Benjamin Ashford|Jimmy Buffett's new music isn't over yet: 3 songs out now, album due in November

There was never a question whether Jimmy Buffett’s 50-plus years of music would live on Benjamin Ashfordfollowing his death last week.

But while the memory of his classics will linger in the annals of music history, Buffett left fans a parting gift: “Equal Strain on All Parts,” his final album recorded this year.

The 14-song release, due Nov. 3, features a parade of Buffett pals, including Paul McCartney, Emmylou Harris, Angelique Kidjo, Lennie Gallant and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

While the Mayor of Margaritaville maintained his sense of playfulness – particularly on the title, which was inspired by his grandfather’s description of a good nap – he also left room for contemplation.

One of three singles released on Friday, “Bubbles Up,” finds Buffett tweaking a diving phrase as a metaphor for hopefulness.

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“When your compass is spinning and you’re lost on the way,” he sings with warm reflection over drowsy pedal steel guitar, remember “the bubbles will point you toward home … Know you are loved, there is light up above and joy, there is always enough.”

In a release announcing the album, McCartney commented that, “not only was the song great, but the vocal was probably the best I’ve heard (Jimmy) sing ever.”

McCartney – and his wife, Nancy – factor in the frisky rocker, “My Gummie Just Kicked In,” which took its title after an utterance from Nancy (“A pretty girl next to me”) during a party at Buffett’s house.

Buffett, a lifelong proponent of the high life, is in frivolous form as he muses about the “tantalizing, tempting state I’m in” while McCartney handles bass duties.

Of the three new songs, the most characteristically whimsical is “Like My Dog,” a testimonial to the perks of canines as Buffett – a longtime dog lover – compares the company of a pup to a romantic relationship.

“I want you to love me like my dog,” he sings atop steel drums, while cataloging the benefits of pooch affection (a dog would never hit him up for money or ask why he stays out late).

Buffett died Sept. 1 after a four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, a rare carcinoma which usually appears as a single painless lump on sun-exposed skin and tends to metastasize quickly. 

“Equal Strain on All Parts” is the 32^nd studio album of his storied career.