| "Save Me a Place" | |
|---|---|
| Song byFleetwood Mac | |
| from the albumTusk | |
| A-side | "Think About Me" |
| Released | 1979 |
| Recorded | 1978–1979 |
| Studio | The Village Recorder,Los Angeles, California |
| Length | 2:42 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Songwriter(s) | Lindsey Buckingham |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Save Me a Place" is a song by the British-American rock bandFleetwood Mac, released in 1979 on theTusk album. It was one of the nine songs on the album written byLindsey Buckingham. In North America, the song was issued as theB-side to "Think About Me".[1] "Save Me a Place" was also included on the four–disc edition of the 1992 Fleetwood Macbox set,25 Years - The Chain.[2]
In the liner notes for the 2015 deluxe edition ofTusk, Buckingham commented that the lyrics on "Save Me a Place" were more vulnerable than his other offerings on the album. He said that the lyrics reflected his need to compartmentalise his feelings due to the lack of closure within his personal life, particularly the dissolution of his relationship withStevie Nicks and his inability to recapture positive memories from his youth.[3] Buckingham toldThe Independent in 2024 that the song was "a reflection of the fact that we were all forging ahead emotionally with our lives, yet there was still, underneath all of that, a great deal of love and tenderness that we had."[4]
In March 1979, Buckingham invitedMick Fleetwood andJohn McVie to Studio D ofThe Village Recorder to record drums and bass guitar respectively to emulate his home recordings of "Save Me a Place" from October 1978. This was at the encouragement ofKen Caillat andRichard Dashut, who insisted that the song would benefit from a re-recording at The Village Recorder.[5] Two demos of "Save Me a Place", one dated 10 October 1978 and another dated 18 October 1978, were included on the deluxe edition of Tusk.[6] His home demos consisted of atwelve-string guitar, another acoustic guitar with acapo, a dampened snare drum playing on thedownbeats, and a bass guitar. For the purpose of creating a simple arrangement that aligned with his home demos, Buckingham asked Fleetwood to exclusively hit the snare drum on the downbeats and told John McVie to playroot notes while avoiding allpassing tones. Eleven takes were recorded and the sixth was designated as the master. McVie originally recorded his parts on aGretsch bass, but Buckingham was displeased with the part he recorded, so he invited him back to the control room to attempt a new part on aGibson violin bass. When this failed to yield a satisfactory result, McVie disposed of his Gretsch bass in a wastebasket, sat next to Fleetwood on a bench and appliedgaffer tape to their mouthes as a form of protest. Buckingham subsequently retrieved McVie's bass from the trash and played the instrument himself.[5]
When recording the percussion for "Save Me A Place", Buckingham eschewed the snare drum in favor of tapping a 24-track tape box.[7] He also asked Fleetwood to hit atrash can with a pair ofbrushes, which he doubled.[5] Buckingham also expressed interest inoverdubbing acharango that was gifted to him by Hernán Rojas, who engineered the Tusk album. As such, Buckinghamtuned the instrument and strummed through a few takes until he was satisfied. The instrument was thenpanned to theleft channel. Buckinghammultitracked all of the backing vocals, which were conducted in a way that emulated abarbershop harmony. He appliedvibrato to the end of the vocal phrasings.[5]
Stephen Holden ofRolling Stone described the song as "sophisticated yet still relatively spare" and said that it "boasts closely harmonized, un-gimmicky ensemble voices and acoustic textures that underline the tune's British folk flavor."[8] Writing forPitchfork, Amanda Petrusich called the song a lyrical successor to "Go Your Own Way" in which Buckingham "begrudges his lover's unwillingness to grab what he's half-offering her."[9] Certain publications, includingCMJ andThe Los Angeles Times, highlighted the song's rhythm track.[10][11]
"Save Me a Place" was first performed during Fleetwood Mac'sTusk Tour. A live recording from the band's tour stop inSt. Louis on 5 November 1979 was included on the deluxe edition of Tusk in 2015.[6] Buckingham later revived the song as an encore for his 1992-1993 Out of the Cradle Tour. In a concert review of Buckingham's performance atThe Coach House in December 1992, Mike Boehm ofThe Los Angeles Times said that the vocal harmonies on "Save Me a Place" resembled the work ofThe Beach Boys.[12]
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