Barometer Soup

Barometer Soup
Studio album by Jimmy Buffett
Released	1 August 1995
Recorded	at Shrimpboat Sound, Key West, Florida
Genre	Rock/gulf and western
Label	MCA/Margaritaville Records MCAD-11247 (U.S., CD)
Producer	Russell Kunkel, Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett chronology
Fruitcakes 1994 Barometer Soup 1995 Banana Wind 1996

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Barometer Soup is the 20th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Released in August 1995, one year after Fruitcakes in May 1994, this album represented a return to his one-album-per-year writing and recording pace of the 70s and 80s.

History and reception

Following the release of Fruitcakes in the previous year, Buffett returned to songwriting and recorded the collection in Key West, Florida in January and February 1995.^[2] The album continued Buffett's album chart success begun with Fruitcakes and reached #6 on the Billboard 200.^[2] The album was also certified "Platinum" by the RIAA on 19 December 2004.

The first single from the album, "Mexico" reached #10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart but "Bank of Bad Habits," the second single, did not chart.

As usual, Buffett went on tour in the summer of 1995, although instead of basing it on the album, he called it the "Domino College Tour", after a song released on the box set three years prior; the song was co-written by Buffett and Dan Fogelberg.^[2] Songs from Barometer Soup still appeared regularly in the tour, including Don't Chu-Know, Diamond as Big as the Ritz, and Mexico. Less frequently on the tour were Jimmy Dreams, the title track, Bank Of Bad Habits, and The Night I Painted the Sky.^[3]

Songs

"Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is based on the short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Buffett regarded the song as his favorite on the album.^[2] "The Ballad of Skip Wiley" is based primarily on Carl Hiaasen's book Tourist Season (although it also references the character of Skink Tyree, who appeared not in Tourist Season, but in 5 other Hiaasen novels).^{[citation needed]} The final song on this album is a cover of James Taylor's song "Mexico". Buffett noted his appreciation for some cover songs, and regarding "Mexico", he said "I always loved that song... and it's a nice way to pay homage to your friends. I think the audience really likes it, too."^[2]

Track listing

All songs by Jimmy Buffett, Russ Kunkel, Jay Oliver, Roger Guth and Peter Mayer, except where noted.

1. "Barometer Soup" – 4:58
2. "Barefoot Children" – 4:54
3. "Bank of Bad Habits" – 3:53
4. "Remittance Man" – 5:59
5. "Diamond as Big as the Ritz" – 5:20
6. "Blue Heaven Rendezvous" – 4:01
7. "Jimmy Dreams" (Jimmy Buffett) – 3:39
8. "Lage Nom Ai" – 3:42
9. "Don't Chu-Know" – 3:48
10. "Ballad of Skip Wiley" – 4:33
11. "The Night I Painted the Sky" – 5:30
12. "Mexico" (James Taylor) – 4:06

Personnel

The Coral Reefer Band:

• Jimmy Buffett: Guitar and vocals
• Michael Utley: Keyboards
• Greg "Fingers" Taylor: Harmonica
• Robert Greenidge: Steel drums, percussion
• Roger Guth: Drums
• Peter Mayer: Guitars, vocals
• Jim Mayer: Bass, vocals
• Jay Oliver: Keyboards, programming
• Amy Lee: Saxophone
• Johnny Padilla: Saxophone
• John Lovell: Trumpet
• Thom Mitchell: Horns
• Michael Tschudin: Keyboards, Mallet Kat
• Ralph MacDonald: Percussion
• Background Singers: Claudia Cummings, Mary Harris, Nicolette Larson

References