Rancho Deluxe: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]
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'sBronco 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 Deluxeproves to be an anti-Nashville country classic.--Jerry McCulley