Like so many other established recording artists, Jimmy Buffett has felt obliged to adopt current studio tricks in an attempt to get back on the radio, and Off to See the Lizard, his 16th studio album, produced by Elliot Scheiner, is full of synth pop arrangements with loud drums and icy keyboard parts, so that (theoretically) the tracks will sound to radio programmers like what's already on the radio, circa 1989.
Of course, this sort of audio facelift usually doesn't work in the short term or the long term, and it certainly doesn't here.
Five songs on the album share titles with short stories in Buffett's best-selling book Tales from Margaritaville, but they don't necessarily re-create those stories.
As usual, Buffett drops literary references, cites his love of sea and sand on the Gulf Coast, and praises the easy life ("I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever," which actually is a love song of sorts).
The commercial calculation of the album's sound seems to belie the studied casualness, but then Buffett has always worked hard to give the appearance of not working at all.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carnival WorldJimmy Buffett, Roger Guth, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | Take Another RoadJimmy Buffett, Roger Guth, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | That's My Story and I'm Stickin' to ItJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Why the Things We DoJimmy Buffett, Roger Guth, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Gravity StormJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | Off to See the LizardJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Boomerang LoveJimmy Buffett | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | Strange BirdJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | I Wish Lunch Could Last ForeverJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 10 | The Pascagoula RunJimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | Mermaid in the NightRoger Guth, Jay Oliver | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 12 | Changing ChannelsJimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 47 mins | 108 MB | |||||
| 47 mins | 288 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Buffett | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Diana Canova | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Sheryl Crow | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Frank Floyd | Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Robert Greenidge | Drums (Steel) |
| 6 | Roger Guth | Composer, Drums |
| 7 | Birch Johnson | Horn |
| 8 | Ralph MacDonald | Percussion |
| 9 | Lou Marini | Horn |
| 10 | Jim Mayer | Bass |
| 11 | Peter Mayer | Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Mac McAnally | Composer |
| 13 | Jay Oliver | Composer, Keyboards, Percussion |
| 14 | Alan Rubin | Horn |
| 15 | Elliot Scheiner | Engineer, Producer |
| 16 | Timothy B. Schmit | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Greg "Fingers" Taylor | Harmonica |
| 18 | Michael Utley | Organ |
| 19 | Mike Utley | Organ |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |