A-1-A & Buffett Hotel (December releases)

[HavanaMatt]

A-1-A
The 5th album, was initially released in December 1974. This album is named for the Florida State Road 'A1A' that
runs mostly along the Atlantic Ocean and is the main road through most oceanfront towns. It is also referenced in
the song "Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season". The album's original back cover is a photograph of a section of
A1A.
The songs were all written by Buffett except for "Door Number Three", and theirs also a couple cover tunes,
"Stories We Could Tell" and "Making Music for Money".


Buffett Hotel
The 26th album by Buffett, released on December 8, 2009. It's the follow-up to Take The Weather with You.
This album name comes from a building in Bamako, Mali, which Buffett visited during the Festival au Désert.

[HurricaneSeason]

I got inspired by the historic monthly releases started to work on something for December Releases and got sidetracked! I think I'll add it. If I can find it.

[HurricaneSeason]

A1A
Possibly recorded before his 6 live dates started in August of 1974, the first of which were on a weekend in Chicago on August 16th and 17th, A1A was recorded at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN (Living And Dying In 3/4 Time was recorded there as well). He also may have recorded the album between August 18th and August 27th since he was in Richmond, KY on the 28th before going to Jackson, MS the 29th, Austin, TX the 30th and Nacogdoches, TX on the 31st.

A1A, produced by Don Gant, who produced Buffett's ABC/Dunhill albums from A White Sport Coat to Havaña Daydreamin, is perhaps the defining sound of Jimmy Buffett. Although he would go on to mature vocally on his biggest album of the 1970s, Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, A1A is the king in his discography. It was also his second album of 1974, a quick follow up to Living And Dying In 3/4 Time, suggested by some that ABC/Dunhill Records wanted to capitalize on the success of Come Monday, although 3/4 Time was recorded in October of 1973 and released in February 1974 and A1A in December. Seeing that Jimmy didn't spend months on end recording albums, he probably wasn't too concerned about it.

Buffett clearly had songs for A1A written by the time 3/4 Time was titled since Nautical Wheelers includes that album's title in its chorus, something that solidifies his Key West era of songwriting: Buffett was probably bursting at the seams with songs.

A Pirate Looks At Forty would go on to become one of his biggest songs for his fans and become part of the Songs Jimmy Must Play Or Die core of greatest hits. Buffett had a knack for using some progressions over and over (compare Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season with Cuban Crime Of Passion or CILCIA among others) and as well as certain rhythms (the excellent Migration is an obvious beefed up reincarnation of The Wino And I Know).

A1A is considered Buffett's best album by many pre-Parrothead fans and is one of a small number of albums that doesn't have a bad track on it.