Released: 1974
Tracks: Makin’ Music for Money; Door Number Three; Dallas; Presents to Send You; Stories We Could Tell; Life is Just a Tire Swing; A Pirate Looks at Forty; Migration; Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season; Nautical Wheelers; Tin Cup Chalice
Best track: Pirate Looks at 40 through Tin Cup Chalice
Track to skip: none
This is a really interesting album, primarily in that we hear Buffett’s progress and change within the span of an album. Actually, the change really happens between sides 1 and 2 (Tire Swing/Pirate). Side one is a continuation of what Buffett did on his previous album (more countrified), and side two is almost a rebirth…it’s Jimmy Buffett as we know him today. The first half starts out in silly-country mode (first two songs) but then it starts to settle into a batch of 4 really good songs. For me, and probably most Parrottheads, the second half is really where everything in Jimmy Buffett Land comes into focus. These five songs are excellent and some of the best Buffett has ever written. The vibe of these five are the laid back, story-telling kind of vibe that Buffett is known for. If there’s anything that can put you in a summer mood, it’s side 2 of this album. As I stated above, it’s impossible to pick a best track from this album; it really is all of side 2. I think White Sport Coat is a more consistent album, but overall this one is better thanks to you-know-what. I haven’t heard too many Buffett albums all the way through, but so far this is my favorite studio/non-compilation one.
Rating: 91
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