And so, a part of me wonders whether (although Jimmy is now in his sixties), I may have happened along too early in his career. You see, Jimmy is still in full-throttle mode, continually spewing influence into our lives like a living volcano of sorts. His impact on culture, music, my family's vacations and sunny afternoons at home is going strong and as a result, I find myself witnessing his era happening around me. Human nature being what it is, being in the mix of it all forces me to now have opinions about new things that Jimmy says and does, and sometimes that can be a real bummer if I find myself being critical of him and his music. I like it better looking backwards.
(Thanks for reading this far. I really am getting to my point soon
)Since becoming aware of Jimmy Buffett in 2006, Jimmy has only released two albums (Take The Weather With You, and now, Bufet Hotel). To me, the first album was spot on, fantastic and exactly what I would expect from Jimmy. Learning to love Take The Weather With You was as easy as learning the words to A Pirate Looks at Forty for me; it happened almost overnight and was a pleasure from beginning to end.
Bufet Hotel, however, has been different. Sadly, I just haven't really been able to learn to enjoy the music on that album. They're great songs, sure... but honestly not much different that what I could get from Mark Knopfler or any other such songwriter. Nothing wrong with that, certainly... but just not what I was hoping from Jimmy.
I admit... if Bufet Hotel was an older album that had been recorded in 1993 and I didn't hear it until 2009, chances are I would listen to it, learn the music and appreciate it for what it is - a single block in Jimmy's amazing quilt of songs throughout his career. But because I am now watching his quilt of music be sewn, I suddenly have an opinion over whether that block of fabric should have even been used. Does that make sense?
So for you longtime Parrotheads - for you veteran Buffetologists who have witnessed the patchwork of events, times and music in Jimmy's career: were there any albums that Jimmy produced earlier in his career, that you did not like at all, wherein the album is now regarded as an integral part of Jimmy's body of work? Were there any of you that did not initially like Floridays, or Barometer Soup, or Off To See The Lizard, or Far Side of The World, or any other classic Jimmy album? Were there any among you who, upon hearing Holiday or Creola for the first time thought to yourself, "what was Jimmy thinking?"
I'm not trying to make this bigger than it really is, I'm just holding out hope that perhaps, several years from now, I'll listen to Bufet Hotel and be glad that Jimmy took time to delve into that realm of song before calling it quits.
), have all been part of the stories Jimmy tells. New instruments, sounds, styles, etc. creep into his work based on the types of sounds he experiences on his travels (especially Far Side of the World for "recent" pieces of work . . . pun intended!). Every so often getting shot at in his plane, a sunset, a particular drink, a particular bar, a particular . . . wait for it . . . harbor . . . make it into a song.
