Customer Reviews

Riddles in the Sand

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is not often that the Peter Pan goodtime songsmith displays a more serious and realistic bent in his songwriting collections..but this was such an occasion.We all know and love the songs by heart....but this was a mixture of country influenced,calypso Gulf stream beats with some lyrics that were conveying that even Jimmy can have personal downs and that the *Wild Life Can Betray You*and Jimmys right hand woman was *Going Out Of his Life*. This ranks amongst my favoutite JB collections,it is personal and Jimmy shows a sensitive grasp of the world as well as mixing it with his usual dose of insanity that shows us all that the world shouldnt really be taken that seriously after all. This does not immediately lend itself to the blind devoted parrothead,because quite frankly Jimmy could just about do anything and they would find it amazing.If you have some experience in life and have followed him since Before The Beach ,days this is a must have.What has made Buffett so entertaining and such a survivor,is his ability to truely capture a moment and write witty humorous *life* songs.He has done this in spades here. The standouts on here,are *Come To The Moon*,*Rag top Day*and the beautiful,*When The Wild Life Betrays Me* and *Down On the Knees Of My Heart*and *Shes Going Out Of My Mind*.If you are a parrothead put the CD in perspective by realizing he was having marital problems at this time..he is very much human!!!This is just as personal and perceptive of life as *Coconut Telegraph*. As with every review of a JB CD ,everyone has a different opinion and his music effects everyone differently..I love this CD,I will always play it..I think Jimmy achieved his goal...buy it and maybe it will work for you to..5 stars from the master court jester....with the human touch.

I can give this 5 stars just based on the fact that Buffett's best song ever, "La Vie Dansante," is on it. I was a pretty decent Buffett fan for quite a few years when I first heard this song and it knocked me on my Parrothead. "La Vie..." shows that Jimmy is an excellent songwriter...and can go a lot deeper than something on the level of, say, "Cheeseburger In Paradise" or "Why Don't We Get Drunk."

Also included are other gems like "Knees Of My Heart" (a concert favorite!), "Come To The Moon," "Who's The Blonde Stranger?," "Burn That Bridge," and the wonderful "Rag Top Day." This is an excellent CD start to finish...very enjoyable indeed.

And by the way...don't forget to follow "La Vie Dansante"...your feets (and your heart) will thank you!

Jimmy takes you on a fantastic ride with a convertable on Ragtop Day. Come to the Moon is a great song. From cover to cover this is a greatly under-rated album. I bought it not knowing any of the songs and now consider it a gem.

I must confess " I am a parrothead ". For those who aren't aware, Parrotheads are religiously loyal and devote Jimmy Buffett fans, so my review maybe a bit biased. I definetly recommend all of Jimmys work but some albums stick out a little more than others. This is one of his earlier ones for me. I can't really explain why I just know I get excited when I come across it in my CD collection.

I was in college in 1988 and I had heard of Jimmy Buffett, My roommate went to Cancun for Spring Break and brought back a tape of Songs You Know by Heart, I listened and quickly got hooked. I had to hear more. I started to look at Jimmy's albums in the store and read the song titles. This was the first one I picked up, the titles intrigued me. I played it on my way home and it made me a Parrothead for life. This album has a bit of everything. This is for the True Parrotheads!

As a long time JB fan, I have determined that there are 2 types of people who like Buffett: those who know the 20 or so songs that have become synonomous with the "Parrothead" shtick and those who are True Jimmy Buffett Fans (TJBF), who own most if not all of his albums and know his songs by heart. The TJBF folks are not the ones who dress up like sharks and clowns for the concerts, instead they are sipping a Corona in the first few rows hoping to hear an obscure gem amongst the obigatory "why don't we get drunk" song list. "Riddles" is an album for the TJBF contingent. The songs are Buffett at his best: La Vie Dansante, Ragtop Day, Knees of My Heart, Bigger than the Both of Us, Come to the Moon. All gems that can be listened to over and over again.

I'd say this is Jimmy's most contemplative album. Songs like "When the wild life betrays me", "She's going out of my mind" and "Bigger than the both of us" seem to reflect a time when maybe life wasn't the beach party we assume always surrounds him. On the other hand, "Knees of my heart" is a bubbly, light-hearted and fun song; one of my favorites. I love this album. It's one of my favorites. Aren't they all though. WORTH THE BUY!!!

Once again, Jimmy has wowed me with yet another great album! I just attended a concert of his for the first time and he is amazing! He is such a gifted artist and he proves it with this album as well as all of his others.

This recording is definitely on the upbeat side especially in musical tone. Country and calypso styles dominate this record and the lyrics are quite catchy. Who's The Blonde Stranger has some especially catchy lyrics and Rag Top Days rocks quite nicely. Maybe not quite the first record you buy from Mr. Parott Head but one that is always quite pleasing.

Happy to say I'm passin' the legend of the parrothead phenomena down to my children ages 4 and 1 year... they bop to the songs on this tape and dance around the living room! Thank goodness they don't understand the content!