Buffett chills with a country twang

When people pull a Jimmy Buffett record off the shelf, a lot of them expect his Margarita-drinking, beach-partying, Hawaiian shirt-wearing, Key West-traveling image. \nBut the real Parrotheads -- the die-hard fans that have been with Buffett from the beginning -- know that he also has a folk side. Pull A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean off the shelf sometime. Songs like "Why Don't We Get Drunk," "Peanut Butter Conspiracy" and "I Have Found Me a Home" have a definite country twang.\nThat country twang is back in Buffett's newest album, License to Chill. \nInstead of picturing a guy in a Hawaiian shirt, drinking a pina colada, songs off License to Chill will bring to mind a man wearing a cowboy hat, strumming a guitar on the beach in Alabama -- down-to-earth, laid-back and decidedly country. In fact, Buffett teams up with numerous country stars, including Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, George Strait and Martina McBride on this CD.\nLicense to Chill is a great album that recalls some of the earliest material that Buffett released. It has a great mixture of folk rock tunes, ridiculously fun songs, as well as heartfelt ballads. The album beautifully blends Buffett's folk roots with a twinge of his rowdier persona from more recent years into a wonderful, fresh album.