Songs From St. Somewhere review - Grantland (ESPN)

[PeretHed66]

Interesting review from one of the writers on ESPN's Grantland website. This is just the Buffett portion, the article also reviews John Mayer's latest and does some comparison....

Then there's Jimmy Buffett, who long ago abandoned his early persona as an outlaw-era Nashville country singer to take up the guise of the South Florida beach bum–cum–populist philosopher. Buffett's retreat has lasted more than 40 years, and he has turned it into an industry — the restaurant chain, the brands of beer and tequila, the Atlantic City casino, and the lucrative annual concert tours are all part of a package selling the Jimmy Buffett experience as a take-home escapist diversion, a retreat without the retreat. Occasionally this package even includes a new album like Songs From St. Somewhere, Buffett's first collection of new material in four years.

St. Somewhere highlights like "Too Drunk to Karaoke" and "Einstein Was a Surfer" taste like Buffett's familiar cocktail of bonfire acoustic strums, perpetually ringing steel drums, tequila, middle-aged ennui, salt, and wrist sweat. "Somethin' 'Bout a Boat" approximates a reggae rhythm, and I think "Tides" has something to do with serenading mermaids. It's all just too much fun, like mandatory Hawaiian Shirt Day at the office is just too much fun. But I don't begrudge Jimmy Buffett any of his shtick. Somebody had to concoct a scheme to squeeze millions of dollars out of the bosses who think Hawaiian shirts are unironically awesome, and Jimmy Buffett is that guy.

Besides, analyzing Songs From St. Somewhere too closely is like obsessing over the cleanliness of your booth at Señor Frog's — sometimes it's best to just accept the revelry at face value. Buffett might be the musical equivalent of a mullet creep, but he understands the power of his own iconography. On Somewhere's album cover, he stands on an ocean shore with a guitar strapped to his back, basking in the glow of an eternally radiant sun. He's smiling at us over his shoulder. "You think I can get away with this?" his expression seems to say. He can, and in spite of Jimmy's casual posture, it's harder than it looks.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/958 ... my-buffett