''Spectrum VII'' is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1979 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Recording

As on his previous album ''Human Emotions'', Coe gave each side of ''Spectrum VII'' a theme: side one was called “Land Side” and side two was christened “Ocean Side.” However, unlike that album, the lyrics on ''Spectrum VII'' were breezier and more reflective. The ocean theme is apparent on the LP’s cover, which displays a shirtless Coe on a tropical beach, and in the music, as Coe had been incorporating

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

sounds into his delinquent mix of stone country and southern rock material. This became a bone of contention for

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

, who accused Coe of stealing the melody from his song “ Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" for Coe’s “Divers Do It Deeper," which appeared on the 1978 LP ''Family Album''. "I would have sued him," Buffett later said, "but I didn't want to give Coe the pleasure of having his name in the paper." Coe replied by writing the insulting "Jimmy Buffett, which appeared on ''Nothing Sacred'', an album of explicit material released by mail order in 1978 through the back pages of the biker magazine '' Easyriders''. ''Spectrum VII'' contained a note stating "

doesn't live in

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

anymore," a lyric from the song. A more affable shout out went to Meat Loaf, to whom Coe dedicated the hard rocking “Sudden Death” for “believing in rock and roll and Ohio boys.” The ever prolific Coe wrote all ten tracks on the album, with the only co-write being the pleading “Fall in Love with You,” which he composed with Leon Petty and includes an opening vocal part reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel’s “ Mrs. Robinson.” “On My Feet Again’ contains the lines “I left my stomach in Houston on some surgeon’s knife but I slept through it all…” which alludes to complications from a recent burst appendix. "Ocean Side" collects four sunny marine-themed songs, including the nautical epic "Seven Mile Bridge," which stretches to over seven minutes. "Now's the Time (To Fall in Love)" and "Fairytale Morning" also radiate with positive vibes.

Reception

AllMusic: "With the exception of 'Love Is Just a Porpoise' (one of Coe's better novelty songs), every performance on ''Spectrum VII'' is stellar, and this is among Coe's finest records."

Track listing

All songs written by David Allan Coe, except where noted.

"Land Side"

#"Rollin' with the Punches" - 1:59 #"On My Feet Again" - 3:30 #"Fall in Love with You" (Coe, Leon Petty) - 3:28 #"What Can I Do" - 2:57 #"Sudden Death" - 2:08

"Ocean Side"

#"Fairytale Morning" - 3:19 #"Seven Mile Bridge" - 7:12 #"Now's the Time" - 2:34 #"Love Is Just a Porpoise" - 2:52

Personnel

* David Allan Coe -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals *Pam Rose, Barbara South, Linda Hargrove - vocals *Wesley Taylor - lead guitar *Dale Seigfreid -

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

*Alan Hicks - bass guitar *Skeet Petty -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Billy Sherrill -

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

References

{{Authority control David Allan Coe albums 1979 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records albums