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My opion? This cd just blows. Why? There are only a couple of songs on it that I give a crap if I ever hear again. That's about as "technical" as I get.

phjrsaunt wrote:My opion? This cd just blows. Why? There are only a couple of songs on it that I give a crap if I ever hear again. That's about as "technical" as I get.

It definitely seems to be a love it or hate it sort of album for a lot of folks.

I like almost all of it, and I loved hearing Jimmy's stories on RM.

I like the CD enough.Too Drunk is too Toby Keith,BUT,it has merit.I watched crowds in three concerts crank up on this song.The song ensures a line of coeds, new to JB,wanting paint.Like it or not,Jimmy will play this for awhile.

bodypainter wrote:I like the CD enough.Too Drunk is too Toby Keith,BUT,it has merit.I watched crowds in three concerts crank up on this song.The song ensures a line of coeds, new to JB,wanting paint.Like it or not,Jimmy will play this for awhile.

Exactly!

bodypainter wrote:I like the CD enough.Too Drunk is too Toby Keith,BUT,it has merit.I watched crowds in three concerts crank up on this song.The song ensures a line of coeds, new to JB,wanting paint.Like it or not,Jimmy will play this for awhile.

I think this pretty much says it all. This is from the recent interview USA Today did with Buffett:

The first single, already out, is his duet with Toby Keith, Too Drunk to Karaoke. "That's the popular one," says Buffett, 66. But he adds with a grin, "I think there are better songs."

In the album preview special Jimmy said that he was asked to be on Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" but turned it down.
When Jimmy stumbled across the "Karaoke" song, he restructured it and added some lines and contacted Toby to be on it.
I like Red Solo Cup. Sure I've heard it a million times by now but it's better than "Karaoke".
It reminds me of one of David Allan Coe's fun songs.
If I recall correctly, I believe that Jimmy said he's on Toby's upcoming album.

To my ears, tracks like "Too Drunk To Karaoke" and "I'm No Russian" are what the skip button was invented for. I'd much rather see the emphasis put on a song that doesn't further the drunken Parrothead stereotype that "Too Drunk To Karaoke" perpetuates. I see that a video has been released for "I Want to Go Back to Cartagena". In this day and age when the web is more of a marketing tool than radio it's hard to know if it's the new single but it's a damn sight better than "Too Drunk To Karaoke" and more representative of Songs From St. Somewhere overall. If the record was full of tunes in the "Too Drunk To Karaoke" vein my opinion of it would be entirely different. If Buffett was aiming for the lowest common denominator with that song he hit the bullseye dead on.

Some pretty good guitar work on Karaoke though...Imo of course.

I'm no Russian really aint so bad until the rapping parts. It doesn't flow like his little rap on Overkill or even Fruitcakes. Seems like he cramming too many words and struggling with it. Plus it's a stereotypical old style of rapping.
Whoa...I can't believe I'm talking about Jimmy Buffett rapping.
Musically there's some cool sounds going on throughout it.
Much like Turn Up The Heat, I think it would be a pretty good instrumental more-so than a vocal song.

Seems like every artist has some stinkers. 2 out of 16 aint too bad.

sonofabeach wrote:Some pretty good guitar work on Karaoke though...Imo of course.

Perhaps but it doesn't save it. Though I'm not a fan of the song in general, I prefer the version by Jamie Hartford. The version on Songs From St. Somewhere is clearly geared at the current mainstream country crowd. The inclusion of Toby Keith insures this. It's more dumbed down Buffett for the masses and excels on all levels in that regard. I find that unfortunate when there's much better songs on the record. For a whole lot of folks it represents their first impression of the album. Some will eat it up, others that put higher standards on Buffett will be turned off by it. From what I've been able to gauge from fan reaction online, the response to this album is very mixed. You have the diehard sycophant types that are going to love whatever he releases no matter what and then you have others that are more subjective.

sonofabeach wrote:I'm no Russian really aint so bad until the rapping parts. It doesn't flow like his little rap on Overkill or even Fruitcakes. Seems like he cramming too many words and struggling with it. Plus it's a stereotypical old style of rapping.
Whoa...I can't believe I'm talking about Jimmy Buffett rapping.
Musically there's some cool sounds going on throughout it.
Much like Turn Up The Heat, I think it would be a pretty good instrumental more-so than a vocal song.

I agree to an extent but the rapping isn't just one short section of the song as it's been in the past, it dominates it. For a tune that's over 6 minutes long I find it unbearable to listen to. Two total misfires for what is nearly a double album isn't too bad, especially considering it could have been a whole lot worse.

As TT said above, TDTK seems aimed at the current country crowd. I heard it on The Highway Sirius/XM 59 a few days ago and it fit right in. For the most part, I can't stand the music currently being played on country radio and find myself listening to Prime Country instead. TDTK is a fun song live but not as much on the radio or the iPod.

This album is growing on me more and more. I like Cartegena both with and without Fanny Lu, and I like the video.

I'm No Russian will never grow on me, if I live to be 110.

I like Oldest Surfer on the Beach more every time I listen.

chippewa wrote:

Tiki Torches wrote:I still think the cover of the album looks like something someone slapped together in less than five minutes and I find the album title to be uninspired and unoriginal. That said, I've liked a good deal of what I've heard from the album but for latter day Buffett I've learned to set my expectations pretty low.

The cover doesn't do much for me either. At least he got away from the "Jimmy leaning on something" trend of Far Side of the World, License to Chill and Take the Weather With You.

Now that you mention it, he has had several album cover art where he is leaning.

A1A - leaning back in a chair
Living and Dying in 3/4 time - sitting and leaning back on a boat
Cocanut Telegraph - leaning against a phone booth

I like the new cd. Tides is very good. I don't care much for the rap attempts, but there's not much rap that I do like. I glad he's still making music.

phjrsaunt wrote:My opion? This cd just blows. Why? There are only a couple of songs on it that I give a crap if I ever hear again. That's about as "technical" as I get.

wPJRAs. I've had it about 3 weeks and have listened through several times. "Serpentine" (the few seconds where Lovell comes in are stunning) and "Oldest Surfer" are the only two I'd choose to have in rotation.

If you can believe it, the red flag didn't come in "I'm No Russian" or with the almost :30 of seriously scary humming at the end of "Einstein was a Surfer."

To me, the real shocker was the complete disconnect between Jimmy and Jesse Winchester's lyrics of "I Wave Bye Bye." Maybe he's forgotten what it's like to have a broken heart.

Still loving Jimmy - just not this record,
Your pal,
ETP

It's refreshing to see some honest opinions being expressed here, even if they aren't favorable of the album. Sure beats the sh*t out of the ones where some fans think Buffett can do no wrong. And for those think I'm too hard on him, I actually like this record (save for a couple tunes). It's not in Guy Clark or Jason Isbell territory as far as my favorite albums released this year but very few are. At least Guy has shown that it is indeed possible to sustain a consistent level of greatness throughout the course of one's career. I'd put John Prine in that category as well. I'd love nothing more than to be able to mention Buffett in the same breath, unfortunately that's not the case.

On the album cover tip, I find this scarf (which was modeled after the Songs From St. Somewhere stage backdrop), to be much more creative than the actual album cover itself:

It's not that people don't think JB can do no wrong. It's your arrogance and thinking that you know everything. I am not the first person to call you out on this. We know your "above" the whole parrothead thing. We get it man!

FinsUp6835 wrote:It's not that people don't think JB can do no wrong. It's your arrogance and thinking that you know everything. I am not the first person to call you out on this. We know your "above" the whole parrothead thing. We get it man!

You have a knack for completely misinterpreting me and/or twisting my words to suit your agenda. I've never said that I "know everything" or that I'm "above the whole parrothead thing". Every artist has a certain segment of their fanbase that feels their favorite performers are infallible, this also applies to Buffett. It's nothing for you get bent out of shape about as that description evidently hits so close to home for you.

I'll try explaining this to you again. I have a preference for Buffett's early albums and the pre-Parrothead era of his career as I feel that his level of creativity as a songwriter took a nosedive in the intervening years following his heyday, which I feel was on those early albums. Somehow, out of that you have gleaned that I "know everything" or that I'm "above the whole parrothead" thing, which are not sentiments that I have ever expressed. For whatever reason, you seem hellbent on putting those words in my mouth even though I've never said them. So, before replying in the future, please take into account what I've said and read it very carefully. It would be much appreciated.

I am a proud parrothead but also like the early years the most. However, I don't live in the past and can only love the now.

FinsUp6835 wrote:I am a proud parrothead but also like the early years the most. However, I don't live in the past and can only love the now.

Again, you are not reading what I've said. I never said that I "live in the past" but you keep reading that into my posts even though I have never expressed those thoughts. Perhaps you've missed the countless posts where I've said again and again that I own every Buffett record and that I like this one. I've said the same thing about many of his previous records from the post ABC/Dunhill period as well including recent ones such as Buffet Hotel and Take the Weather With You. So, before you jump all over me and accuse me of things that I've never said, I ask that you be courteous enough to take the time to actually read what I've said and refrain from continuing to put words in my mouth. It's become abundantly clear to me that no matter how succinctly I attempt to explain this to you that you will completely ignore it in favor of furthering your own agenda, which is to make me out to be someone that I am not. That, to me, is a clear sign that you're the type of fan that finds any criticism of Buffett, no matter how constructive it may be, to be unfavorable. I am a huge Buffett fan and have been since I first heard A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean back in the early 70's. If I truly lived in the past, as you seem so hellbent on believing, I would not own any of his albums from the late 70's or his output from the 80's, 90's, 00's or this decade. What is it going to take for you to understand that? Or are you just going to flat out continue to refuse to acknowledge it?

I would not know that tiki prefers early Buffett....well I wouldn't if I did not see it in every other post

I've listened another 2 or 3 times through. God help me, even "I'm No Russian" is okay if you're doing something else while listening. Mind you, I'm NOT one who subscribes to the "If JB put it out (whatever "it" is), it must be WONDERFUL" theory of all things Buffett. Everything gets evaluated on its merits. I understand why many people don't like this album. I still like the old stuff better, for the most part. With this album JB seems to be doing a fair amount of looking back over his shoulder. It's almost melancholy, in places.

I missed every opportunity to listen to JB's discussion of each song on RM. Does anyone remember what he said about "The Colour of the Sun?"