Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Nashville Jimmy July 11, 2000
Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This cd is basically Jimmy Buffett's first two albums, Down To Earth & High Cumberland Jubilee, combined together. The only omission is Mr. Buffett's first single, "The Christian?", which was on Down To Earth. The songs were recorded before he had ever been to Key West and they do not contain any of the Carribean flavor that his later recordings would have. The songs are written mostly in the country-rock vein. There is no mention of later Buffett themes like sailing, the beach or partying. The album gets stronger as it plays on and it shows the progress Mr. Buffett was making as a performer. The songs that were originally on his second album are better than ones on the first and you can hear how Mr. Buffett's writing was improving and getting stronger. The better songs include "Death Valley Lives", "Ace", "Rockerfeller Square", "Bend A Little" and "In The Shelter" as well as two songs that would be rerecorded on later albums, the pretty and touching "The Captain & The Kid" and "Livingston's Gone To Texas". The cd is uneven at times, but it is worth a listen to hear a young Jimmy Buffett before he became the King of the Parrotheads.
 Recycled Jimmy September 19, 2001
Travis K. Hutson (Raleigh, NC United States)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am a huge "Parrothead." I own every Jimmy album that's been released, which is about 30. I even own this one, but this is a recycled version of Jimmy's first 2 albums -- Down To Earth and High Cumberland Jubilee. Basically they stuck almost all of the songs from those 2 albums on this one. Furthermore, it's country. It's not Jimmy's normal stuff. Even Jimmy doesn't like this stuff. He said so in his book "A Pirate Looks at 50." This is titled "Before the Beach" because it's the music Jimmy was making before he went on his first trip to Key West. At that point he metamorphosized into the Jimmy we know and love today. Again, I say this is COUNTRY -- not Jimmy's brand of music.
Jimmy's searching spirit October 24, 2000
Karl Hickel (Anchorage, Alaska USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the core of jimmy b. trying to figure and reason with the lifestyles and morality plays of people around him; with his catholic upbringing and free thinking good hearted enthusiasm for the spirit, he reveals himself. This recording has a great folksy sound. It sounds American
Early Stuff that shows Jimmy's Roots July 30, 1999
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A must have for the Parrothead that enjoys Jimmy's Nashville sound. Easy to tell Jimmy had not been influenced by Key West yet. Sounds very Jerry Jeff Walker, or David Allen Coe like. (Both of those singers also went to Key West and changed music styles). This CD is a change up for any Parrothead Party or for a lazy weekend.
Jimmy's Authorized Edition, But Not Complete June 4, 2009
Bill Anthony (North Texas United States)
This was the first CD release of this material, back in 1993, on Jimmy's Margaritaville label (distributed by MCA). It has the DOWN TO EARTH and HIGH CUMBERLAND JUBILEE albums, but is missing "The Christian?" and "Ain't He A Genius" from the first album, and is also missing the song "Richard Frost" (the b-side of "The Christian?") which has been included on many CD versions of this material, as well as the late 70's double-LP called "Before The Salt" on Barnaby.
Two nice features of this release are the complete lyrics in the booklet and Jimmy's liner notes, which are only available on this official release.
Varese Vintage re-released these 2 albums in 1998 with original artwork and complete tracklisting and bonus tracks (on 2 seperate CD's), which is a far superior presentation. You can also get the 2 complete albums on 1 CD from Collectables (without the 2 bonus tracks) titled simply "Down To Earth/High Cumberland Jubilee" released in 2005.
These recordings aren't "country" as some reviewers have said, but are definitely folk-oriented, with some Nashville, New Orleans, and Gulf-Coast thrown in the mix. A year later, with the album "A White Sport Coat..." Jimmy did leap forward into a newer style with tracks like "Cuban Crime of Passion", "Grapefruit Juicy-Fruit" and " Why Don't We Get Drunk", all leading eventually to Margaritaville, One Particular Harbour, etc etc. - 40 years of great music, and this was the beginning. Outstanding tunes are Ellis Dee, The Captain And The Kid, Turnabout, Ace, Bend A Little, In The Shelter, God Don't Own A Car, and Livingston's Gone To Texas (which has an extra verse not used when JB re-recorded it for ABC in 1974). Fans also need "The Christian?" with these early recordings, so go for the aforementioned CD re-issues from 1998 and 2005.
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