As we are so wonderfully done with each other
We can walk into our separate sleep
On floors of music where the milkwhite cloak of childhood lies
– Kenneth Patchen (The Unpopular Poet)
There’s a new Jimmy Buffett album out today. Some crave a new dose of the “escapism” he built a brand around but I never wanted that. I was never captured and I seek no escape. I’ve followed his song lines on a never-ending adventure I call life. It has been a decade since I worked for his brand in Hawaii and somewhere close to three decades since I first experienced his live shows as a teen in South Florida. His music was a lifestyle for us growing up in Florida long before it became a global business that sells blenders, flip flops, and just about everything else judging by a visit to his website tonight. And I miss that lifestyle.
I stopped seeing Buffett about five years ago after a particularly exhausting experience at a Las Vegas show where I was constantly harassed for standing up and dancing along with the band’s island grooves. I looked around and realized that it wasn’t a flock of Parrot Heads in the crowded arena. Sure, a few of us old-souls were still there but the slow moving tide I had sensed coming for about a decade had finally washed over the show. The audience was not full of like-minded castaways who wanted the counter-culture troubadour to spin yarns about the Jolly Mon. Rather, it was all about wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt and flip-flops once a year and posting about it on Facebook so everyone at the office knows you’re some sort of pirate and not just Kyle from Accounting. I left depressed and my Buffett albums have gathered dust in recent years.
You hate to let politics creep into your life but it has become impossible not to and that was the final straw in my life as a Parrot Head. Once active in fan clubs and on message boards, I was shocked to see more and more “fans” protesting his support of progressive candidates. For as long as I can remember, every Buffett concert ticket included an extra tax to raise money for the endangered manatees of Florida. This was a pot-smoking, tequila drinking singer-songwriter who embraced different cultures and worked to keep the planet habitable for future generations. He hasn’t changed who he is no matter how much money he has made but those flocking to his restaurants sure had. I was done. I cannot get drunk with Karen and listen to her tell the bar manager she can’t taste the alcohol in her drink. That is where it was headed.
While there have been a few pretty-good Buffett albums this century (2006’s Take The Weather With You especially), most have been more miss than hit. Some of this I blame on Alan Jackson and that damn “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” song that launched Jimmy back into the good graces of Nashville. The inevitable album that followed was a mix of beautiful collaborations (George Strait) and cringe-worthy copy-cats (Kenny Chesney). Look, y’all didn’t want Jimmy in the 70s and we did in Florida so no, you don’t get to love him now. But I’m glad Jimmy took their money!
Do I sound like a bitter old fan? I hope not. Sometimes sad? Yes. But not bitter. I’m glad Jimmy has kept the band on the road and part of me probably wants back into his proverbial phlock. It seems like only yesterday that he tossed out three magnificent albums in three years with Fruitcakes, Barometer Soup, and Banana Wind but that was twenty-five years ago if I do some math. Maybe the song lines are no longer there to be found but I need to find out for myself with one more trip to Buffett Island. So, I approached this new album with open ears and a lot of hope (or is that rum?).
Life On the Flip Side
For the first time since 2002’s Far Side of the World, this sounds like Jimmy Buffett AND the Coral Reefer Band. Sure, his incredibly talented band helmed by Mac McAnally hasn’t gone anywhere over the years but Life On the Flip Side feels more organic than recent efforts. There is a live energy to the recordings which instantly makes me glad I waded back into these waters. The colorful streets of Cuba are brought to life in “15 Cuban Minutes” – a sister song to the classic “Cuban Crime of Passion” and if he pairs these on the setlist, I will have no choice but to buy a ticket and take the ride at the next show.
Reflecting on a long life, songs such as “Oceans of Time” and “Book On the Shelf” are wonderful songs for a slow sunset. The opening strums of “Down at the Las De Dah” echo “Proud Mary” before heading out to find a margarita in a mason jar. It doesn’t try too hard and that is Buffett at his best. The “funny” songs he writes rarely are as funny as the ones when he just tells us stories about his adventures. The reggae of the Caribbean (“Who Gets To Live Like This”) and the swamp music of New Orleans (“The Devil I Know”) are cozy neighbors throughout Life On the Flip Side. If you fancy a walk through the French Quarter on a quiet morning reminiscing about last night, “Half Drunk” is your willing companion.
While Kyle from Accounting will find plenty to love on the new Buffett album, this one feels like it was recorded for those of us who never stopped Havana Daydreamin’. I might not love the brand these days but I sure as hell still love this band. As an old soul, I like albums that comfortably fit on a slab of wax and this one stays under 60 minutes. Just long enough to finish a a mojito. Or two. Thank you, Jimmy. See you at a show soon.