ALBUMS: Songs You Know By Heart : Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hits (1985); Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (1974).
MVC Rating: Hits: 4.0/$$$; Living: 3.5/$$$
Middle of the road singer-songwriter. Notice I didn’t say mediocre. I admire, and enjoy, some of these Buffet hits, not just for the broad appeal and overall catchiness, but also for shrewd, descriptive lyrics such as in the rueful A Pirate Looks at 40.:
I made enough money to buy Miami, But I pissed it away so fast, Never meant to last, never meant to last.
He’s sold gazillions. Parrotheads follow and love Buffet like Deadheads did/do for Jerry Gracia and the Grateful Dead. (OK, Phish and Widespread Panic, too, sort of.) The difference in audiences may start at choice of intoxicants but goes beyond that. Buffet is Spring Break for Baby Boomers, with kids and grand-kids and coolers in tow.
I hereby declare Margaritaville to be the No. 1 all time song played by the highly tanned dude in a flowery shirt and acoustic guitar poolside at the oceanfront Holiday Inn.
Some people claim there’s a woman to blame, but I know it’s my own damn fault. (Possibly Buffet’s best line.)
Did Buffett single-handedly boost the now enormous tequila industry?
I always said Buffett made the only song reference to Hush Puppies, the shoe not the cornbread ball, in Come Monday. And he may be the only one to ever rhyme pop-top and flip-flop in a song.
So he has a lot of achievements.
But if I have to hear Cheeseburger in Paradise again, I might consider giving up one of my favorite foods. And if I have to hear Why Don’t We Get Drunk and …. again, I might consider giving up … oh, never mind.
NOTE: SInce I last reviewed Buffet in the above post, I happened on another $1 record find of Buffets album. I’m not going to give it a big review but just to say: It is not bad, a peek at him before he became famous hints of the qualities that made him famous. Those qualities are pleasant semi-story-telling songs that goes good with some beach time and beer time and the smell of coconut sunscreen.
Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.