Volcano (Jimmy Buffett album)

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Volcano
Volcano (Jimmy Buffet album).jpg
Studio album by
Jimmy Buffett
ReleasedAugust 1, 1979 (LP)
October 10, 1988 (CD)
RecordedMay 1979
Studio AIR Studios
Genre
Length33:37
Label MCA
MCA-5102 (US, 12", LP)
MCAD-1657 (CD)
Producer Norbert Putnam
Jimmy Buffett chronology
Son of a Son of a Sailor
(1978)		Volcano
(1979)		 Coconut Telegraph
(1981)

Volcano is the ninth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and is his 11th overall. It was released on August 1, 1979, as his first album for MCA after its absorption of ABC Dunhill.

Contents

The album and its title song are named for the then-dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies where Buffett recorded the album in May 1979 at AIR Studios in Salem. [1] The studio was severely damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and damaged even further after Soufrière Hills erupted again in 1995. Additional recording was done at Quadrafonic Studios in Nashville Tennessee and Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California in the United States. The album is dedicated to Buffett's wife and his daughter, Savannah Jane Buffett, who was born just before its release.

Songs

All of the songs are written or co-written by Buffett.

Chart performance

Volcano reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number 13 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Three singles from the album charted including "Fins" (number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100; number 42 Adult Contemporary), "Volcano" (number 66 Hot 100; number 43 Adult Contemporary), and "Survive" (number 77 Hot 100).

In the United Kingdom, "Chanson pour les petits enfants" was released as a single for Christmas 1979. It did not chart officially, but peaked at number 86 in the Record Business magazine chart in Christmas week [2] and became an enduringly popular song on BBC Radio 2 in a country where Buffett had very little success.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Although the album generated three songs, "Fins", "Volcano", and "Boat Drinks", that were popular in concert and performed frequently, critical reception was less positive. AllMusic reviewer Vik Iyengar posits that "this album marks a low point for Jimmy Buffett in a decade in which he delivered one solid album after another." [3]

Record World called the single "Survive" a "powerful ballad about long distance love." [6]

Track listing

Side 1:

  1. "Fins" (Jimmy Buffett, Deborah McColl, Barry Chance, Tom Corcoran) – 3:27
  2. "Volcano" (Jimmy Buffett, Keith Sykes, Harry Dailey) – 3:37
  3. "Treat Her Like a Lady" (Jimmy Buffett, David Loggins) – 4:18
  4. "Stranded on a Sandbar" (Jimmy Buffett) – 3:08
  5. "Chanson Pour Les Petits Enfants" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:01

Side 2:

  1. "Survive" (Jimmy Buffett, Mike Utley) – 4:50
  2. "Lady I Can't Explain" (Jimmy Buffett) – 2:42
  3. "Boat Drinks" (Jimmy Buffett) – 2:37
  4. "Dreamsicle" (Jimmy Buffett) – 2:18
  5. "Sending the Old Man Home" (Jimmy Buffett) – 3:23

Cassette pressings of the album have "Volcano" and "Dreamsicle" swapped in track order.

The running times listed for "Treat Her Like a Lady" and "Survive" on LP and CD pressings are incorrect. They are listed at 3:55 and 4:29, respectively.

Personnel

The Coral Reefer Band:

Singles

Tour

Buffett set out on a You Had to Be There Tour from February through April 1979, stopping in May to record Volcano. The remainder of the year Buffett toured in support of the album. One of these concerts was Buffett’s first trip to Hawaii, opening for the Eagles in Aloha Stadium in September. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ hoggatt, matt (October 16, 2019). "Behind the Song: Jimmy Buffett, "Volcano"". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  2. ↑ Superpop magazine, January 12, 1980
  3. 1 2 Vik Iyengar. "Volcano – Jimmy Buffett | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 22, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 95.
  6. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 8, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  7. ↑ "1979 Volcano Tour Dates » Jimmy Buffett World". Buffettworld.com. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
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