Jason Isbell: Classic Or Dud?

yep

listening to the album tonight & it’s maybe my new favorite

middle of the morning & cast iron skillet - he’s in peak form, jesus

shit, white beretta too
and miles

wowee wow

Reminds me---why did this have to wait for The Fine Print? Too blunt, mebbe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvjQFwxQHI4

"cast iron skillet," that's peak isbell right there. "when we were close" is devastating too, the guitar solo is short but possibly my favorite on the album. also love the two crazy horse jams that close out the record

Iirc Isbell said JTE either bought or lent him the suit he wore at his wedding, so they must have been pretty close.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, June 9, 2023 6:04 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Random fan story: about 13 or 14 years ago give or take some friends and I got tix to see Isbell and JTE (opening) at the Double Door (RIP), and on the day of the concert went to grab lunch. We were walking down Milwaukee past the venue and I casually ask one of them, "What time is the show tonight?," and Isbell sticks his head out of the back of his van next to me and yells, "Justin, the show's at 8 tonight, right?," and there's Justin on my right carrying an amp or something, "Yep." We said a quick thank you and shuffled on, then had a blast that night.

Isbell's become quite the legend in Americana, getting tweeted by Zach Bryan as his songwriting idol and the like; weird to remember that just a little over a decade ago he was doing miles and unloading his own gear with JTE.

I also love that he continues doubling down on actively chasing the bigots, homophobes and transphobes out of his audience. I know this isn't easy for every artist to do, but goddamn it gives me hope to see him not give one flying fuck about losing that kind of "fan".

yeah i love that too

One of the many things I love about Isbell is that, like the Truckers, he has put in the miles. He's played here everywhere from the Beat Kitchen to minor league fields. And yeah, he does not give a fuck about losing fans. Not that he seems to be doing so. Like Springsteen or Rage Against the Machine, clearly the assholes just hold their collective noses and grumble online.

I haven't listened to the last few albums all that much, but whenever one of his songs comes on WXPN I'm like "Holy shit."

If you check out his Twitter account, maybe yesterday he was answering fan questions more or less in real time about what equipment was used on each song. That dude has an incredible array of vintage apps and instruments, and unlike most collectors, I suspect, he knows exactly what to do with it all.

He posted a new Dumble on Instagram recently - no idea what those are going for these days but he's definitely living the middle-aged guitar nerd dream.

somebody should tell him about the ILX thread

Nah, he doesn't appear to own a single Jazzmaster or Jaguar.

To my ears he reminds me of John Mellencamp: "good" politics, excellent bandleader, tunes that clunk along in their sincerity. I like this album, but I can't imagine listening to "Save the World" again despite agreeing with every comma.

Coming from one of the biggest ILX Mellencamp boosters, that's high praise!

“save the world” is definitely the weakest track on here, his strengths lie in self-reflection and interpersonal things, his songs don’t have the same specificity when he turns his lens towards society

Good section of an interview I saw in Variety:

You have different kinds of songs on this record, as on all of them. There are kind of message songs that get at how we should behave, and taking responsibility for our actions. And then you have objective songs, like, OK, here’s what happens to people in life, without necessarily putting the value judgment on it.

JI: And the heavier the subject matter is, the more objective I tend to be. Because that makes it hard to argue, you know? Ultimately, I do have a point to make, and I don’t know if that is “This is what you should do or how you should behave,” but I think if anything, it is “There are consequences to our actions. There are not consequences to our thoughts or to our desires, but there are consequences to our actions. And you’re not your thoughts; you are your behavior. You’re not what you believe. Nobody cares what you believe. How you behave is all that really matters.”

Taking that into account, once you start writing about extremely emotional topics, like in “Save the World,” with that song… Because I’ve not been in a school shooting, I’m not gonna start writing about what it’s like to be in a mass shooting, or any sort of big violent event. But I always feel qualified to say “This is how I feel.” And if you stick to that — like in the song “White Man’s World” from a few records back —I’m not qualified to say “This is how you should feel,” but I can very easily say, “This is how I feel.”

“Save the World,” which touches on the school shootings, is something you’ve said was the hardest song on the album for you to write.

JI: Yeah, it was really difficult. I went through a couple different versions of that before I finally landed on the right one.

What made the difference in getting that song right?

JI: Detail. Usually that’s what it is. The more concrete details I put into a song, the better it is most of the time. Because when you get so angry and so worked up about something, you want to yell nonsense into the void — “This is bad, this is wrong.” But “I’m scared, I feel bad” doesn’t really work in the framework of a song, and what people need, I think — and what I need as a communicator — is to give concrete details. So I started thinking, “OK, what is it like to be in the grocery store with a kid and you hear a balloon pop and wonder for a second if something’s going to happen?” And, “What’s it like to send your kid off to school knowing that you can’t be there to protect him?” This idea of sending a child out into the world when our world is as dangerous as it is, how exactly does that feel? And how does that feeling manifest itself in your everyday life? And when I started getting more specific, the song got a lot better.

That’s a good example of a song that is topical and deals with stuff that matters to the world, but also ends up being kind of a personal relationship song. The feeling that comes across from the song is, “I don’t deal well with evil in the world, and I might crack up, so keep an eye on me, or I’ll keep an eye on you.”

JI: All these things are important because I love you — that’s really what it boils down to. These issues wouldn’t matter so much to us if we were all just wandering around in the world on our own and fending for ourselves. And sometimes the stress of the everyday world can lead people away from those kind of connections, because it’s safer and easier to make yourself less vulnerable as time goes on. The only way to really make yourself less vulnerable is to not love as many people, and that’s tough. I don’t want to live that way. I would rather be in a situation where I have a whole lot to lose. And that’s what the character in this song is talking about: He’s talking about how much he has to lose and why these things are so important to him.

But I always feel qualified to say “This is how I feel.” And if you stick to that — like in the song “White Man’s World” from a few records back —I’m not qualified to say “This is how you should feel,” but I can very easily say, “This is how I feel.”

Also, I like the character's POV in songs like "Sirens of the Ditch" and others on the album of that title---the waitress-actress who challenges Phil Spector, the scared politician who confides "The Devil is My Running Mate"(no shit), the personal experience of "Dress Blues:: hungover or anyway about to puke/dry heave at the funeral of a friend who died in a shit war, other songs on subsequent albums swirling through definable sense---a good range on this one, from my Scene ballot comments:

nder pressure of atmosphere, memories, incl. of present and future, spooky and urgent----music more varied after "Running With Our Eyes Closed," calmer but still insidious, words finding their way in---"St. Peter's Autograph,", hmmm--but I get some of 'em right away, esp the one about sober life incl. dreams about drinking, a couple nights a week now, like, "I had one glass of wine, woke up feelin' fine,and that's how I knew it was a dream," but some are rougher, like the even realer-seeming dream of calling in sick to treat yourself down town--you deserve it, self, you been real good for so long---"It gets easier, but never easy, "why have I never heard a song about this must-be-fairly-common experience before? So far, Reunions seems like one of his most sustained achievements in quite a while:

But yeah, the tracks can clunk along quite a bit, with his sonic basis in 70s-80s roots rock, though the words bring something more (in a show preview, I mentioned his "studies in Southern Rock and Southern Lit," and he's mentioned liking George Saunders).

middle of the morning seems to me to obliquely deal with the struggles of sobriety but couched in the day to day of married life; idk that for certain but it gives me that vibe

white berreta is so specific, like lasered in on the minute details; that one has stayed with me

Yes! That's what I had in mind, that he can create a vibe via dealing obliquely, and/or go to lasered in on the minute details thx

I believe Isbell got a scholarship to study creative writing at the University of Memphis. And I believe Amanda has a masters in creative writing. Good training!

I’ll make sure we get one for the Wolf Trap show and look into doing it everywhere https://t.co/vuw6Z4l6pb

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) June 13, 2023

Sitting near ASL interpreters at shows is one of my favorite experiences. The integration of both figurative and literal lyrical interpretation, conveyance of rhythm and dynamics, and just straight up dancing is incredible to watch.

i like "Save the World" ... this is a highly, highly relatable handful of lines, and sometimes that's all i need:

Something's changing inside my head
Something's drowning out the light
Swear you'll save the world when I lose my grip

ok it’s driving me crazy enough to take a momentary timeout from not posting: this song White Beretta is unbelievably reminiscent of Red Rag Top. obvs the [color/car] title and the subject matter (dude reflecting wistfully on a former partner’s long-ago abortion), but also—most strikingly to me—the central metaphor of the red light.

personally I prefer the ambivalence of the older song to the tragic air of the new one, but the new one is fine, too. they’re just so strikingly similar that I might feel obligated to mention it if I were him.

I'll be that guy I guess. I've been on board since decoration day but reunions and the new one just don't do a lot for me.

same, it's been downhill since Southeastern IMO. Good songs hear and there but the mid-tempo country rockiness is often plodding.

Thanks for recommending this album, I have a lot of 10-12yo guitar students strumming away at a bunch of these songs now. White beretta is a killer intro-to-acoustic-guitar song. King of Oklahoma really stands out on this album. Have a 12yo singing along to death wish while playing; a little off putting

great interview w Jason on yasi salek’s podcast today - freewheeling & very fun, lots of good stuff here

Today on 24 Question Party People I talk to @JasonIsbell about his gut health, The Cure, how hard it is to make a song that slaps, bangs AND makes someone cry, his nascent acting career, and whether or not I am a better podcaster than Bill Clinton:https://t.co/Kt6hB1Gnbj

— yasi salek (@yasisalek) July 11, 2023

Jason Isbell buried fudge round boy in such a Jason Isbell way. pic.twitter.com/qeO9EgD2ra

— Dave Guido (@Devoguido) October 10, 2023

Kudos to @JasonIsbell for using the right "wrong" guitar! Jason Isbell plays Johnny B. Goode at Michael J. Fox Foundation gig – and makes sure to choose the right guitar for the job https://t.co/rsSvplABdO

— Phil Peters (@faivy) November 15, 2023

Also, I believe Isbell finally got new teeth:

Finally I can tell you all- the teeth were in preparation for my role in Killers of The Flower Moon. I prepared for 40 years. These my real teeth pic.twitter.com/wEAUBfyrK7

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) November 9, 2023

Yeah, he went on to say they were affecting his breathing, etc. As a fellow bad teeth haver, I can confirm there are many side-effects to having a mouthful of junk.

Just now saw this New West sale through 27th---incl ltd. ed. color vinyl expanded Sirens, reg $32.00, now $19.20, with 4 bonus tracks, which I haven't heard (good?) I think there's a non-ltd., black vinyl expanded, but it's out of stock. As for this 'un:

12", 2-LP
The debut album from accomplished guitarist and songwriter
Jason Isbell, formerly of Drive-By Truckers (DBT), is reissued with 4 unreleased tracks from the original recording sessions. The addition of those 4 extra songs finds Sirens Of The Ditch clocking in at 15 total tracks.

Sirens Of The Ditch’s mystical quality can be partially attributed to the
FAME recording studio (Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Otis Redding) in
Isbell’s hometown of Muscle Shoals, AL where the album was recorded.
Co-produced by Isbell and Patterson Hood (DBT), Sirens Of The Ditch features Isbell singing lead vocals and playing guitar throughout, joined by Shonna Tucker (Formerly of DBT) on Bass and Brad Morgan (DBT) on drums. Several musicians pop in for cameos including Spooner Oldham and David Hood (Patterson’s father) on “Down In A Hole”, John Neff (Formerly of DBT) on “Dress Blues” and Patterson himself guests on “Shotgun Wedding”.

TRACKLIST:

Side A -

Brand New Kind Of Actress
Down In A Hole
Try
Chicago Promenade
Side B -

Dress Blues
Grown
Hurricanes And Hand Grenades
In A Razor Town
Side C -

Shotgun Wedding
The Magician
The Devil Is My Running Mate
Side D -

Whisper*
Crystal Clear*
The Assassin*
Racetrack Romeo*
*Previously Unreleased

That's always been a fave, one of his most consistent. My review is copied here, because Voice links can get pretty wonky:
https://myvil.blogspot.com/2016/06/sirens-of-ditch.html

Don't really know why this is a video of a TV screen, and this clip could have been posted on a number of different threads, but I guess last night he sat in with Dinosaur Jr. for a cover of "Cortez the Killer:"

pic.twitter.com/x30d4xYsCG

— kyle (@kyle_matteson) December 7, 2023

His DBT songs are some of the best DBT songs, but his solo career leaves me cold. What exactly is a 'brand new kind of actress?'

I 100% agree with that assessment

I've only recently come around to him as a solo artist, tbh, despite being an OG DBT fan. But I've really grown to appreciate his taste, in terms of his songwriting (subject matter, attention to detail, lyrics) but also in terms of his playing/arranging, etc.

Proper YouTube of that "Cortez"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYDQtSD8XIw

Most of my neighborhood friends think this guy is the greatest living songwriter. I dunno. I heard "Volunteer" without knowing who it was, thought it was really, really good, listened to the rest of the album and . . . hmm. Too much of it sounds like a guy putting on a Southern suit. Maybe I need to give it more time.

I just wish he he sounded more like skynyrd but maybe that’s not fair

This guy played the Grand Ole Opry when he was 16. I think the Southern suit fits well.

He's never topped "Goddamn Lonely Love" and a couple other DBT tracks, but I recognize him as a force for good, particularly when he plays guitar on Amanda Shires' and her associates' songs.

Not necessarily saying it applies here, but there a number of southerners with deep bonafides who still come off like they're wearing the "Southern Suit"--it's just the beats they hit.

Southeastern is still great but I’ve never really gone back to the later solo albums after a listen or two. They just don’t sound that great, kind of midtempo and safe.

y’all are a bunch of grinches lol

personally i love his songwriting
& i think he’s only gotten better over the years, something like “Cast Iron Skillet” or “White Beretta” to me is proof of that.

Jason was a great addition to DBT back in the day but his solo career mostly feels like Music Your Boss Likes

yeah, Goddamn Lonely Love is great, but he has, imo, topped or equaled it several times now, which is just proof of how great he is.

Outfit (I guess this was before GLL, but it's still my favorite of his)
Dress Blues
Alabama Pines
Elephant
24 Frames
Speed Trap Town
Cumberland Gap
If We Were Vampires
Cast Iron Skillet
When We Were Close

I mean, I'm a bit bored with Jason, too, and I am a truly staunch believer that art isn't objectively good or bad, but a bunch of those are about as close to objectively great as it gets. I don't know how you can listen to those and not believe this dude isn't firmly at the very top songwriting tier.

With that said, his albums *have* been a bit too midtempo and Music Your Boss Likes for a decade, though I really like The Nashville Sound and Weathervanes is better than I expected it to be. Something More Than Free and Reunions are snoozers, though. Again, imo.