Although Jimmy Buffett has written story-songs before, he prefaces an interest in writing real fiction in his songs on Somewhere Over China, and he shows himself with book in hand on the back cover, printing a quote from William Faulkner below it.
"If I Could Just Get It on Paper" reflects this ambition, but also acknowledges how hard that is to do.
Buffett also aspires to travel, as ever, and even farther than in the past, not only to China, as the title song reveals, but even into space.
That said, returning is still a big issue for the author of "Come Monday," who is no longer struggling with getting back from the road to a loved one, but instead is sneaking back home and wandering around like a ghost in "I Heard I Was in Town." Like all of his post-"Margaritaville" output, Somewhere Over China is an uneven collection with a few good songs that confirm Buffett's talent as a songwriter remains when he chooses to exercise it and not just settle for something he or one of his backup bandmembers comes up with on the fly.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where's the PartyJimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman, Bill LaBounty | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | It's Midnight and I'm Not Famous YetJimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | I Heard I Was in TownJimmy Buffett, Michael Utley | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Somewhere Over ChinaJimmy Buffett | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 05:25 | 12 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | When Salome Plays the DrumJimmy Buffett | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | Lip ServiceJimmy Buffett, Michael Utley | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | If I Could Just Get It on PaperJimmy Buffett | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | SteamerJohn Scott Sherrill | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | On a Slow Boat to ChinaFrank Loesser | Jimmy Buffett | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 35 mins | 81 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 207 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Bacchellier | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Matt Betton | Drums, Timbales |
| 3 | Jimmy Buffett | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 4 | Barry Chance | Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 5 | Coral Reefer Band | Band |
| 6 | Harry Dailey | Bass |
| 7 | Hank DeVito | Guitar (Steel), Pedal Steel |
| 8 | Freddy Fishstick | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Steve Goodman | Composer |
| 10 | Doyle Grisham | Guitar (Steel), Pedal Steel |
| 11 | Danny Hilley | Engineer |
| 12 | Bill LaBounty | Composer |
| 13 | Kyle Lehning | Engineer |
| 14 | Josh Leo | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 15 | Frank Loesser | Composer |
| 16 | Dave Loggins | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Debbie McCall | Vocals |
| 18 | Deborah McColl | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Farrell Morris | Percussion, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Norbert Putnam | Bass, Bass (Upright), Casio, Producer |
| 21 | Elliot Scheiner | Engineer, Remixing |
| 22 | John Scott Sherrill | Composer |
| 23 | Greg "Fingers" Taylor | Harmonica |
| 24 | Michael Utley | Composer, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer |
| 25 | Mike Utley | Keyboards |
| 26 | Florence Warner | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 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). |