Jimmy Buffett - "A1A" (1974)

Before Jimmy Buffett was a gun-slinging parrot, he was a country singer in Nashville, TN. But one trip to Key West with Jerry Jeff Walker to play the boardwalks for money changed all of that. It's here that Buffett began this shift from country to the beach bum tropical pop that made him famous. On A1A (named for the Atlantic Coast road that runs along Florida's beachfront towns) Buffett is mid way between his country past and margarita future and chronicles the shift in several of the tunes. You can hear him falling in love with oceanside life as his tumbleweeds blow closers to the seas. So take in the sweet smell of saltwater on this one as the country palm tress gently sway. -- Chris Baginski

1. "Making Music for Money" 4:01
2. "Door Number Three" 3:03
3. "Dallas" 3:25
4. "Presents to Send You" 2:40
5. "Stories We Could Tell" 3:18
6. "Life Is Just a Tire Swing" 3:04
7. "A Pirates Look At Forty" 3:57
8. "Migration" 4:13
9. "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season" 4:21
10. "Nautical Wheelers" 3:35
11. "Tin Cup Chalice" 3:38

Paul Simon - "Hearts & Bones" (1983)

So many great Paul Simon albums to pick from. There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Concert in the Park, Graceland, to name a few. Those are all must haves, but here's a lesser known gem largely ignored when it first came out. Written after his divorce from Carrie "Princess Leia" Fischer, Hearts & Bones has Paul Simon's usual playfulness mixed in with his most naked lyrics. The title track is one of my favorite break-up songs but the album isn't all dipped in anguish and isn't even all about them. The closing track is a tribute to the late John Lennon and René & Georgette paints a lovely picture of a happy couple in the twilight of their years we all want to be. -- Chris Baginski

1. "Allergies" 4:37
2. "Hearts and Bones" 5:37
3. "When Numbers Get Serious" 3:25
4. "Think Too Much (b)" 2:44
5. "Song About the Moon" 4:07
6. "Think Too Much (a)" 3:05
7. "Train in the Distance" 5:11
8. "René and Georgette Magritte with their Dog after the War" 3:44
9. "Cars are Cars" 3:15
10. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" 4:45

bonus tracks

11. "Shelter of Your Arms" (demo) 3:11
12. "Train in the Distance" (demo) 3:13
13. "Rene and Georgette Magritte" (demo) 3:47
14. "The Late Great Johnny Ace" (demo) 3:22

YouTube: Paul Simon Live 1975 - American Tune

Bob Dylan - "Live 1966" (1998)

The most famous bootleg in rock history, with the possible exception of Dylan's own Basement Tapes, finally makes its official appearance 32 years after the event. Although often identified as a Royal Albert Hall show, this May 17, 1966 concert, in which Dylan played electric material in front of a British audience, was actually recorded in Manchester (hence the unwieldy title with quotes around "Royal Albert Hall"). It captures the point at which Dylan was at his most controversial and hard rocking as he blazes through mid-'60s classics such as "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Ballad of a Thin Man," radical electric arrangements of songs that had originally been recorded acoustically ("One Too Many Mornings," "I Don't Believe You"), and the hard rocker "Tell Me, Momma," which Dylan never recorded in the studio. It's not just an interesting adjunct to Dylan's '60s discography; it's as worthy of attention as anything else he recorded during that decade. -- Richie Unterberger

Disc 1 - solo acoustic

1. "She Belongs to Me" 3:27
2. "4th Time Around" 4:37
3. "Visions of Johanna" 8:08
4. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" 5:45
5. "Desolation Row" 11:31
6. "Just Like a Woman" 5:52
7. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 8:52

Disc 2 - electric band

1. "Tell Me, Momma" 5:10
2. "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)" 6:07
3. "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" 3:46
4. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" 6:50
5. "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" 4:50
6. "One Too Many Mornings" 4:22
7. "Ballad of a Thin Man" 7:55
8. "Like a Rolling Stone" 8:01