Jimmy Buffett is popular even without releasing an album, much like the Grateful Dead. While the Dead enjoys its fans, “Deadheads,” Buffett’s base is known as “Parrotheads.” In 2020, Buffett released not one, but two albums: May’s “Life on the Flip Side,” and now, “Songs You Don’t Know By Heart” (Mailboat Records). A play on the title of his greatest hits album, “Songs You Know By Heart,” the new “songs” are actually Buffett chestnuts that most people probably don’t know. The 15 tracks features what Jimmy does best – storytelling. The concept originally started as a series of videos directed and documented by his daughter, Delaney, with Buffett performing memorable songs acoustically, with a little light percussion. The result is Buffett reimagined, a lot like 2020 has been for the rest of us. Highlights include “Woman Goin’ Crazy on Caroline Street” (from 1976’s “Havana Daydreaming”), an homage to Key West’s crazy cast of characters, “Twelve Volt Man” (off ’83’s “One Particular Harbour,”) where Buffett shares tales about Monkee Mike Nesmith and Baja, and “Death of an Unpopular Poet,” (from ’73’s “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean), where the songwriter combines the work of two poets, Kenneth Patchen and Richard Farina. “They starved their asses off and didn’t get to stick around to reap the rewards.” With stark arrangements and just Jimmy and his guitar, you get an idea of what many of these songs sounded like when he was first playing bars in Florida and Texas just to earn beer money.

Singer Josh Groban tackles his bucket list of songs on “Harmony” (Reprise), a 12-track collection featuring timeless works by Bonnie Raitt, Roberta Flack, and two “Elvi” – that is Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. The former’s “It’s Now or Never” gets a little schmaltzy, but cuddly baritone Groban has said to be doing his best to fill the pandemic void with this new album plus three live streaming concerts, starting with a set of Broadway tunes last month. “Harmony” doesn’t shake the rafters but then again, it’s not designed to. Several tracks had already been recorded when the coronavirus impact prompted lockdowns nationwide. That forced Groban and his team to improvise in order to complete the album. After a brief pause, they got back to work, relying on technology to connect crew members in London, Nashville and New York. The opener, “The World We Knew,” popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1967, is a James Bondesque theme that reeks of gin martinis and Austin Martins. “Angels” is a cut co-written by British pop star Robbie Williams. “And through it all she offers me protection/a lot of love and affection/whether I’m right or wrong,” Groban croons. “Both Sides Now,” a duet with Sara Bareiles, wraps their voices and tweaks some of the phrasing to perfection on this Joni Mitchell classic. Throughout the album, Groban’s knack for interpreting songs with warmth and technical sonority is enough to convince any listener that his takes might just be the best cover versions he’s ever recorded. You be the judge.

With the rough and tumble (not to mention dubiously named) Dirty Knobs, former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell has a spirited good time on “Wreckless Abandon” (BMG). Having averaged two co-writing song credits on every Petty album released across five decades, Campbell is right at home through a solid mix of southern rock and blues. It’s worth saying that Campbell’s voice isn’t a stretch from that of Petty’s – I guess something is going to rub off after you work with a guy for half a century. Here, the Knobs are joined by Chris Stapleton on the rollicking “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” though it’s unclear amongst the bandmates who exactly is the mama. With nods to the likes of J.J. Cale and John Lee Hooker, it’s natural there would be one to his old friend Tom with the country jangle of “Irish Girl.” This project by Campbell is part moving away from his Heartbreakers legacy, and part moving on to the next phase of his career. Produced by Campbell and George Drakoulias (the Black Crowes, the Jayhawks), all the songs were written by Campbell. And if the artwork looks familiar, it was created by Klaus Voormann, who is well known for doing the cover art for the Beatles’ “Revolver” album. Through 13 foot-stompers, “Wreckless Abandon” is presumably the band’s titled debut and it clearly deflates any expectation that Campbell is out to create a Petty patchwork anytime soon.

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