Jason Isbell Band

Didn't see a thread, and I just had to post this because it's classic.

@Jason Tate, this seems like your kind of humor for some reason. Maybe it's the Tidal joke.

 

I actually just bought his most recent album on vinyl. So good.

 

His records sound incredible on wax. That one in particular is so well put together.

 

Oh yeah, it's beautiful. I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to Southeastern on vinyl too. Have you ever seen him live? He comes around here quite a bit but I've always had something going on.

 

The last one is growing on me hugely with time

 

Yeah, I saw him live last February. "Cover Me Up" is probably top five of every song I've ever seen performed live.

 

New thread means new excuse for me to post this video again

 

I think this is the fifth time you've posted this. And I love it every time!

 

@Craig Manning It's one of my favorite live performances of anything ever. There was something extra special happening that time around. He hits every word like his life depends on it.

 

It really is a remarkable performance. Exceptional even for a song that frequently sees remarkable performances.

Not sure if you saw this article, but it's a great look at how that song has grown in meaning now that he's been married and sober for a few years and has a child.

 

Like you need one.

 

Hearing how the crowd always, without fail, cheers for "I sobered up and I swore off that stuff, forever this time" is my favorite thing about the world.

I don't, but I like to make myself look a bit more respectable

 

It makes me very happy that this will probably happen at every concert he ever plays going forward.

 

Anyone who likes Isbell should check out Dave Cobb's Southern Family compilation, now streaming on NPR

 

Also, @Jason Tate, I love how that just fucking embedded the stream. AHHHHH

 

RIGHT!

Hahaha. Tell me that's not just the best.

 

Things embedding smoothly is my favorite part of this website

 

I didn't know it could so that, but yes, it's the best.

 

Jealous of this lineup

PS someone who knows their stuff should make a country thread

 

I would love to see that lineup.

 

I think I'm mostly alone in this opinion, but Something More Than Free continues to be my favorite Isbell record some nine months after first hearing it. I think it shows him growing in every aspect, and while certain songs from his previous records and time spent in the Truckers will always mean something special to me of course, I don't think any of his four previous albums are in the same league as the new one as a cohesive work.

Sirens has shining moments but is rough, he was just starting to figure out his voice. It's telling that the best song on that record ("Dress Blues") was written for the Truckers. The self-titled has some very good songs, but the middle portion can be a slog. First half of Here We Rest stands as some of his finest work, but the second half is a few notches below that. Southeastern has some of his greatest songs and works better as a whole than any previous album of his, but it still sounds like an album evenly divided between "band songs" and "solo songs." Going into the studio more on his own I think helped his songwriting to grow in leaps and bounds, but there still are some songs that I would consider throw-aways ("New South Wales," "Super 8").

However, there is not a single song on Something More Than Free that is anything less than very, very good. His songwriting continues to grow, as evidenced by the generational epic "Children of Children" and maybe his most poignantly chiseled character study vignette to date, "Speed Trap Town." Meanwhile, he seems to have found the perfect way to make a record flow from song to song, with some more acoustic-driven and others more fleshed out, without falling prey to what I mentioned about Southeastern above, where going from an acoustic song to a band one could be a bit jarring. It's often accomplished simply through light instrumental shading, such as the percussion and muted piano on "How to Forget," but it does the trick masterfully.

And finally, and this is a bit more of a personal thing for me, but I think that now that Isbell has made his "I got sober and this was what it was like" album and gotten that out of the way with Southeastern, his narrative perspective is the best it has ever been. I hear a lot of people struggling to deal with life on it's own terms (a crucial concept for people in recovery) in the songs on this record, but that, like the music, is less direct and more veiled. But it's a lot of the same themes from the last album.

 

I think his storytelling has really grown into one hell of a beast. He's able to create characters and moments in his songs in a very profound and accessible way. He never shied away from painting the vivid picture. "Elephant" is obviously the most brutal example of that. But I tend to think of him as a creator and storyteller more than a songwriter.

 

I'm at the point where Southeastern and Something More Than Free are very close in terms of ranking. I would still give the edge to the former, but I agree with Chris that there's more sonic cohesion on the latter. I think having Jimbo Hart around really helped. I don't think there are any songs on Something that are as perfect as "Cover Me Up" or "Elephant," though, and I disagree that "Super 8" and "New South Wales" are duds.

 

Wish I liked his solo stuff more. When I find myself wanting to listen to him, more often than not I throw on DBT. Gonna give it more of a chance here soon.

 

"Super 8" is definitely my least favorite on Southeastern (which is by no means a dig at the song - that record is just so good), but it's so much fun live.