Walk a Thin Line

"Walk a Thin Line" was inspired by a Charlie Watts drum fill on "Sway", off the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers. This drum fill caught Buckingham's interest, and he intended to feature the fill on one of his on Tusk songs. The "military press-rolls" were multi-tracked and played by Buckingham rather than Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood.[1] "Mick was appalled. He was appalled that these drums were going out and people would think that it’s him because it offended the finer points of his sensibilities. And I understand that."[2] Buckingham also recorded some backing vocals in a push-up position while singing into a microphone taped to the floor for a more "aggressive" vocal timbre.[3]

Rolling Stone singled out "Walk a Thin Line" as one of Buckingham's more commercial tracks on Tusk.[4]

• Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, lead and backing vocals, piano, drums
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Christine McVie – keyboards, backing vocals

"Walk a Thin Line" was one of the cover songs on Mick Fleetwood's 1981 debut solo album, The Visitor. This rendition was reinterpreted with African influences, and included an African group called Adjo, who contributed percussion and vocals on the track.[5] "...as a percussion player, during these recordings, I was, as we say in England, ‘like a pig in shit.’" said Fleetwood. "I had the greatest time playing with these musicians..."[6] After the basic tracks were completed in Ghana, Fleetwood returned to London. During the visit, George Harrison, Fleetwood's ex brother-in-law, came into the studio to play slide guitar.[7][8]