Rancho Deluxe: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

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Jimmy Buffett was already three well-received albums towards becoming a populist phenomenon when he undertook his only film score (to date), director Frank Perry’s 1975 "modern" Western, Rancho Deluxe. The fact that the film’s screenwriter, the highly regarded Thomas McGuane, is Buffett’s brother-in-law certainly had something to do with his hiring. In this instance, however, the results are decidedly pro-nepotism.

Buffett’s songs and incidental music for this underappreciated antecedent to the likes of Clint Eastwood’s Bronco Billy (including an early version of the hit "Livingston Saturday Night") have a raw honky-tonk swagger that would’ve done Waylon or Willie proud. More than merely a welcome addition to the Parrothead canon, Rancho Deluxe proves to be an anti-Nashville country classic. –Jerry McCulley

From the Label

Music By Jimmy Buffett (1975) Starring Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Harry Dean Stanton, Slim Pickens, and Patti D’Arbanville, RANCHO DELUXE is described by film critic Vincent Canby as “a most engaging, deliberately cool comedy about coping in the contemporary American West.” With music written and performed by pop superstar Jimmy Buffett in 1975, ust as his rabid “parrothead” fanbase was developing, the soundtrack runs the gamut from twangy vocal cowboy tunes to vibey instrumental near-lounge pieces. The title track and an early version of “Livingston Saturday Night” featuring different lyrics from other recorded versions, are standouts.