Jimmy Buffett’s Down to Earth Psychedelic Rock
Jimmy Buffett’s Down to Earth Psychedelic Rock is a great album for any fan of his work. It features some of his best songs, including “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Jimmy Buffett’s Musical Evolution
Jimmy Buffett’s 1973 album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean is a perfect example of his musical evolution. The album is a mix of country, folk, and rock, with a touch of Buffett’s signature humor. This album is a great example of how Buffett’s musical style has changed over the years.
His early years and musical influences
Jimmy Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi on December 25, 1946. He spent his childhood living along the Gulf Coast and developed a love for the ocean and tropical cultures. Buffett’s father, James William Buffett, was a star athlete at the University of Southern Mississippi and played minor league baseball. His mother, Mary Loraine (Peets) Buffett, was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Buffett’s parents divorced when he was ten and he and his sister, Laurie Ann, were raised by their mother in Mobile, Alabama.
Buffett began playing guitar in high school and sang in a band called The Dominoes while he was a student at Auburn University. He later transferred to the University of Missouri where he majored in history but did not graduate. After college, Buffett moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. He worked as a songwriter and music journalist while trying to break into the music business. In 1970, he released his first album, Down to Earth, which featured country-influenced songs written by Buffett.
His time in Nashville
In Nashville, Buffett met Jerry Jeff Walker and Dave loggins, who introduced him to the country-rock sound that would shape his earliest hits. “Margaritaville” and “Come Monday” both topped the charts in 1974, and Buffett became known for his beach-themed anthems and good-time party songs. He relocated to Key West in the late ’70s and recorded a series of live albums that cemented his reputation as a master of Gulf Coast party music.
His move to Key West
In late 1971, Buffett moved to Key West, Florida, where he still resides. He wanted to live in a place “small enough to shoot at and big enough to drown in”. Other refugees from the southern part of the country followed him. The 2000 movie The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey was filmed in Key West and partially based on Buffett’s life in Key West during the 1970s.
In 1979, Buffett’s album Volcano went platinum based on the strength of the single “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. The album included “Fins”, a tribute to shark-diving enthusiasts (and an ode to the 1973 film Jaws) that became Buffett’s signature song and still gets played at most of his live concerts.
The Making of Down to Earth
Jimmy Buffett began his musical career in the late 1960s, playing country-influenced rock & roll. He soon developed his own unique style, which he dubbed “gulf and western.” Buffett’s music is a blend of folk, country, pop, and rock, with lyrics that often focus on his native Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the outdoors. In 1971, he released his debut album, Down to Earth, which showcased his gulf and western sound.
The album’s conception
Jimmy Buffett began work on Down to Earth, his sixth studio album, in late 1970. The album was originally conceived as a double LP with one side consisting of new original material and the other side featuring covers of Buffett’s favorite psychedelic rock songs from the 1960s. However, due to financial constraints, the double LP idea was scrapped and the album was released as a single LP with only original songs. Despite this, the album still features a diverse range of musical styles, including country, folk, rock, and pop.
Many of the songs on the album were written during or shortly after Buffett’s time living in Key West, Florida, which is reflected in the lyrics. The album’s opening track, “Quietly Making Noise”, is a ode to Key West and its laid-back lifestyle. Other tracks such as “Stars on the Water” and “Last Mango in Paris” also reflect Buffett’s love for the city and its people.
Musically, Down to Earth is a departure from Buffett’s earlier work, which was mostly acoustic folk music. For this album, he enlisted the help of electic guitars, drums, and other instrumentation to give the songs a more rock-oriented sound. This change in sound would prove to be influential in Buffett’s future work and would help him gain a wider audience.
Despite being mostly overlooked upon its release, Down to Earth has since been considered one of Buffett’s best albums by both fans and critics alike. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it #33 on their list of “The 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time”.
The recording process
Buffettfanforlyfe explains that, “The album was recorded in five days at the infamous Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida. It was a tight schedule, but the boys managed to crank out a great record. The album was originally going to be called ‘Death of the Head,’ but that was quickly scrapped when someone realized that it might not be the best idea to name an album after the death of its lead singer.”
According to Classic Rock Review, ” Jimmy Buffett and company decamped to Miami’s Criteria Studios in October of 1970 with producer Elliot Robert. The goal was to record what would become Down to Earth as quickly and cheaply as possible so that they could move on and tour behind it. The result is an agile blend of country-rock and psychedelic strains with some appealing lyrical themes.”
The album’s release and reception
Down to Earth was released on October 24, 1970, by ABC Dunhill Records. It was produced by Jimmy Buffett and Marlin Greene. The album was not a commercial success and received mixed reviews from music critics.
The album’s lead single, “I Can’t Be Your Hero”, was released on October 2, 1970. The song peaked at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Critical reception for Down to Earth was mixed. Allmusic awarded the album two out of five stars. They wrote that “while [the album] isn’t an abysmal record, it is severely marred by production values and performances that are second-rate even for its time.”
The Music of Down to Earth
Jimmy Buffett’s album, Down to Earth, is a collection of psychedelic rock songs that were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The album was released in 1973 and reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album’s first single, “Margaritaville”, became one of Buffett’s most popular songs and is still played regularly on radio stations today.
The album’s sound and style
“Down to Earth” is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and was released in August 1980. It was his first album of all-new material since 1977’s “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”. The album is notable for its shift from Buffett’s traditional beach-themed work to a more introspective and eclectic sound, with elements of country, folk, and psychedelic rock.
The album was a commercial disappointment upon its release, only reaching #60 on the Billboard 200, but has since been regarded as one of his best works by fans and critics alike. In 2000, it was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies.
The album’s lyrics
The album’s lyrics are overwhelmingly positive and optimistic, with a few exceptions. The title track, “Down to Earth”, is a plea to Those Who Matter Most (the fans) to not give up on the artist, even though he has “done some things that weren’t so nice”. “A1A” is a nostalgic look back at highway A1A, which ran along the Atlantic coast of Florida; the lyrics bemoan the fact that development has turned much of it into “just another ugly road”. “Ballad of Spoiler Alert” is a cynical commentary on reality television and celebrity culture.
The album’s impact on Buffett’s career
Jimmy Buffett’s 1974 album “A1A” is often thought of as his breakout album, but it was his less successful follow-up, “Down to Earth”, that signaled a change in direction for the singer/songwriter. Recorded in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, “Down to Earth” was a more reflective and introspective album than its predecessor, with Buffett exploring environmental and political themes. The album’s single, “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Boat”, was a minor hit, but the album itself was largely overshadowed by “A1A” and received mixed reviews. However, in retrospect, “Down to Earth” is considered one of Buffett’s most important albums, as it signaled a shift in his songwriting from light-hearted fare to more serious topics.
