Are you here? It’s The Paul Leslie Hour with a review of Jimmy Buffett’s second album High Cumberland Jubilee, sometimes called the “lost album.” In fact, it’s Buffett’s most obscure LP.
You’re going to hear not just from Paul, but also some clips from people connected to this record… There’s Travis Turk, the late Buzz Cason and Randy Goodrum.
After you watch this review, you may want to follow it with Paul’s review of Down to Earth, Buffett’s first album.
And now, we’re pleased to present the story of High Cumberland Jubilee!
It’s been called the lost album. That’s a pretty good description for High Cumberland Jubilee, the second album of Jimmy Buffett, and if you want to get technical (which let’s face it — we do): It’s actually the first album Buffett set out to make as an album, whereas Down to Earth was just a collection of songs that were recorded to be nothing more than demos.
What most people don’t know about High Cumberland Jubilee is that the songs on this album inspired Buffett and his pal, the journalist Gerry Wood, to write a screenplay loosely based on the lyrics. It never made the big screen, but this part of the story feels like classic Buffett.
The story goes that while on board a train, Buffett and Wood (who would go on to be the editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine) continued to write the script. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the script was handed off to an entertainment biz insider. That was the end of that.
You may be asking, “So, where is that script now?” Who knows? Maybe it will surface.
High Cumberland Jubilee was a concept album
What we do know is that High Cumberland Jubilee was produced by Travis Turk. What I didn’t know, though, is that it was recorded as a concept album. But rather than me explaining it, I’ll let Travis Turk tell you himself.
And what about the second album from Jimmy Buffett, High Cumberland Jubilee? You produced that as well.
“Yes, but that was recorded as an album. We actually had a concept in mind. Both Jimmy and Buzz Cason wrote most of the songs for the album. And so we recorded this concept album from beginning to end. In other words, it’s a storyline that begins with the first take all the way through.
I think it had 12 cuts on it all the way through the 12th cut, although it didn’t do very well. It has some really interesting stuff on it. You had to recall that in that time, in the late ’60s, early ’70s, this was the time of the Vietnam War, flower power, you know, the hippies. So that kind of was where we were.
And so Jimmy wrote about what he knew and that was all of that. So, a lot of the songs that he wrote about were about the war and why we shouldn’t be in Vietnam and the crazy LSD poppin’ kids and hippies and that kind of thing. And it revolved around that, although that wasn’t entirely this album, it did contain some of those elements.”*
The songs of High Cumberland Jubilee seldom made set lists
Having listened to the album several times, I still don’t completely grasp the storyline that unfolds from start to finish, but I do catch a lot of the recurring themes. High Cumberland Jubilee seems to center on the anonymous people you might encounter in your town—the ones who blend into the background but undoubtedly have stories of their own.
Few of these tracks saw much play from Buffett after his success, with the notable exception of “In the Shelter.” These songs remain some of Buffett’s most obscure. During the 1997 Havana Daydreamin’ tour, Buffett and his band played a game called “Stumpo El Bando” at every concert. The goal was to request a song from Buffett’s extensive catalog—one that he’d rarely, if ever performed—to stump the band. For many of these tracks, that was the only time they’d even be mentioned.
High Cumberland Jubilee was recorded in November 1970, not long after the tracks that would make up Down to Earth. The late Buzz Cason co-wrote about half of the album’s songs. Unfortunately, due to the poor sales of Buffett’s first release, the label supposedly “lost” this one. Buzz Cason even discussed the album in an interview, shedding more light on the story.
“And then later on we cut a second album when Travis and I had built a studio called Creative Workshop, which we still own. We cut High Cumberland Jubilee, but Barnaby Records did not release the second album. It came out later. Yeah, I liked Jimmy right in the beginning. We’re still friends.”
Cason and Buffett remained friends until the end, and continuity is a theme that runs through Buffett’s entire story.
Among the musicians who played on this album was the late Bobby Thompson, a banjo virtuoso who recorded with legends like Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. Also lending his talents was Randy Goodrum on keyboards. Goodrum’s life has been nothing short of fascinating—from playing in a jazz trio with Bill Clinton in his younger days to co-writing “Oh Sherrie” with Steve Perry. For Goodrum, many of his session work days are a bit of a blur.
“But I do remember doing that and was glad to have the work, but I was working, like, furiously at that particular time. Yeah, and Buzz was a great friend and producer and writer himself.
And one of Jimmy’s best friends, actually. Jimmy had a lot of friends in Nashville, a lot of really close friends in Nashville.”
It seems that while High Cumberland Jubilee may have been lost, Jimmy Buffett, the singer and artist, was never someone who could—or would—be forgotten.
The songs of High Cumberland Jubilee
When you listen to High Cumberland Jubilee, you might find it sounds closer to the folk-rock or country rock of that era than what you’d typically associate with Buffett’s music. Take a song like Bob Dylan’s Went to See the Gypsy, and you’ll get a sense of the musical trends that were undoubtedly influencing Buffett at the time. He was still in the process of becoming the Jimmy Buffett we know today.
Ace
The album opens with a personal portrait of a man who might otherwise be forgotten—“Ace.” He’s homeless and illiterate, yet seems deeply in touch with life’s true meaning. Despite not being a famous tune, “Ace” has strongly resonated with a few listeners.
One of them, George Anderson, commented that ‘Ace’ may be the most underrated song of Buffett’s catalog.” He went on to write, “Illiteracy and homelessness… neither defines you.”
Rockefeller Square
Next, we’re introduced to “Rockefeller Square,” co-written with Buzz Cason. In this song, we meet a character who comes from wealth but wants to appear impoverished to fit a certain image. He’s determined to keep the truth hidden.
While Rockefeller Square in Midtown Manhattan is typically associated with affluence, the lyrics borrow liberally from the 1800s folk song “Camptown Races” by Stephen Foster. This slice of Americana creates a sharp contrast, enriching the song’s theme of a person who may not be as they appear.
Bend a Little
“Bend a Little,” also co-written with Cason, is a kind of prayer for diplomacy. It serves as a reminder of the value of flexibility, and sonically, it carries a vibe reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Sometimes, we could all stand to bend a little.
In the Shelter
That takes us to “In the Shelter,” which, in my opinion, is one of Jimmy’s most tremendous songs to date. The plaintive melody and earnest delivery make it one of his saddest songs. If you listen closely to the words, you’ll realize it’s about someone so hopeless that they feel like ending it all.
“In the Shelter” is based on a real person. Her name was Jenny, and she was originally from Spokane, Washington. Buffett described her as his “first hippie girlfriend down in the French Quarter.” While she did make off with $200 of Buffett’s money, it seems she didn’t do anything drastic.
You can tell that the singer truly felt the pain of this girl, treating her with reverence. Buffett clearly thought a lot of “In the Shelter,” as he would go on to record two additional studio versions of the song. But, in my opinion, he never completely captured the magic of this first recording.
Death Valley Lives
“Death Valley Lives” is yet another geographic title, but it’s also a bona fide rock song that showcases Buffett’s love of wordplay. He’s always had a knack for juggling verbs, adverbs, and nouns, and this track features an atypical melody. Listen to “Death Valley Lives,” and I promise you won’t be able to get it out of your head.
Livingston’s Gone to Texas
I discussed “Livingston’s Gone to Texas” in a series about underrated Buffett songs of the 1970s, and it certainly deserves that label.
The song was inspired by musician Lanny Fiel and might have originally been titled “Lanny’s Gone to Texas.” Buffett told Bob Livingston, of Jerry Jeff Walker association, that his name “Livingston” was chosen solely for how it sounded.
It’s a great, though somber, story. The remarkable thing about it is the notion that your dream can also be the thing that breaks someone else’s heart. Buffett was dialed into that feeling.
What makes this song incredible is that there’s no villain, no hero—just life. There’s real pain captured in “Livingston’s Gone to Texas,” and maybe that’s why it rings so true to me. He almost never played it after the 1970s, except for one time in 2011—appropriately, in Texas.
England
Buffett has written about his love of geography, often reflecting on how he was struck by the bumper sticker, “Without geography, you’re no where.” If you look at the song titles on High Cumberland Jubilee, places already occupied a large part of Buffett’s thoughts. Take “England,” for example—it has a kind of Simon & Garfunkel feel to it, if you listen closely.
It’s a song about a woman’s departure, which, as we all know, is as time-tested a song subject as there ever was.
Travelin’ Clean
Then we come to “Travelin’ Clean,” a highly underrated song written with Lanny Fiel. It strikes me as something Arlo Guthrie would write. In fact, there’s a lot of Arlo in Buffett’s style.
Lanny talks a bit about co-writing the song.
I know the song that he wrote with you and it’s a really interesting song. It’s a clever song called ‘Traveling’ Clean,’ I’m curious do you remember writing that song with Jimmy Buffett?
I just remember on that occasion we were, we were in the studio. We worked together, Buzz Cason’s studio out in Berry Hill, that’s in Nashville. Kind of near Nashville
And we’re just hanging out. I was playing guitar, and we were sitting in there, and I mainly came up with the guitar chords and I guess some of the melody. So we sat down and just kind of wrote it together. He just kind of tossed it off, I guess. But I remember we did that together.”
“Travelin’ Clean” brings to mind a bit of the film Easy Rider, if the script had ventured to other locales. Travel and destinations are such a part of this album.
The Hangout Gang
“The Hangout Gang” tells a somewhat vulgar tale. It’s got it all: hippies, nudity, groupies —it’s got some real dirt on it. But apparently, it has real-life origins. “The Hangout Gang” was the nickname for the cast of musician misfits who hung around Cason’s recording studio. If you want a glimpse into Buffett and his crew during this time, this song may offer some clues.
God Don’t Own a Car
“God Don’t Own a Car” has a kind of childlike wonder to it, along with a lullaby-like quality. One night, after Buffett’s passing, I’ll admit it affected me. The line about reaching God’s home and walking among the stars struck me as coming from such an innocent imagination.
There aren’t many songs like this.
It prompted me to ask the song’s co-writer, Buzz Cason, about what it was like writing with Jimmy Buffett.
You wrote some songs with him—several on High Cumberland Jubilee. They’re really interesting songs They’re everything from kind of pensive to kind of funny like ‘God Don’t Own a Car,’ I was just playing that earlier. What is Jimmy Buffett like to write songs with?
“Oh, well, he’s sharp, you know, he’s a good writer, you know, give and take kind of guy,
you know, no, no, no, no stress writing with him and we had a lot of fun doing that.”
High Cumberland Jubilee/ Comin’ Down Slowly
The album closes with an ambitious, very surrealistic combination of two songs in one track: “High Cumberland Jubilee/Comin’ Down Slowly.”
Much like the release that came before it, the track drifts into a jam session, reminiscent of the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers Band.
I think Jimmy Buffett could have been any kind of recording artist he wanted to be. If Bela Fleck ever heard this, I’d expect it would intrigue him, and it might even make its way into one of his shows.
Cumberland High Dilemma
There’s another song from these recording sessions that is even more obscure than the rest.
“Cumberland High Dilemma” was recorded but not included in the first pressing. It seems adjacent to the song that ends the album.
You might realize that Cason and Buffett could have gone down in American music history as an avant-garde songwriting duo if they had kept at it. Buzz would go on to sing backup vocals on the more successful Buffett albums that were soon to become a reality, but as songwriting partners, that was the end of things.
Jimmy Buffett was “going to make it one way or the other”
Jimmy Buffett’s High Cumberland Jubilee didn’t set the world on fire, but that doesn’t mean the songs were weak. For those who cared to listen, there was something e.
Buzz Cason remarked about his initial impression of Buffett:
“So they sent a tape and I kind of liked it. He didn’t really have any hits per se, but he had, he had some good folk rock things. And I mean, I immediately like him when he came up. He’s just had a great personality and just had a drive about him.
He was, you could tell, he, he wasn’t going to give up. He was going to make it one way or the other, you know, although he was a square peg in a round hole here in Nashville, because he didn’t quite fit the mold of regular Nashville music, although I’ve always said he has a good country voice, you know, and he’s proven to be able to go country too over the years.”
Jimmy Buffett wasn’t going to give up, and his fortitude undoubtedly helped him get to where he needed to be. He had to leave these elevations for sea level. He would take that cleverness and begin crafting the persona that so many would become fascinated with. The intriguing singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett would reveal himself on A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, where he mastered the presentation of his two strongest suits: the absurd and the sentimental. Few have done both so well.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories and some of my thoughts on High Cumberland Jubilee. Did you catch the concept or theme that connects all of these songs? I’m all ears.
Thanks for listening. Until next time.
