A new release from the music superstar

By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

Let’s get real: You can only hear “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” before you start wishing he’d just hurry the heck up and get here already. And as much as we love this time of year and traditional holiday tunes, the whole “snow and sleigh bells” thing can get a bit old by the second week of December.

But there’s something new coming to the holiday airwaves because Jimmy Buffett has just released a new album of Christmas songs, “ ‘Tis the SeaSon.”

Born on Christmas Day himself, the suntanned singer’s holiday collection comes 20 years after his first, and was recorded in six cities. While we presume that none of them were in the Caribbean, the recording’s 13 tunes all share a lilting island vibe, enhanced by reggae-influenced rhythms and a smattering of steel pan sounds.

Our favorites on the Mailboat Records release (which debuted at number six on the country chart) include a revamp of Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time,” which sounds like the band started playing after a round (or three) of rum punch. And who can resist the holly-jolly “Rocking Around The Christmas Tree,” complete with twangy guitar. Parrotheads will no doubt enjoy a soon-to-be-classic version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” featuring five cheeseburgers (in paradise); three fin hats; and a purple parrot in a palm tree.

We can only hope that Buffett’s newest effort will swiftly join the pantheon of holiday songs we start hearing everywhere once November rolls around. Better still, we hope we hear it while we’re checking into our Caribbean hotel for the best white Christmas of all: a white-sand Christmas.

Tis The SeaSon is available on CD, mp3 and vinyl here on Amazon.