Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free 7/17

[Clams]

Pitchfork weighs in

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/206 ... than-free/

I tend to agree with this excerpt from the review:

In 2015, Southern identity occupies the center of a number of heated debates, and few artists are better poised to comment on its complexities than Isbell. But race has never been a compelling issue for him, and while class underlies every one of his songs, he long ago stopped writing about it with much acuity. His approach has become internalized, rooted in a self-consciously literary first-person perspective. And while he's created strong work within these parameters, I still lament the lack of urgency to engage with anything too far beyond the reach of his customary stand-ins. Isbell once again shows the world through familiar eyes, but here it just feels like we've seen it all before.

Yep, I think there's a lot of truth to the criticism in that Pitchfork review.

[Duke Silver]

Gave this a proper first listen this morning and had planned to post a rambling, track by track breakdown as I listened. But I got to the end and realized I don't really have much to say about SMTF. Even by Jason's shall we say "subdued" standards, it's a really, really...really, really dull album. That's all I can muster.

[emandrisdad]

I still haven't been able to listen to the whole record. It really just bores me to that point that I listen to a few songs and then just turn it off.

[Bill in CT]

Some folks in the Jason Isbell Facebook group are saying it's his best album yet.

I must confess I don't understand that viewpoint at all.

[Zip City]

It's not his worst

[Iowan]

Some folks in the Jason Isbell Facebook group are saying it's his best album yet.

I must confess I don't understand that viewpoint at all.

I have to agree.

It's not his worst

It's in his bottom two

[lotusamerica]

Gave this a proper first listen this morning and had planned to post a rambling, track by track breakdown as I listened. But I got to the end and realized I don't really have much to say about SMTF. Even by Jason's shall we say "subdued" standards, it's a really, really...really, really dull album. That's all I can muster.

Needed way more than one listen for me. Really disliked it first time. Mostly bored next few times. Some lyrics and hooks started to catch hold though and now I'm on board.

Nobody owes an artist multiple listens, but I had the same experience with his first two records, and to a lesser a extend with the last two as well. Self-titled took about a whole month of listening almost daily before it really sunk in, and went on to be an album I really like. I think this record is more consistent than Here We Rest, and more coherent and cohesive than Sirens. I've just come to accept that his records don't blow me away out of the gate.

[Bill in CT]

It's not his worst

I may disagree with you on that though I haven't listened to the s/t one in some time. I'll have to listen to that again soon.

[Cole Younger]

Gave this a proper first listen this morning and had planned to post a rambling, track by track breakdown as I listened. But I got to the end and realized I don't really have much to say about SMTF. Even by Jason's shall we say "subdued" standards, it's a really, really...really, really dull album. That's all I can muster.

Needed way more than one listen for me. Really disliked it first time. Mostly bored next few times. Some lyrics and hooks started to catch hold though and now I'm on board.

Nobody owes an artist multiple listens, but I had the same experience with his first two records, and to a lesser a extend with the last two as well. Self-titled took about a whole month of listening almost daily before it really sunk in, and went on to be an album I really like. I think this record is more consistent than Here We Rest, and more coherent and cohesive than Sirens. I've just come to accept that his records don't blow me away out of the gate.

Yeah this is where I am too. I like it more and more as I keep listening. I've been listening to the self titled a lot lately too. I did t even like it beyond a few songs for a long time. Now I love it.

[Cole Younger]

The record is growing on me a little. The lyricism is truly outstanding as is the musicianship. Most of my issues come in the production and some of the arrangements (Sadler's repetitive guitar riff in 24 Frames is something I will likely never abide) but I can see songs I don't like much coming to life in a live setting. I so very disappointed when I first heard this album that I've been hoping for a bit of a turnaround and it's come. I'd still put it towards the bottom of his solo work but that's still something for a an artist this good. Current fave is the title track.

Probably my favorite track too. Although I LOVE Flagship. And Speed Trap Town reminds me of a guy I know so much that it's almost hard to listen to in a good way if that makes sensel

[lotusamerica]

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.s ... re_th.html

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.s ... ing_m.html

[lotusamerica]

85 average so far on meteoritic

http://www.metacritic.com/music/somethi ... son-isbell

[jh13]

Southeastern
Something More Than Free
Here We Rest
Sirens of the Ditch
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

[Iowan]

Sirens of the Ditch
Southeastern
Here We Rest
Something More Than Free
Self Titled

[brett27295]

I've listened to it probably 15-20 times since it appeared. I preordered the vinyl. I sometimes wonder if I'll bother opening it when it arrives...

[Duke Silver]

Southeastern
S/T
Sirens

Here We Rest

Something More Than Free

I'm sure SMTF will be a grower. I liked Flagship and Speed Trap Town quite a bit on the first listen. Had a strong negative reaction to How To Forget and The Life You Chose. The rest kinda washed over me. I'll pick up the vinyl and give it another shot at some point.

[Iowan]

Southeastern
S/T
Sirens

Here We Rest

Something More Than Free

I'm sure SMTF will be a grower. I liked Flagship and Speed Trap Town quite a bit on the first listen. Had a strong negative reaction to How To Forget and The Life You Chose. The rest kinda washed over me. I'll pick up the vinyl and give it another shot at some point.

These are kind of my poster children for "bad Jason". The faux Paul Simon thing in "How to Forget" is grating.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Sirens of the Ditch
Southeastern
Here We Rest
Something More Than Free
Self Titled

I think I'm with you here exactly despite the scattershot sound of Sirens (it was recorded by 3 or 4 different engineers). Southeastern is it's equal in terms of songwriting with much better production (despite some of my issues with Dave Cobb) but something has always nagged me just a bit and I think that Pitchfork review of Something More Than Free has helped me figure it out. Starting with Southeastern JI has started writing his characters in such a fashion that they all are introspective in the same way. That's OK, the songwriting is still top notch but it does add a sameness that wasn't there prior to Southeastern. The thing about that is in Jason's interview with Marc Maron last year he had said that songwriting really opened itself to him with John Prine's Angel From Montgomery and the line I am an old woman named after my mother which made him realize that as a songwriter your characters could be anyone from any perspective. I hope he finds his way back to that thought one day. In the meantime my enthusiasm for his songs will probably be slightly less than it was before. I'm OK with that and continue to be a fan.

[Duke Silver]

"Introspective in the same way" is a great way to put it. I agree.

And when it comes to songs (like the title track) about good-but-flawed hard-working people doing the best they can, I think I'm just about at capacity. I don't know that I buy Jason as a voice of the working man the way I do someone like Chris Knight or James McMurtry.

[Iowan]

"Introspective in the same way" is a great way to put it. I agree.

And when it comes to songs (like the title track) about good-but-flawed hard-working people doing the best they can, I think I'm just about at capacity. I don't know that I buy Jason as a voice of the working man the way I do someone like Chris Knight or James McMurtry.

For whatever reason, I agree and I don't know why. Jason hasn't had it any easier than those guys, he just seems a little smoother around the edges and doesn't translate the same level of grit in his sound, or even in his writing. His music his smoother, and his words (at least here) less blunt. That's what I loved about songs like "Elephant". I've rarely been metaphorically slapped as hard by someone's lyrics as "If I'd fucked her before she got sick, I'd never hear the end of it" in a song that sounds like "Elephant" does.

That kind of lyrical and sonic grit is not present in "Something More Than Free".

[lotusamerica]

Sirens - Southeastern - Self- titled

SMTF

Here We Rest

---

Like the first half of songs on HWR, but then it mostly falls apart for me. SMTF is growing and shows his songwriting is moving from the raw inspiration to songwriting craft part of his career, as most people seem to do after a while, but it definitely has a sameness in sound that's just kind of flat. Like the Sirens songs a lot, probably my favorite collection of songs, but it;s a slingshot from one thing to another and the arrangements, playing, singing and production hover around college bar band level. 400 Unit/ST just works for me, despite a couple songs that I don't really listen to at all. It's the only record where I really hear a band - even SMTF has 400 unit more in the role of backing band vs. a band around a singer. Southeastern is Southeastern.

[lotusamerica]

Southeastern
S/T
Sirens

Here We Rest

Something More Than Free

I'm sure SMTF will be a grower. I liked Flagship and Speed Trap Town quite a bit on the first listen. Had a strong negative reaction to How To Forget and The Life You Chose. The rest kinda washed over me. I'll pick up the vinyl and give it another shot at some point.

I like both Forget and Chose, especially the verses, lyrically, but the loud chorus singing thing is a pale reflection of what he did on Cover Me Up, and it took a while for my ears to not object.

But the question "Are you living the life you chose? Are you living the life that chose you?" That's a good one.

Our ranking of albums is remarkably similar.

[roland]

Just unpacked the record- I wasn't cool enough to get a link to the leak, so all I have are the three singles. Waiting for the Mrs. to get home in half an hour to give it a spin or three.

[Zip City]

Isbell is such an interesting point of discussion. It seems that people are constantly longing for him to be something he never (or rarely) was. I don't know if its still long-past resentment over his split with DBT, but he just never ever seems to get a fair shake.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Isbell is such an interesting point of discussion. It seems that people are constantly longing for him to be something he never (or rarely) was. I don't know if its still long-past resentment over his split with DBT, but he just never ever seems to get a fair shake.

How so? I've been a huge champion of his work and listen to Sirens of the Ditch probably once a week or so, certainly never two weeks without it (although the disjointed production does bother me occasionally) and HWR and the S/T record aren't too far behind that. The CD of the live record hasn't left my car since it came out 3 years ago or whatever. Heck, I probably listened to Southeastern almost every day for a year and I've listened to this record almost every day since I go the leak a few weeks back. I'm just saying that I think he's gotten a little bit too inside his head recently and hope he breaks out of it. I'm not saying the songs shouldn't be personal, that's what he does, but maybe some different angles and perspectives would help. All that said he's proably one of the 6 or 7 best songwriters currently working and that ain't too shabby.

[Zip City]

Isbell is such an interesting point of discussion. It seems that people are constantly longing for him to be something he never (or rarely) was. I don't know if its still long-past resentment over his split with DBT, but he just never ever seems to get a fair shake.

How so? I've been a huge champion of his work and listen to Sirens of the Ditch probably once a week or so, certainly never two weeks without it (although the disjointed production does bother me occasionally) and HWR and the S/T record aren't too far behind that. The CD of the live record hasn't left my car since it came out 3 years ago or whatever. Heck, I probably listened to Southeastern almost every day for a year and I've listened to this record almost every day since I go the leak a few weeks back. I'm just saying that I think he's gotten a little bit too inside his head recently and hope he breaks out of it. I'm not saying the songs shouldn't be personal, that's what he does, but maybe some different angles and perspectives would help. All that said he's proably one of the 6 or 7 best songwriters currently working and that ain't too shabby.

Not you specifically, TC, just the board in general. Every new album comes out and we have several pages of "he used to rock more, he used to write these types of songs, he used to whatever," while I don't think DBT's new records get criticized in the same way

[Clams]

Not quite sure where to put this, so I'll just put it here.

For some unknown reason, Phila. Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce decided it was a good idea to go on WXPN this afternoon with his guitar and his hair in a man-bun and sing a cover of Isbell's Cover Me Up.

Here's a link to the story from the fine Phily sports blog Crossing Broad:
http://www.crossingbroad.com/2015/07/ja ... t-now.html

And here's the video of the actual performance:
https://www.periscope.tv/w/aHbR3TI3ODk1 ... MoMKDFxg==

Crazy.

[ford911]

I agree with Zip. I've checked into this thread a few times and the overall negativity for this album on here is kind of crazy. It has a few misses but I don't own many albums that don't. Lyrically there is some brilliant stuff on it. I hear great new lines with every listen.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

He seemed to be such a good fit with the DBT's at first, both live and on record but by the time A Blessing And A Curse rolled around it was apparent just how different his work was. So, it's not as though his smoother, more accessible and dare I say "commercial" sound has ever been anything new to me. Before I'd even heard the first song off of Southeastern I had a feeling that it would be his breakout album. I wasn't so surprised to see that it was as he seemed poised to go to the next level at that point. I don't see any of these things as negative aspects of Isbell's sound as they've been there all along but as time has passed, I've found a good deal of his work (as well as his live show) to be less appealing to me. That said, I'm sure I'll be buying the new record when drops on Friday. So far, I've heard the title track and "24 Frames". In another place in another time, these would be all over the radio. In fact, they seem tailor made for it. That may be a criticism but it's one I've arrived at honestly.

[Cole Younger]

"Introspective in the same way" is a great way to put it. I agree.

And when it comes to songs (like the title track) about good-but-flawed hard-working people doing the best they can, I think I'm just about at capacity. I don't know that I buy Jason as a voice of the working man the way I do someone like Chris Knight or James McMurtry.

You've hit on something I' think I've always known but it was always kind of subconscious. And I'm really not sure why I feel this way. Chris Knight especially seems much better suited for this.