Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound (June 16, 2017) Album • Page 25

Agreed, especially after hearing how well Sturgill did on that Tyler Childers album.

 

Yep. I think Cobb has been great for Isbell, but Sturgill made his best record on his own, and I feel like it's time for Isbell to change things up. Working with Sturgill would be perfect, especially if it led to a co-headlining tour.

 

Saw Isbell last week and seeing him again this weekend; was truly one of the best shows I've ever seen. His band is ridiculously tight.

Plus, BONUS - Frank Turner opening........go see this show when it hits your city. Really really good.

Only bummer was that only about 10 people seemed to know who Frank was......

 

Rhett Miller of the Old 97's has told a story about Ryan Adams approaching him when he was still in Whiskeytown and proposing a publicity feud between the two bands. When Rhett declined, he says Ryan went ahead with it anyway and was essentially just an asshole to them. As a child with the 97's as my favorite band, it took me a long time to warm up to any of Ryan's music because of that.

 

Sturgill and Jason are my two favorite current songwriters and I honestly wouldn't want a collaboration album from them a la Waylon and Willie or whatever. Just my $0.02.

 

Have you heard the Tyler Childers record?

 

I'd be all over it. Love when songwriters do that.

 

Yes. I like it but don't love it.

 

man, i'm grabbing this on lp first chance i get. adore this whole damn album

 

Visited this album again today and surprised by how much I’ve neglected it. This year has just been so good for music that I never even envisioned an Isbell album not being my favorite record of the year.

Still love this record though.

 

It's definitely still up there for me

 

Still far and away my number one, despite all the great records that have come out. I don't think anyone is writing songs on his level.

 

War on Drugs might have passed this one up for me, but it's definitely in my top two

 

Disagree. I think Moreland is easily in the same camp as Isbell, even though neither of their new records hit as hard as their first two did for me.

I think Ramirez is getting there too. Albeit he does have some filler, he’s getting more focused. And as always, Noah Gundersen is killing it. While his new one is a departure, it still certainly feels like a songwriter wrote it.

And finally, I think the National has released the best record so far. It’s just next level with those guys.

 

I don't think Moreland is quite there yet, but he's definitely on the right track. Same with Ramirez. I love both of those guys, but I don't think either have ever written anything on the level of "Cover Me Up" or "Elephant" or "Speed Trap Town" or "Vampires." Gundersen is close, but I don't think the songwriting on this new record is quite up to par with what he did on Carry the Ghost.

Completely disagree on The National though. They're not even close for me. New record is just okay. I'm also pretty bored with Berninger as a vocalist at this point, though, so even when I love their lyrical work, none of their songs have ever had the impact on me that Isbell, Noah, Moreland, or Ramirez have.

 

See I think Moreland goes toe to toe with Isbell on songs like Blacklist, Gospel, American Flags, Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars & Lies I Chose to Believe. All that considering Moreland came out of hardcore scenes.

Isbell does have songs that are untouchable and an excellent career as a session guy, I agree with that. I also agree that Gundersen and Ramirez are behind that curve, but they’re young in their careers so I’m real excited to see where they take their talents. I think we’ll have many great albums with their futures.

On the National, it makes sense that you’re bored with them considering your take on Matt’s voice, but I think he’s a great lyricist. Really reminds me of Cohen. I also love his voice, but I have a soft spot for what some would consider “shitty or boring or not really great” (Dylan, Young, Cobain, Cohen) They've all been deemed boring, or by technical standards terrible singers but they’re my favorite, haha!

 

I haven't heard Gundersen but since he's touring with Phoebe Bridgers I guess I will soon

 

Those are damn great songs. I guess I prefer Isbell's style, which is very storytelling, detail-based, to Moreland's style, which is maybe a bit less narrative driven. But yeah, "Gospel," "Tulsa County Stars," and "No Glory in Regret" are all pretty gold standard songwriting.

Ramirez and Gundersen will get there, I think. Gundersen's writing on Carry the Ghost is incredibly mature and thoughtful for his age. I think he took a little bit of a step backward for this record, just because he was trying to cover so much musical ground. Ramirez, meanwhile, has made pretty big leaps with every album.

There are some National songs that I just love, but they kind of lose me over the course of a full album. All of their albums have four or five songs that I just don't think are as good as the others. Matt isn't a terrible singer by any means--his voice is very distinct and evocative--but I think he is pretty limited. He has may a two octave range, so everything starts blending together pretty quick for me when I listen to their records. And I know he's a baritone, but Ramirez is a baritone too, and I think he's able to do some pretty cool, versatile things with his voice.

 

Any bets on what Tom Petty song Jason will cover tomorrow night? It'll be Jason's first show since the death and as much as Petty's music has meant to Jason (see: his twitter) I'm sure there will be a tribute

 

I'm gonna go with "Even the Losers." That's my guess but I'm seeing him in a week at the Ryman and I think I'd like to hear "Listen to Her Heart."

 

I’d love someone to do an Even the Losers tribute. It hasn't popped up right?

I’m actually going to get a Tom Petty tattoo soon here and “baby, even the losers get lucky.” is going to be the center piece to it.

 

I know Jason covered "Rebels" when he was with the Truckers but that may not be the best selection in the current political context, much as I love the song haha.

My money is on "Wildflowers"

 

I could also see him doing "Won't Back Down" or an out-of-the-blue deep cut too though

 

Just now realizing I know very few Tom Petty songs

 

He did "Even the Losers" AND "American Girl"

Edit: Video!