A1A (album)

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For the Florida state road, see Florida State Road A1A.
A1A
A1A Front Cover.jpg
Studio album by Jimmy Buffett
Released December 1974
Genre Gulf and Western, country
Length 39:15
Label Dunhill
Producer Don Gant
Jimmy Buffett chronology
Living & Dying in 3/4 Time
(1974)String Module Error: Match not found1974		 A1A
(1974)		 Rancho Deluxe (soundtrack)
(1975)String Module Error: Match not found1975

A1A or A-1-A[1] is the fifth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and the third major label album in Buffett's Don Gant-produced "Key West phase." It was initially released in December 1974 as Dunhill DS-50183 and later re-released on Dunhill's successor labels ABC and MCA.

The album is named for 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.

Chart performance

The album reached No. 25 on the Billboard 200 album chart but did not make the country chart. Singles included "Presents to Send You" (b/w "A Pirate Looks at Forty") released in February 1975 and "Door Number Three" (b/w "Dallas") in July 1975 which reached No. 88 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Songs

The songs were all written by Buffett except for "Door Number Three," a novelty song about the game show Let's Make a Deal co-written with Steve Goodman, and "Dallas", written by Coral Reefer Band guitarist Roger Bartlett. There are also two cover songs: "Stories We Could Tell" from John Sebastian's 1974 album Tarzana Kid and "Making Music for Money" originally written by Alex Harvey for The First Edition's 1974 album I'm Not Making Music For Money.

The album's songs are typical of Buffett's music in the early and mid-1970s. The music is heavily country oriented with Buffett backed by the Third Coral Reefer Band with a number of Nashville session musicians. Likewise, several of the songs (the entire second side of the album) are nautical-themed, a feature of Buffett's music following his move to Key West, Florida.

¾ time

The lyrics of "Nautical Wheelers" refer to "living & dying in ¾ time", the title of Buffett's previous album; and the song actually is in ¾ time signature.

Critical and commercial reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[2]

Although it was not extremely commercially successful at the time of its release, A1A is generally considered one of Buffett's better albums. Reviewer Vik Iyengar of Allmusic calls A1A "one of Jimmy Buffett's classic '70s albums that established his persona, and it is a perfect introduction to his music."[3] "A Pirate Looks at Forty" from the album appears on all of Buffett's major greatest hits collections and is a perennial concert favorite, one of "The Big 8" that he has played at almost every concert.

Track listing

Side A

  1. "Making Music for Money" (Alex Harvey) 4:01
  2. "Door Number Three" (Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman) 3:03
  3. "Dallas" (Roger Bartlett) 3:25
  4. "Presents to Send You" (Jimmy Buffett) 2:40
  5. "Stories We Could Tell" (John B. Sebastian) 3:18
  6. "Life Is Just a Tire Swing" (Jimmy Buffett) 3:04

Side B

  1. "A Pirate Looks at Forty" (Jimmy Buffett) 3:57
  2. "Migration" (Jimmy Buffett) 4:13
  3. "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season" (Jimmy Buffett) 4:21
  4. "Nautical Wheelers" (Jimmy Buffett) 3:35
  5. "Tin Cup Chalice" (Jimmy Buffett) 3:38

Personnel

The Third Coral Reefer Band

Notes

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2915
  3. ↑ Allmusic review by Vik Iyengar. Accessed 25 September 2007.
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