While my list of attended concerts is pretty light, one guy whose show I've seen multiple times is Jimmy Buffett. The first song of his that I remember hearing on the radio was "Margaritaville", no surprise there. That was pretty much where the affiliation ended. In the mid-'80s, still a neophyte to the Top 40 scene, listening to the deluge of new (to me) artists from AC/DC to ZZ Top was like drinking from a fire hose. When I eventually clued into Buffett's mystique of a glorified beach bum, I made a pretty big commitment - I actually bought one of his records.
Songs You Know By Heart, released in 1985, containing some of his most iconic singles, became my first Buffett album. Apart from "Margaritaville", the side one songs, "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Son of a Son of a Sailor", quickly percolated to the top of my playlist.
This CD got a lot of playtime in college. I found it very relaxing after calculus and differential equations frazzled my brain. Once when studying with a buddy, this CD was playing on repeat in the background. I mentioned it was currently my favorite "chill" album and was told, "Dude, some of his best songs aren't even on there."
This led to a search for other previously released Buffett tunes. In a time when record stores still existed and allowed customers to play album tracks while they shopped, I did find some gems. Among them, a Buffett deep track, "La Vie Dansante", still brings a smile to my face whenever it plays.
Through my post-college years, I continued to find myself vibing with the chill "island escapism" Buffett portrayed, and my collection of his albums grew. It surprises me that the largest segment of my CD collection isn't Bob Seger, Skynyrd, or even ZZ Top. It's Buffett.
Any of the 5 Buffett entries on this little rock and roll blog could earn a spot on an Ultimate Album Side. As this year's edition of Rock-tober appears to be taking a "road less traveled" theme, "Take Another Road" earns the slot.
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