Jimmy Buffett Album: “Somewhere Over China”

Description :

Personnel: Jimmy Buffett (vocals, guitar); Josh Leo, Barry Chance (acoustic & electric guitar); Doyle Grisham, Hank DeVito (steel guitar); Greg "Fingers" Taylor (harmonica); Michael Utley (piano, organ, synthesizer); Farrell Morris (vibes, percussion); Harry Dailey (bass); Norbert Putnam (synthesizer, bass); Matt "Matty Dread" Betton (drums, timbales); M.L. Benoit (congas); Deborah "Heather" McColl, Florence "Bambi" Warner, Christian Bachellier, David Loggins, Freddy Fishstick (background vocals). <p>Recorded at The Bennett House, Franklin, Tennessee from September to October 1981. <p>If most of Buffett's best albums have been musical evocations of tropical party times, SOMEWHERE OVER CHINA would seem to be the inevitable hangover; the songs, with few exceptions, reek of crankiness, nostalgia, and self-doubt, as can be readily seen from titles like "Where's the Party," "It's Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet" (Buffett's--no kidding--attempt at new wave), or "I Heard I Was in Town." The epic title tune, which recycles musical cliches of the "Chinatown, My Chinatown" variety, may be an exception, although its lyric is opaque to the point of impenetrability, so who knows? <p>"When Salome Plays the Drum," is an up-tempo Latin-tinged number in more typical Buffett style, and "Steamer" is a sentimental but obviously heartfelt love song. The album ends with a camped-up lounge lizard version of Frank Loesser's standard "On a Slow Boat to China," in which Buffett and his bandmates seem to having a thoroughly inebriated good time.

Oh, the album that doesn't spawn any greatest hits tracks...it tends to get skewed or dismissed... Also, the album that has nuance usually gets passed over by the surface dwellers. This album was the first album that I have ever bought by Jimmy Buffett lo those many years ago. And I have been cherishing it more with every listen.

The lyrics on this album are some of the most ingenious lyrics composed and the few songs that are of non-Buffett origin are classics. The music is the culprit for the dismissals of this album since it's such nice music that unless one stops and listens, one can get carried away with merely the nice musical breeze.

"I Heard I Was In Town", "Somewhere Over China", "Where's The Party?" are tops on my Buffett lists along with the real classics of '70s Buffett. "If I Could Get It On Paper", as one reviewer accurately observed is dead-on if you are a writer.

This is sort of a Magic Eye album... if you don't see the picture at first, keep looking and suddenly the genius will pop out.

Sales of new Buffett albums continued to slip with "Somewhere Over China" as nothing on this disc got much if any airplay and the album tanked at the cash register. It remains one those albums that many Buffett fans do not own. It is a pretty average album for Jimmy, but there are a few gems to be found on it. Al of the songs were written by Buffett except for the final two tracks "Steamer" and "Slow Boat To China". Of the originals highlights include ""Where's The Party" whose lyrics suggest that the party life may not be all its cracked up to be. "Its Midnight And I'm Not Famous Yet" may be one of the best songs about Las Vegas ever written, and rocks harder than Buffett normally does. The title track "Somewhere Over China" is another good one telling the story of a world weary traveler. "I Heard I Was In Town" is a great little country tune with clever lyrics. This album has a melancholy feel to a lot of it especially compared to the good time party tunes of many of Buffett's other works. It is one of Buffett's most overlooked albums, but worth owning if you are a fan.

I remember when this album first came out. Rolling Stone panned it and laughed at Jimmy Buffett for standing somewhere other than over China on the album cover. For me, this is one of the quieter and more thoughtful of Jimmy Buffett's albums. Let Rolling Stone have their lousy rap and hip-hop, I'll be happy to keep Jimmy Buffett.