mca records 1978
after his 1977 hit album changes in latitudes changes in attitudes jimmy buffett took to the waters to produce yet another hit album, the highly anticipated follow-up son of a son of a sailor.
changes in latitudes was so good that it made it a difficult album to follow, but buffett made the job look easy with not just one, but four amazing follow-up albums including the ‘78 live release you had to be there and the ‘79 and ‘81 studio albums volcano and coconut telegraph.
opening with the title track, son of a son jumps right in and starts sailing away. track two is the strange fool button which seems to explain a “trip” gone haywire. track three, the last line has a catchy bass line and is an excellent song. following the last line is the infamous livingston saturday night, which had been included on two soundtracks and featured in both rancho deluxe and fm.
the fifth track is the definitive parrothead anthem. cheeseburger in paradise is one of the most recognized buffett songs, and for good reason, it’s catchy beat and chorus grab your attention and pull you right in. the song even has a restaurant chain dedicated to it. track seven, the coast of marseilles was written by onetime coral reefer keith sykes and is one of the most highly under-rated songs in buffett’s catalog. opening with it’s ghostly sounding harmonica and ending with it’s crying lyrics, everything about the song is good. the vocals, the harmony, deep bass line even the slightest hint of drums make this one of the best buffett songs ever.
track seven, cowboy in the jungle and track nine african friend are both wonderful songs and show off buffett’s story telling ability to it’s fullest. tucked in between those two songs is the fun loving manana, a song about one woman’s attempt to “get away”.
son of a son of a sailor is like a book of good short stories, so go learn something about yourself and go “read” it.
