I gave it 3 stars. Great Heart, Smart Woman, Bring Back the Magic, and That's What Living is to Me are the highlights of this allbum. I have only heard the Johnny Clegg version of Great Heart a handful of times. I think Buffett puts more energy into the song--especially his live versions. Johnny Clegg's version is a little too mellow and laid back for me. The coral reefer horns make this song come alive!

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I first heard of Johnny Clegg when he was in a band called Juluka. They had a minor hit back in the early 80s called "Scatterlings From Africa" so it was cool to see Buffett cover one of his tunes a few years later.

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Getting all excited finding nothing that was never there before is like bringing flowers to your Mama and tracking dog shit all over the floor
From "Cartoon Gold" by the Drive-By Truckers from the album Go-Go Boots

I found the Johnny Clegg version to be as upbeat as the JB version.

I only know of Jimmy's version.................

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"........ And you'll never know if it was an accident or not."

love this one - it's in regular rotation for me - it was one of the first besides SYKBH that got me hooked - mainly for 'that's what living is to me' which to this day remains my favorite. i cried when i heard it live in 2000.

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live a lie and you'll live to regret it
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Yeah, me too TDparrothead. Jimmy has introduced me to a lot of great artists.

However, I still hate this album. :)

For me, the good ones on this album are really good and then the bad ones are really bad.

King of Somewhere, Great Heart, That's What Living, and Smart Woman are all terrific. I hate My Baracuda, Baby's Gone Shopping, and Pre You

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Follow me on Twitter! @joshdmartin

I agree, Air M'Ville.

I agree too...............

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"........ And you'll never know if it was an accident or not."

I agree too. This album has about 5 songs I love to listen to and the rest I don't care for.

Homemade Music & Great Heart make Hot Water a good one.

I like about half the album so it gets 2 stars.

This album's got some good stuff, but for my taste it sounds too 80's-ish.

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Beer helps.

This LP is miles above Last Mango In Paris...

I've always liked this record but not all for the usual reasons. More so because it's considerably different than the previous few (fortunately) and also because he tackles some new/different styles and textures. Getting the Neville Brothers on this LP was a great move (along with the rest of what he did that was released on the box set). Bring Back The Magic is, as 'easy listening' as it is, is really nice. Pre-You is that sort of smoky jazz kind of thing that I certainly never expected to hear on a JB record. Baby's Gone Shoppin' is nice, with some of the Muscle Shoals players contributing throughout the record.

My Barracuda is excellent. L'Air de la Louisiane is brilliant. Prince Of Tides is good once the song actually kicks in. I get what he's saying etc but come on, cut that crap out and just give me the damn song. Smart Woman is good - and isn't it a play on a song with a similar title? I can't remember but it's supposedly something along those lines.

King Of Somewhere Hot is odd. It's one in a long line of songs he writes about himself in not a bragging way but perhaps too much of a wink and a nod. This might be the beginning of that kind of songwriting that has since escalated (Big Top, Cultural Infidel, Here We Are).

Great Heart reeks of that horrible mid 1980s production. Homeade Music too, even though somehow it's oddly an interesting song.

That's What Living To Me is a nice LP closer though - and a fantastic production - very simple and quasi old skool Jimmy Buffett. What is truly amazing is what happened a year later with the next record. Absolutely bizarre!

I actually really like the opening of "Prince of Tides" and think it brings a lot to the song.

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Getting all excited finding nothing that was never there before is like bringing flowers to your Mama and tracking dog shit all over the floor
From "Cartoon Gold" by the Drive-By Truckers from the album Go-Go Boots