“Barometer Soup” : a no skip album

Allow me to introduce myself: I am Brandon Patton, a senior History major who has an unhealthy obsession with the late singer/song writer, Jimmy Buffett, who made songs for wanna-be beach bums. Ever since the spring semester of my sophomore year, I have been slowly reviewing every one of his albums, and believe me, there are many. Check out the archives if you want to see the journey up to this point, there’s much to see. So, sit back and be prepared to see me in the paper frequently with my ramblings. Where we left off, I was in the middle of his 1995 album, Barometer Soup.

Ever read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Diamond As Big As The Ritz? Well that just so happens to be the inspiration of the Buffett song of the same name. A song with a loud yet mellow vibe, from the instrumentals to the vocals, the song speaks to the problems of human desire. Specifically, greed. If you can have everything, does it mean anything anymore? When you live every day in fascination of your wealth, the only question that you can ask is “who’s gonna save you when you’re a slave to the diamond as big as the Ritz?” It is best to not obsess over what you got, since “your own exaggeration is not so good for your health.” There are countless quotes I can pull from this song since it is quite meaningful, however I can best summarize it like this: don’t be greedy, decadent, selfish, and don’t think money can buy you happiness, because it truly will only bring upon you misery.

Jimmy Dreams is a biographical song, though it looks at Buffett’s life through his lens: at the end of the day, he is just a child trying to navigate a big world. It is a simple acoustic song which feels intimate. Almost like a reminder, he thinks of the moments when life is quiet, when he is alone, he just needs to “take it all in, it’s as big as it seems, count all your blessings, remember your dreams.” I love this song since it feels like Buffett is talking to himself, reminding himself of who he is and where he is from, a message we should all take after.

In stark contrast to the intimate song that came before, we move to the energetic story of the man who wants to leave it all behind with Lage Nom Ai. Nordstrom was a simple man whose past was full of lonely memories, but he is leaving it all behind, because he has a “non-conformist plan” to reinvent himself. It looks like this plan includes island hopping and tending bars, but most importantly, in the process he becomes the man who gave up his own name, as this is what lage nom ai roughly translates to. I must say this is among my favorite songs from Buffett, due in part to its overall energy, from its instrumentals to its vocals. It is an incredibly entertaining song, of which I couldn’t recommend more.

Don’t Chu-Know is a song with a fun atmosphere with lyrics that are largely playful; Buffett pokes fun at our human nature to do everything and make a name for ourselves, with him saying, “it’s all both been said and been done.” We all need to take a step back to just remember not to take this all too seriously since our lives, and the entirety of human nature, are quite repetitive. At the end of the day “we’re just recycled history machines, cavemen in faded blue jeans.” This is a fun song to listen to, especially in the outro when Buffett’s in his own words claims, “this song’s gone way too long; it’s getting out of control. Oh my god, she’s heading for the alfalfa again!” He sometimes loses the plot.

The Night I Painted the Sky is where we see Buffett somehow turn lighting fireworks at the beach on the Fourth of July into a slower, introspective ballad. The song itself sounds very intentional and melodic, and I overall enjoy the progression of the song and its buildup for the final chorus.

I’ve followed the general progression of the album for this review, with only slight deviations from the order of the songs, and this brings us to our final one, Mexico. A cover of the 1975 James Taylor song, a soft rock classic in itself; Buffett gives it his own personal spin where we start slow and then speed up. The song can effortlessly get you pumped with its general atmosphere and imagery. The outro is where this song really shines, especially in the context of the album. Buffett really goes off in the outro, just yapping, but it feels like a resolution, as he talks about loading his boat and heading south. In describing the voyage to Mexico, he makes references to over half of the songs on the album, providing a sense of resolution. It’s just fun hearing the callbacks to Nordstrom cooking up some barometer soups, or Skip Wiley causing trouble again down in Mexico. Buffett even references Frank Bama, a character from his book Where’s Joe Merchant, however that’s a story for another day.

That’s the album, a no skip album, much like Fruitcakes before it. I hope this was a nice introduction to what I am doing here in the paper. There’s a lot more to come, lucky for you. But I hope the beginning of the school year is treating you fine. If for whatever reason you feel the blues, I suggest you go for a walk and discover beautiful migrating birds. Be careful though, something unseasonably sweet might be in the air: look out for when the Banana Wind comes blowing past you.