Jason Isbell: Classic Or Dud?

omg SO happy he's over that 'soul singer' bullshit

Haven't heard this yet, wanna make time to really listen. Color me cautiously optimistic. I recall saying to my then-wife when we saw DBT on the DD tour, "If that kid ever goes solo, he's gonna blow the fuck up." I'd like to be vindicated, at last, because up until now, his was a case of seriously wasted talent IMO (stray songs on various solo albums notwithstanding).

This is good if staid in that singer-songwriterly way.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/jason-isbell-as-undislikable-as-it-gets/2014/01/29/606904b6-8908-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html

But as earnest as he sounded Tuesday, Isbell’s performance still registered somewhere between excellent and just fine. He was undislikable.

The undislikables occupy a unique space in pop music. Their songs are filled with personality and emotion, but never too much. They experiment, but not without safety goggles. They put a premium on craftsmanship and confidence, often stamping out any whiffs of danger or weirdness. And their music seems unimpeachable, leaving you with an in-the-middle feeling that makes you wonder whether these people have achieved a state of enlightenment or have been trapped in purgatory.

Commenters on that review are outraged by Chris Richard's stance. I understand what he means.

p sure the word is 'nice'

Is he really lopping together all singer songwriters? Honestly, guys with guitars who bare their souls are so unhip they might as well be weirdo outliers. If Steve Earle and John prine are his play it safe peeps, isbell should be pretty cool with this.

He calls the Roots undislikeable as well. I think he means NPR-friendly

"Elephant" was probably my favorite song of last year, and "Relatively Easy" wasn't far behind. If he ever writes a whole album that good...

He is an obvious talent. The problem is, anybody's songs are going to sound better when they're played by DBT.

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

Southeastern goes way beyond nice. And it's not just about the lyrics. From my Nashville Scene ballot, "In The Shadows of the Warm Red Comments" http://thefreelancementalists.blogspot.com/2014/01/14th-annual-etc-in-shadows-of-warm-red.html
Jason Isbell's Here We Rest often relied on the words, and some live versions were even shakier, but on Southeastern he's got his tuneful tightness back (playing a lot of the mostly acoustic instruments himself; the 400 Unit plug in on cue and on point, but don't get co-billing). Time to put the spotlight and the pressure back on himself--the voice was never a problem, which was a problem. No matter how wasted and/or woolgathering he got, could always release a few more of those high lonesome sweet bluesy Lowell George notes, and tell himself everything was still okay and not okay, in that alone-together way.
The words are better too, deep and horizontally active enough, back and forth in time and space--the richest lode is the opener, "Cover Me Up", with some kind of imaginative but not imaginary although certainly motorvatingly metaphorical invalid, with strong lungs, calling for "medical assistance, or a magnolia breeze", while he and significant other are riding a flood in a cold house "I ain't chopping no wood...hang up your wet dress" and get that cover workin'. This is also very tender-sounding, since the lonesome monster is now ready to face whatever reality may and will surely bring--whole album's known knowns wed to known unknowns: very family values, very commuting-community-minded, very country in its way (so this only looks like a Paste list, see?)

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

Ironically, it's been more and more "interesting," imo - in terms of ideas and surprising detours - just less and less strong. They were such a great outlet for Isbell, because he can always be counted on a for a couple of absolutely outstanding tracks per effort, just not quite an entire outstanding album yet. He's young, though. 15 years younger than Hood, I think.

I read xchuckx E. being harsh on Jason's vocals

Which is doubly frustrating because the actual DBT songwriters have been churning out less and less interesting material over the last few albums (imo).

― Simon H., Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:57 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So wrong

DBT's new album is a bore though.

"Super 8" is the song that needed the Truckers the worst - songwriting as strong as "Elephant" but such painfully boring country-rock.

i saw the Truckers live last month

- new bass player is distractingly goofy. he's fine as a player but he's like this grinning jackolantern all the time, it's SO weird

- setllist was suuuper uneven, going from blistering rock into pensive cooley so much it was giving me whiplash

- i've seen them four times before this show, and this is the first time i was almost completely bored. they were fine, but fine aint a dbt show

idk

they seem to be focusing on sounding cleaner, singing better etc but their rawness was the appeal for me. i love them but idk who this band is now?

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/11/the_voice_reportedly_asks_jaso.html

'The Voice' producer reportedly asks Jason Isbell to audition for the NBC show

He was great last week at this Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute show i went to last week at the Fox Theater (great venue by the way)

http://music.blog.ajc.com/2014/11/13/concert-review-lynyrd-skynyrd-tribute-concert-brings-peter-frampton-gregg-allman-and-more-to-the-fox-theatre/

xpost loooooooool that is hilarious and sad

Sad for the producer's cred, happy otherwise: he scanned the invite into his twitter feed (so that's the basis of "reportedly," from the hoss's mouth) and considered what his audition material might consist of (I suggested he hold out for Dancing With The Stars). Would love to see Blake Shelton's big ol' half-bright face if he did come out there on The Voice (that's the one Shelton's on, right?)

("lemon-difficult": excellent, especially if related to #DonLemonReporting, but either way.)

http://youtu.be/7mAFiPVs3tM

The new record is streaming on NPR right now. It's very good, similar in sound to Southeastern. He'll never rock like he did with DBT but he'll probably end up the more popular act.

From Rolling Country, my initial impressions:

Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free: doesn't travel with the more sustained undertone of excitement found in Southeastern---recorded sober, apparently!---but "Are you takin' the grown-up dose?" is still the question, or one of 'em, and it's often remarkable what can sprout from dry, quiet starting over, especially when the past gets out of bed and comes cruising through one's present-day/night of carefully worked out details, brushing them just a hair or three from conventional alignment. Or not, in which case it's conspicuous by etc., but always the singer's cue.
"Children of Children" and "24 Frames" will be the relatively big (npr) radio cuts, if any are, but most tunes as well as words tend to take fetching turns.
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/08/420588068/first-listen-jason-isbell-something-more-than-free

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:38 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not to say this 'un doesn't *also* sound like it was written and recorded sober---it does, and it also sounds like that's what it's about: dealing with the unfiltered, or differently filtered---but Southeastern seemed like more of an adventure.

― dow, Friday, July 10, 2015 4:42 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkMaybe it's just subtle for me---diggin it tho!

"Children of Children" is fucking brutal -

I was riding on my mother's hip, she was shorter than the corn
All the years I took from her, just by being born.

Didn't mean to break the cycle
[...]

You were riding on your mother's hip she was shorter than the corn
All the years you took from her, just by being born.

Is any of his solo stuff better than "outfit?"

probably not, about half of Southeastern and the 400 Unit album are nearly as good though

his entire solo career is a colossal bore imo

Right? I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.

It's like he needed to prove himself, or he needed the competition, and then the fire went out.

Totally. I like all but one or two of the handful of songs he contributed to DBT (and really like a couple). Dude peaked early (much like his hero Ryan Adams imo)

His best stuff now is definitely in a different register from his DBT songs, but I still think "Cover Me Up," "Elephant," "Relatively Easy," "No Choice in the Matter" and a few others measure up just fine.

yeah there's been no drop in quality imo

Every song I hear of his is really good, and then I hear a second song and don't want to hear any more.

I'm sure he thinks eschewing rock 'n' roll adduces his maturity. I suppose artists earn the right not to give a damn about commercial considerations. A pity.

if only he would come to ilm and read this thread, maybe then he'd do a better job of steering his career *eyeroll*

dude put out the best record he has ever been involved in three years ago, at age 34. that's an opinion. as far as commercial considerations go, he's doing the best he's ever done as we speak. that's a fact.

I hate to be a music geek cliche but yes, the old stuff with the Truckers is best.

tbf not a lot of people's solo stuff is better than "outfit"

A mean industry person in Nashville once told me (before all the Americana awards and stuff, naturally) "he was better when he was fat and drunk." And while I definitely believe the "damaged artist" myth (and propagation thereof) is tired at best and irresponsible at worst, I can't help agreeing with that Nashville dickhead about the declining caliber of Isbell's work since becoming a, err, friend of Bill.

Also, the 400 Unit, while a fine band, are not DBT. Having them playing your songs clearly helps.

This new record is fantastic. His most upbeat set of songs ever.

Pretty sure "If We Were Vampires" is the best song he's ever written.

I'm still not a fan but, yeah, it's a terrific batch of smart songs.

I love this new album

The early 400 Unit albums often had good uptempo numbers music-wise but werent always written so well, or were kind of rambling - and his solo songs were almost always well written but usually slower musically

This is a perfect mix of his writing & the band's talents so you get some really searing lyrics with a faster pace.

It's a great driving record, I have found :D

I mean you can pine for DBT's raw rockin all you want but I dunno if he'll ever go that way, since a lot of that sound was driven by Cooley & Hood's style more than his and he seems to favor a more polished sound generally

Stumbled upon a Saving Country Music pan of the new live album. Checking it out myself, the main criticism of the production is spot on. The drummer and keyboard player sound like they recorded in the Ryman bathroom. I've heard bar bands recorded better.

No buzz for Reunions? It's likely gonna be one of my favorite albums this year.

There's been some discussion over here:

Drive By Truckers fans - does anyone know when in the goddam hell Jason Isbell's solo album is coming out??

But seriously, I understand why some feel he is too MOR, but his twitter game is A+

First of all, i https://t.co/vCxrLYuJbt

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) July 2, 2020

All this work to get to the heart of the rock and roll truth then You Shook Me All Night Long comes on the radio and it’s as perfect as a damn quail egg

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) July 4, 2020

I'm sorry, but have you ever tried keeping a six year old from knowing about something that your entire family is talking about? It's impossible unless you are the only person they're in contact with. Stop shaming this mother. Jesus.

I don't think it's so far-fetched that a child from a musical family could be aware that there's a song about her (departed) father, and she would want to her it. Yes, her mother could have simply said "No, not now, maybe when you're older..." but at the same time it's harder to avoid exposure to something like that, particularly since Isbell and his people are spotlighting the track, it's getting airplay (on SiriusXM anyway), he's playing it on TV etc. so maybe she thought she had to get it over with.

why would you shield your child from this, it just makes it more enticing. Whether or not the child asked about it, the child will know about it eventually. may as well be hearing it from the mom directly

As a parent myself, I feel like you just don't bring someone else's kid into something (i.e., mention them in a song in a context like that). Just feels like common sense to me – it's not your place. I see Isbell has a daughter himself, so I guess his instincts are different... it surprises me though.

As a parent myself, there are plenty of things I did not share with my kids when they were young. Conversations, decisions, conflicts, opinions. We all make these choices. There is often no right or wrong choice. This song, other songs, many of them will be hard for his daughter to hear, and none of them will likely be as hard as losing her dad. I can't even imagine, so you're right, I shouldn't say anything about the mom's choices.

morrisp otm
I still think objecting to him writing about someone else's six year old (especially in a song about her father's untimely death) is a valid criticism -- whether her mom handled it poorly is another issue. (She did, but that is not my objection)

And listen, you know that if there is an issue with someone's daughter being exploited, I will suddenly appear and start objecting. That's my DNA for better or worse.

Curious, the song/album has been out for almost a year, did any reviews suggest that song was problematic? I'd not thought about it until this week, had any of you?

Lol tbh I don't listen to Jason Isbell, so no.
If I had known the song existed, I would say the same thing I said.

I clicked on this thread initially because of his teeth and stayed bc ?? My friend is really into him and I wanted to know more? IDK

xp Same here…

So ... yeah, Streisand effect!

what is your point?

No point, just observing that afaict no one was criticizing this song, afaict, until that Saving Country article blew up a year after it came out. Not saying the song is above criticism! The criticism is *totally* valid, which is why I'm surprised to only see this much discussion now.

Better late than never. Your posts felt dismissive and I appreciate you agreeing the criticism is valid.

Jenn Marie Earle didn't speak out until now because (as she pointed out in her initial statement) the song is having a moment now (opening his shows, airplay, high-profile TV appearance that garnered a lot of press) which she felt she needed to address.

I can totally see her being out with her daughter at CVS or Starbucks or some place and feeling a little ambushed because the song came on the muzak.

xpost No, I get that. I'm just saying the content of the song was there all along, before she publicly addressed it. If it's problematic now, it was problematic a year ago, but I don't remember any reviews or anything having any issues with it, despite this being a songwriter that puts lyrics first and foremost. It's at the least a discussion worth having (clearly), so it's surprising no one had it.

Yeah, but why would a reviewer mention it without knowing the situation the widow described?

I have never paid any attention to JTE so the details in the song slipped by me and I had no idea it was about him until this week.

you would be surprised at how ok people are with exploiting children. it's usually not recognized as a problem until someone (in this case the mom) speaks up about it. i wouldn't expect a person reviewing the album to be very sensitive to it, as most people aren't. if no one speaks up, eventually people like me with daughter-exploitation radar are going to show up and say hello this is not ok.

i feel pretty strongly these days about this sort of thing, even to the point of using your own kids as a prop for anything public. they have a right to grow up anonymously enjoying life without being deployed in that manner. i'm agnostic on child acting these days, i think reality tv involving kids is pretty abhorrent, writing books specifically about their lives and upbringing is pretty uncool, etc. Isbell is perfectly capably of writing much more impressionistically, he could write about JTE in a manner that is even deeper and more profound without bleak observations about how his daughter will probably forget him because he ODed in a bathroom.

putting aside the morality of it, it's just a condescending thing to say, and no one likes to be condescended to (or be condescended to on their dead spouse's behalf)

The tide is definitely shifting — for most of my life I’ve been treated like a hysterical person for suggesting out loud that it’s wrong to exploit ur children. I’m glad the tide is shifting.

And it doesn't matter if no one mentioned it last year. Sometimes people keep their conclusions to themselves. Others wait for catalyzing situations like this.

Relevant:

I did not receive a compassionate warning ahead of the song’s release (we found out about the song, when this page was tagged in posts about it the day it came out). While it’s not mandatory that he give me a heads up, considering it’s about my husband and mentions myself, and especially my daughter, it would have been a respectful thing to do, so that we weren’t completely blown apart when we heard it as it was celebrated as a new release.

Soon after, he was made aware that the song was extremely painful (an absolute trauma trigger) and we hoped the message was taken to heart (although he did not acknowledge it) and we hoped to move on and try to forget about it. However, we learned (due to being tagged in posts, etc) that he was opening most shows with it, and then to our complete shock he chose it as the song to play on Jimmy Kimmel on the first show back after the writer’s strike, undoubtedly to a massive audience – putting the song front and center. ‹That was one of the most painful moments following, because it was clear then that he did not care that this song was traumatizing to Justin’s loved ones and was actually pushing the song above all of the others on the album. He could have chosen any other song.

Fwiw, after the Kimmel performance, there were a number articles discussing the song, and I myself have heard a DJ on SiriusXM mention JTE after playing the song.

wow this whole thing is really gross :(