no for me all around. Similar to how I felt about Tusk in general.

[Regis · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the look behind the scenes is fascinating, story repetitiveness, and inexcusably bad narration take away from the overall enjoyment of the experience.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could never be as interesting as Making Rumours, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Basically if you liked the Rumours book, you’ll need to follow it up with this one!

[K.D. Putnam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed the technical recording items that the book about Rumours had featured but I loved the personal anecdotes! Still a good read!!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I apparently forgot to rate this — I read it months ago, and really really liked it, although it does pale to Making Rumours.