Continuing my Jason Isbell deep dive…
The gateway album for a favorite artist (the first work of theirs you hear) always holds a special place. Often it ends up being my favorite release. In the case of Jason Isbell, that album was 2017’s The Nashville Sound.
This record came to my attention after the track ‘If We Were Vampires’ showed up at #20 on the year-end Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll. The album showed up at #5 on the publication’s albums list.
The week of August 24, 1965, found a trio of major hits atop the Billboard Hot 100: Sonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe,’ The Beatles’ ‘Help!,’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls.’
In the #4 spot that week, its peak position on the chart, was The Righteous Brothers’ ‘Unchained Melody.’ I was sure I had featured this song on the blog before, but it turns out I have posted other versions (five, to be exact) but never the most famous one.
Throwing back to the week of August 23, 1955, we find Bill Haley & the Comets and Pat Boone holding on to the top two spots with ‘Rock Around the Clock‘ and ‘Ain’t That a Shame,’ respectively.
That brings us to the #3 song that week, Mitch Miller’s version of ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas,’ which eventually reached #1. This traditional tune dates back at least 100 years from Miller’s recording. The original version had references to “darkeys” and “yellow women” that were sanitized over the years.
Jason Isbell kept up his pattern of releasing a new album every two years, dropping Something More Than Free in 2015. It was his second straight record without the 400 Unit backing him.
This album finds Isbell in the same sweet spot as Here We Rest and Southeastern. All of his releases are good to great, but these three form the Jason Isbell Holy Trinity.
Another two years passed before Jason Isbell released his fourth studio album, 2013’s Southeastern. And they were an eventful two years, finding Isbell in rehab for his drug and alcohol addiction. It was an experience he poured right into the music on this record.
The album was recorded without the 400 Unit due to the personal nature of the material. Initially planned as a solo acoustic release, Isbell eventually brought in other musicians to flesh out the sound.
Meet Me In Montauk 