Released: 1985
Tracks: Cheeseburger In Paradise; He Went to Paris; Fins; Son of a Son of a Sailor; A Pirate Looks at Forty; Margaritaville; Come Monday; Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes; Why Don’t We Get Drunk; Pencil Thin Mustache; Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit; Boat Drinks; Volcano
Best track: it might be He Went to Paris, but they’re all great
Track to skip: none at all
I don’t understand it, but it seems that Jimmy Buffett has been handed a bad rap over the past 10-20 years. It’s almost as if it’s cool to detest this guy, his music and especially his fanbase. Lighten up, people! For me it’s a no-brainer: they’re great songs, his live shows are some of the best you can see and people connect with these songs and the “lifestyle” Buffett puts out there. So why rag on the guy? From a fellow musician and songwriter there’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing someone who writes great songs become as popular as Jimmy Buffett. Maybe some people in this world just don’t get it. There’s certainly a lot of music that escapes me why it’s so popular. There’s just some part of me that thinks a lot of people don’t give Buffett a chance because of his image and fanbase. It’s a shame too, because this is good music.
So that brings us to this album, without question his most popular. It’s a nice 43 minute overview of his best material from his best decade of music. Yeah, there are a lot of songs that one could argue should be here, but there’s nothing you can take away. When this came out, Come Monday was his only true “hit” (thus the album title), but that’s only when you’re talking about music charts. By ’85 all of these songs were classics where his fanbase was concerned…and they’ve only grown larger in the past 20+ years. Listening to this even now, I absolutely love these songs. I wish I could write songs this engaging.
As for the songs, this is a stellar Greatest Hits album. You get the upbeat, fun and danceable songs (Cheeseburger, Fins, Margaritaville, Volcano, etc) and also the quality slower contemplative material (He Went to Paris, Pirate Looks at Forty, Come Monday). I really love all of these songs. Well, yeah, stuff like Cheeseburger in Paradise hasn’t aged too well, but it’s still a lot of fun. Even though I’ve heard all of these songs a million times, they’re still great to hear. No way do I get tired of Changes in Latitudes or He Went to Paris. They’re great songs.
It is a bit interesting that this contains no material from Buffett’s 80’s output. I understand it though, because this is the stuff that most people want to hear and the 70’s featured his best material. This album flows together really well too. The slow songs are well-placed here and they’re not overwhelming in their number. The older I get, the more I connect with the slow ones and I think maybe they hold up the best. Eh, no matter – I love all of these songs. For most people, this is the only Buffett they’ll ever need. For me, however, I think his box set Boats Beaches Bars Ballads is a better collection than this. I’ll get to that one soon enough. If you just want 1 Jimmy Buffett CD, go for this one. If you don’t mind shelling out the extra cash, head for the box since all of these songs are there and it’s an even better representation of the man and his songwriting. As this album stands though, it’s a great collection. Solid songwriting all of the way through and a hell of a lot of fun.
Rating: 95
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