Customer Reviews

The Parrot Head Companion: An Insider's Guide to Jimmy Buffett

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Stay away, all Parrotheads! This book should be called "An intruder's guide to Jimmy Buffett," not "An insider's guide to Jimmy Buffett"! Mr. Ryan is writing this book upon assignment, not because he is a fan of Buffett's, and this is quite obvious. Although he states by the end of the book, he has become a Buffett fan, his review of both Buffett's music and the Parrotheads as a whole is amateurish and insulting. He portrays the Parrotheads as a nameless, faceless group with nothing better to do with their lives than get drunk and wear Hawaiian shirts. His book ends with an encounter with Jimmy Buffett, in which Buffett becomes angered at the thought of Mr. Ryan writing a book about him. Although he couldn't have known it at the time, Buffett's reaction was quite appropriate!

The Parrot Head Companion's title is really a misnomer as the book is for people who are more casual fans of Jimmy Buffett, but not the devotees that real parrot heads are. Thomas Ryan advises that he was not a big Jimmy Buffett fan before he started writing the book, but grew to become one. The book reviews all of Mr. Buffett's albums and you get an honest take from the author. If you have never been to Jimmy Buffett concert, you get a feel of what it's like to be there. The book is quick and easy to read as you can skip around the chapters. Hardcore parrot heads may be put off by the book, but if you area fan of Mr. Buffett, this is nice book to have on yourself.

Thomas Ryan has attempted to become an "insider" with this book, but it is obvious that he is writing this as an assignment and not a passion. Ryan does, however, present some basic Buffett facts, but his evaluation of Buffett's music is exactly that-HIS EVALUATION.

Although I would not recommend this book to someone not already familiar with Jimmy's music, I would heartily suggest it to anyone already in the fold (the exception to this being the section on spending a wild weekend with concert-goers, which I think would be entertaining and accessible to anyone, fan or not).

Despite disagreeing with the author on almost every conclusion he draws regarding the music itself, I feel he at least makes a conscientious, objective effort to analyze an artist he admittedly was unfamiliar with. Seems his heart was in the right place, and he gets points for that, given that we Parrotheads can be a tad defensive concerning our patron saint!

Overall, a fun, light read that gives a good critique of his catalog, some interesting trivia, and a nice angle on the man himself.

I'm extremely surprised to see the negative reviews below. Although I agree somewhat with most of the comments, the overall reviews of this book are unfair and almost bordering on mean and nasty.

I'll agree that the writer has his opinions about the albums, but a simple pinch on the arm and personal reality check by any Parrot Head will reveal that each has his or her own opinion too. I don't have any problem reading this authors opinions, especially since he backs up what he is talking about with explanations. And his opinions aren't off-base at all; actually they're quite accurate and on-target.

I've noticed that some Parrot Heads are afraid to say anything critical of Jimmy's music, even though some albums are lower in quality than others. Fans of any music should be free to point out these things without fear of anger or reprisal. I value this author's openminded and fair approach to the reviews. He neither slams albums nor worships them as some kind of sacred objects. I genuinely feel that Jimmy could read this and not be bothered, but would probably smile and even nod his head.

Really, this is an interesting book, covering basically all aspects of Jimmy's life and music, since his birth, through the release of Banana Wind. Any Parrot Head should find interesting and useful information here. There is much information beyond the album reviews.

I guess if you're narrowminded, or easily offended, you aren't mature enough for this book. Everyone else though should get it. The reader may have started out with little familiarity of Buffett, but it's clear he spent a lot of time researching Jimmy, and ended up getting a great perspective on what he and his music are all about. Well worth the money.

This book has a terrible title. First of all, it is not a "Companion." I'm sure Ryan is a nice guy, but I found myself cringing at his insight. Second of all, the guy went to 2 Jimmy Buffett concerts. Many of us do that in year. How is he an "insider"?

I hate to be negative, but this book is awful. The only interesting chapter is the very last one where we get to see a confrontation with Marvin Gardens himself! All that Thomas Ryan does in this book is review all of his albums. WELL! Let people listen for themselves. Sorry Thomas, this book was not something you should have taken on.

I just wanted to tell the author, Tom Ryan, how much I enjoyed this book. I agreed with him on most of the reviews of the Buffett songs, but mostly I enjoyed the last part of the book where he went to the Buffett concerts and converted to Parrot Headism! I believe he pretty well captured the essence of our love for Jimmy Buffett and his music. I only wish I could get 2nd row seats!

Regardless of what Ryan claims the book only scratches the surface of both fans and Buffett. Ryan has a tendency to make snap judgements about Buffett fans, band members, and Buffett himself. It quickly becomes obvious that he is an outsider looking in as opposed to a true "insider" as the title suggests. His admission to not being a real parrothead suggest that perhaps the book was written more with a profit margin in mind rather than any real attempt to explain the parrothead mentality. What is more, it does little to shed light on anything new about Jimmy. It just gives us one more opinion about Jimmy and Parrotheads. And we all know what opinions are like.

I got this book from a well meaning spouse for Christmas 2005. I have been a Parrot Head for the last 7 years. I did not like this book. The only part of this book that I found worth reading was the part after each album's review, the author wrote a few paragraphs about what was going on in Jimmy's life or with the record companies at the time that the album was recorded and released. I found the historical background interesting. The second part of the book was devoted to reviewing the books that Jimmy has written. The reviews were way to long and to me, seem self serving. Other than that, not worth your time.

It looks like ryan just swiped all of his stuff from the various chat rooms on the internet. Nothing new or intersting is forthcoming in the book.