License to Chill

1	Hey Good Lookin' / Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, and George Strait
2	Boats to Build / Alan Jackson
3	License to Chill / Kenny Chesney
4	Coast of Carolina
5	Piece of Work / Toby Keith
6	Anything, Anytime, Anywhere
7	Trip Around the Sun / Martina McBride
8	Simply Complicated
9	Coastal Confessions
10	Sea of Heartbreak / George Strait
11	Conky Tonkin' / Clint Black
12	Playin' the Loser Again / Bill Withers
13	Window on the World
14	Someone I Used to Love / Nanci Griffith
15	Scarlet Begonias
16	Back to the Island

Barnes & Noble

Much is going to be made of the big-name duets and guest shots on Jimmy Buffett's engaging License to Chill, and rightly so. A swinging take on Hank Williams's "Hey Good Looking" gives a rousing turn not only to Buffett but also to his buddies Clint Black, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait. All of these guests return for duets with Buffett, the standouts being a lilting, tropical version -- complete with steel drums and Jackson on board -- of Guy Clark's "Boats to Build"; the rocking title track with Chesney; and an atmospheric, moody rendition of Don Gibson's classic "Sea of Heartbreak," with Strait, that supplants Gibson's intense desperation with a resigned acceptance of fate's moving hand. As for the ladies, both Martina McBride and Nanci Griffith make notable appearances -- McBride sounds especially gripping on Buffett's meditation on mortality, "Trip Around the Sun." And it's always good to hear from soul man Bill Withers, who makes two appearances here: collaborating and dueting on a bluesy lament, "Playin' the Loser Again," and teaming as a writer with Buffett on "Simply Complicated," a witty two-step about life's little trials. But it would be foolhardy to overlook Buffett's solo performances -- some of his finest ever -- on some splendid original songs. The funky "Coastal Confessions" finds our man musing philosophically and lightheartedly about the daily grind and an uncertain future, but the real gem is the beautiful, mid-tempo love song "Coast of Carolina," which rivals "Come Monday" in its simple, elegant lyrics and heartfelt sentiments concerning the allure of true love. Buffett's been doing good work for a long time, but this one'll send chills down your spine. David McGee

All Music Guide

Early in the 2000s, Jimmy Buffett experienced one of his periodic revivals thanks to the legions of contemporary country singers indebted to his sunny, relaxed party music. His influence had been bubbling under during the latter half of the '90s, but in 2003 he suddenly was front and center, performing a duet with Alan Jackson on the "Margaritaville"-styled smash "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," while echoes of his music were clearly heard in country's first superstar of the new millennium, Kenny Chesney. Never one to miss an opportunity -- or, as he puts it in the liner notes, "not being one to let a cultural phenomenon pass me by like a misguided comet" -- Buffett decided to go the whole hog and record his own country album, License to Chill, for the summer of 2004. He calls in a lot of favors here, drafting Jackson, Chesney, Toby Keith, Clint Black, George Strait, Martina McBride, Nanci Griffith, and, for a change of pace, Bill Withers, for duets on this generous 16-track album. Usually, such a surplus of guest stars overwhelms the main artist, but that isn't the case here, since everybody bends to fit Buffett's style instead of the reverse. These guests not only give Buffett a straight man for his jokes, but also help focus his musical direction and song selection, since it all feeds into the album's sun-kissed contemporary country direction. Musically, this isn't all that far removed from either his early-'70s work or "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," which is hardly a surprise, but what is surprising is that it's one of the most enjoyable latter-day albums from this notoriously inconsistent artist. There are still some overly silly, even embarrassing moments, such as the frequent tossed-off puns and the cringe-inducing "Simply Complicated," but these are the exceptions on this cheery collection of laid-back country-rockers and beach ballads. Again, the difference on License to Chill isn't the music, but the consistency of the songwriting and the performances, resulting not only in Buffett's strongest record in years, but an album that sits comfortably next to that new Kenny Chesney album, and that means he accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Stephen Thomas Erlewine