Equal Strain On All Parts

Jimmy Buffett

Released on 03-11-2023 by Sun Records
Main artists: Jimmy Buffett
Genre: Rock

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You have to wonder if Jimmy Buffett, who died a month before the release of his 32nd studio album, was aware it would be his last. "Bubbles Up" takes its name from the advice given to sailors in the event of a capsized boat: Follow the bubbles up to the surface. Buffett turns the gentle, soft-sand ballad into a message about survival but also, perhaps, embracing whatever comes next. "Bubbles up/ They will point you towards home … They will show you the surface, the plot and the purpose," he sings. "So, when the journеy gets long/ Just know that you are loved/ Thеre is light up above/ And the joy is always enough." Indeed, the whole album is a big embrace of life and its joys—small and defining, personal and universal. Accompanied by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with glorious piano rolls and the brightest horns, Buffett recalls going to college to make his parents happy before moving on to a "po' boy Master's degree" in good-timing New Orleans on the opening track: "Then I danced out of Mississippi to the University of Bourbon Street," he sings, name-checking the Neville Brothers, Jean Lafitte, and Central Grocery. "My Gummie Just Kicked In" is a rockabilly-on-the-beach goof, liquified by steel drum from Robert Greenidge, inspired by Paul McCartney's wife Nancy Shevell and featuring Macca himself on bass. Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, who sound great here, adopt a jaunty flamenco feel for "Audience of One," which finds the superstar knowing his need for adulation, no matter if it's from a single person—or his dog: "No trepidation/ My motivation/ Is a standing ovation/ From a wagging tail." Bluegrass delight "Close Calls" sounds like Buffett having the time of his life—and being grateful for it. "Brick walls, big falls, lucky just to be alive," he sings. "I will survive." He duets with Angelique Kidjo on "Ti Punch Café" and Canadian country folk artist Lennie Gallant on "Portugal or PEI"; the latter also co-wrote "Johnny's Rhum," a fiddle country tribute to the late Johnny Hallyday ("You were more than just the French Elvis"). Emmylou Harris, clear as a silver bell, joins in for a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mozambique." And Buffett takes a long-lens look back on the title ballad, applying wisdom passed down from his sailor grandfather to beach-bum happiness, swearing that a hammock can solve many ills: "It'll ease the pain/ On backs and brains and hearts/ It's a solid thing to wish for/ It's the wrong thing to forget." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Equal Strain On All Parts

Jimmy Buffett

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University Of Bourbon Street

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Preservation Hall Jazz Band, FeaturedArtist - Will Kimbrough, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Buffett, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - MAC MCANALLY, Producer - Michael Utley, Producer