Jason Isbell - Weathervanes

[Sterling Bigmouth]

[Iowan]

Sounds like more of the same to my ears. Ehh.

[Zip City]

Sounds like more of the same to my ears. Ehh.

Completely disagree. I’m not sure if I like “Death Wish” much, but it definitely doesn’t sound like anything he’s released

[Zip City]

New songs out today on Spotify. Still mixing it up

[Tequila Cowboy]

None of the three do much for me. I like everything about the guy, I just wish I liked his music more. I did enjoy Reunions quite a bit so I had hopes but so far it's not working.

[Zip City]

I'm excited to hear the new songs in sequence.

[ford911]

It’ll probably end up being my favorite since SE. when We Were Close, King of OK, Strawberry Woman, Middle of the Morning are the early faves for me.

[Iowan]

It’ll probably end up being my favorite since SE. when We Were Close, King of OK, Strawberry Woman, Middle of the Morning are the early faves for me.

Generally agree with this. I didn’t get into the first couple singles, but Cast Iron Skillet really caught me off guard. Yesterday morning I heard King of Oklahoma for the first time. I was driving towards Lake Michigan with the sunrise in my face and nearly broke into tears. It’s an incredible song.

I’ve been really out on the post Southeastern era, but god damn he got off the mat here.

[Sterling Bigmouth]

Interestingly enough, in interviews he’s been referring to King of Oklahoma and a few other tracks as the “Old Assignment”, or songs he feels would’ve fit on the DBT albums he was part of.

[Iowan]

Interestingly enough, in interviews he’s been referring to King of Oklahoma and a few other tracks as the “Old Assignment”, or songs he feels would’ve fit on the DBT albums he was part of.

Yeah, it would absolutely fit with DBT thematically

[Tequila Cowboy]

It’s a stunning record, and I was not expecting it. The expansive production with individual instrumentation standing out in the mix is a far cry from Dave Cobb’s “wash of sound with the vocals in top” approach.

[Clams]

None of the three do much for me. I like everything about the guy, I just wish I liked his music more. I did enjoy Reunions quite a bit so I had hopes but so far it's not working.

I felt the same as TC after hearing the singles that were released in the spring. But, with all the positive reviews and opinions* I've read, I gave the entire record a couple of good hard listens over the weekend. And I have to say it sounds really fucking good. I have a feeling this will be a major player for me this summer.

*reviews and opinions not by professional critics but by y'all

[beantownbubba]

I've barely scratched the surface of listening to the album as a whole and experiencing the musical whole, but what's obvious right out of the box is that the lyrics of virtually every song are extraordinary. Clever rhyming couplets that don't just rhyme but are very pointed, puns/double entendres, a novel's worth of insights or observations packed into a single verse, a level of maturity one could have barely imagined in the years immediately after he left DBT and overall, a display a mastery of his craft.

I wanted to highlight a couple of couplets from a couple of songs as being particularly worth savoring or appreciating, but I wound up with something from almost every song, plus one complete song that works perfectly as a whole but wasn't so easy to break into parts ("Vestavia Hills"). "King of Oklahoma" is another tightly knit whole, but the play on "title" and structure of the selected couplet just cries out for recognition. This is very long, but it's just selected highlighted lyrics from most of the songs on Weathervanes for your consideration and enjoyment:

Death Wish

The night was young once, we were the wild ones
Before we had to pay attention to the violence
Anything could happen, but nothing ever really did
I wanted action, shе wanted answers
Sunrise with thе dealers and the dancers
It takes a whole lot of medicine to feel like a little kid

King of Oklahoma

Got a loan out on the truck but I'm runnin' out of luck
And the title is the only thing I've got

Save the World

The kid's looking through the candy aisle
School's starting in a week
A lady says, "You have a lovely child"
And I’m too terrified to speak

Can we keep her here at home instead
And can we teach her how to fight?
Something's changing inside my head
Something's drowning out the light

If You Insist

I could lie to you all night
Say I saw you in a dream
We don't have to get to know each other better
Let it be just how it seems
I won't ask you for your number
Don't even need to know your name
I'm too tired to get excited
And I'm too old to be ashamed

We're running out of options
I'll give you time to think
If you insist on being lonely
Let me leave you to your drink

We're running out of options
I'll wait outside the door
If you insist on being lonely
I might wait a minute more

Cast Iron Skillet

How did he get so low? Seems like just a week ago
We were 10 and 12 years old
He was sweet and soft, shied away from the inside fastballs
And died doing life without parolе

Don't wash the cast iron skillet
That dog bites my kid, I'll kill it
Don't walk whеre you can't see your feet
Don't ask questions, just believe it

Jamie found a boyfriend with smiling eyes and dark skin
And her daddy never spoke another word to her again
The old man at the Quick Stop, lying to the county cops
And laughing like his soul was without sin

How did he get so low? Seems like just a week ago
She was sitting on your shoulders watching fireworks in the sky
He treats her like a queen, but you don't know 'cause you ain't seen
It's hard to go through life without your daddy by your side

Don't wash the cast iron skillet
This town won't get no better, will it?
She found love and it was simple as a weathervane
But her own family tried to kill it

Volunteer

Daddy worked hard, mama worked harder
Propped up on pain pills and pride
They were just kids when I came in this world
And I was a kid when they died…

I cried when I missed em, got lost in the system
Foster homes passed me around
The last one was nice but I ran away twice
And they gave up on tracking me down

Vestavia Hills

[The Whole Damn Thing]

White Beretta

If His* love is unconditional, why do I feel so miserable?...

Raised in the church, washed in the blood
And we all were saved before we even left home
I thank God you weren't brought up like me, with all that shame and certainty
And I'm sorry you had to go in that room alone…

It was so many years ago, oh, and I just didn't know
But that ain't no excuse
I thank you for your grace, for the dreams we got to chase
For what you chose to do

Miles

Coming home early, catching on late
Guess I had too much on my plate
Wish it was as simple as somebody done somebody wrong
I'm coming home early, catching on late…

She'll be driving in the fall
And we'll sit up waiting on the call
As she leaves, I'll tell her don't get hurt and don't get pregnant, but
She won't acknowledge me at all

*It seems clear to me that this should be capitalized but it wasn’t in the version of the lyrics I used for this, so I just took the liberty and hope I’m right.

[beantownbubba]

esterday morning I heard King of Oklahoma for the first time. I was driving towards Lake Michigan with the sunrise in my face and nearly broke into tears. It’s an incredible song.

Yeah King of Oklahoma is incredible and is my early favorite.

[jr29]

It was my initial favorite too.
That has shifted to "This Ain't It". Great opening line, great character, and hardcore Allman Brothers guitar interplay.

[brettac1]

White Beretta is my fave for sure at this point.

[pearlbeer]

Long but good....


https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/11831940 ... es-profile

[Cole Younger]

I am really, really liking this album and that makes me all kinds of happy because I had kind of given up on Jason.

I mentioned this somewhere else on the board but at the homecoming hangout a few years ago I was standing there talking to Flea and Smitty and a few others and we ended up talking about Jason. I said I still likes him but never found myself listening to his music anymore. They agreed. He had become like somebody you used to be friends with and still thought of as a friend but never talked to anymore.

He’s had moments here and there. I don’t hate either of his first to albums. I like Here We Rest. I still recognize how good Southeastern is but never listen to it. It just feels too time specific. I like a few songs on the next one. And then I lost interest.

This album is what I always thought he could be. Bun a did such a good job up there I won’t get real specific but he hit a grand slam with this album.

[beantownbubba]

King of Oklahoma

Got a loan out on the truck but I'm runnin' out of luck
And the title is the only thing I've got

Such are the vagaries of a songwriter's life: Somebody on Jason's twitter page asked "how can he have the title if he still has a loan outstanding?" (quote approximate). Jason showed more patience for the guy than I would have had (good on Jason) but damn, the guy missed the beauty of the line completely.

^^^Yeah CY that about sums it up for me, too.

[Cole Younger]

I am really, really liking this album and that makes me all kinds of happy because I had kind of given up on Jason.

I mentioned this somewhere else on the board but at the homecoming hangout a few years ago I was standing there talking to Flea and Smitty and a few others and we ended up talking about Jason. I said I still likes him but never found myself listening to his music anymore. They agreed. He had become like somebody you used to be friends with and still thought of as a friend but never talked to anymore.

He’s had moments here and there. I don’t hate either of his first to albums. I like Here We Rest. I still recognize how good Southeastern is but never listen to it. It just feels too time specific. I like a few songs on the next one. And then I lost interest.

This album is what I always thought he could be. Bubba a did such a good job up there I won’t get real specific but he hit a grand slam with this album.

[beantownbubba]

I am really, really liking this album and that makes me all kinds of happy because I had kind of given up on Jason.

I mentioned this somewhere else on the board but at the homecoming hangout a few years ago I was standing there talking to Flea and Smitty and a few others and we ended up talking about Jason. I said I still likes him but never found myself listening to his music anymore. They agreed. He had become like somebody you used to be friends with and still thought of as a friend but never talked to anymore.

He’s had moments here and there. I don’t hate either of his first to albums. I like Here We Rest. I still recognize how good Southeastern is but never listen to it. It just feels too time specific. I like a few songs on the next one. And then I lost interest.

This album is what I always thought he could be. Bubba a did such a good job up there I won’t get real specific but he hit a grand slam with this album.

LOL. And I still agree with you, too

[cortez the killer]

I haven't followed Jason's post-DBT career too closely, but this album is very strong. Really enjoying it.

[pearlbeer]

I am really, really liking this album and that makes me all kinds of happy because I had kind of given up on Jason.

I mentioned this somewhere else on the board but at the homecoming hangout a few years ago I was standing there talking to Flea and Smitty and a few others and we ended up talking about Jason. I said I still likes him but never found myself listening to his music anymore. They agreed. He had become like somebody you used to be friends with and still thought of as a friend but never talked to anymore.

He’s had moments here and there. I don’t hate either of his first to albums. I like Here We Rest. I still recognize how good Southeastern is but never listen to it. It just feels too time specific. I like a few songs on the next one. And then I lost interest.

This album is what I always thought he could be. Bubba a did such a good job up there I won’t get real specific but he hit a grand slam with this album.

Cole! Good to 'see' you.

Agree with this. All Isbell is good, but Southeastern and Weathervanes stand out. My wife has turned into a much bigger Isbell fan than me. He really is an incredible songwriter, especially on the latest. I always enjoy his live shows, as he's a hell of a guitar picker.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

During The Open today there was a mention of Vestavia Hills (the place, not the song)

[brettac1]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cvc3DUlt ... hare_sheet

[gepman]

Anyone else hear the intro to The Sidewinders "Bad Crazy Sun" during the intro to "King of Oklahoma"?
I think it is due to the fiddle for me.

Caught JI400U in Harrisburg PA 2 weeks ago, band firing on 10 cylinders. KoH was extended to 7+ minutes with Jason and Sadler trading solos. Good time, good times...

Miles and This Ain't It we tremendous as well.

Also nice to hear Alabama Pines again.

[cortez the killer]

Anyone else hear the intro to The Sidewinders "Bad Crazy Sun" during the intro to "King of Oklahoma"?
I think it is due to the fiddle for me.

I hadn't until you mentioned it. Good call!

[WarHenRecords]

Going tonight in Richmond.
Looking forward.
Have not heard the new album. Frankly haven't even really listened to anything he's put out in many years.
Was pretty well off the Isbell bus completely for a while, but wound up with some free tix to the show in Charlottesville last summer. It was my first time seeing him in probably 5-6 years and I thought it was really great.
FF to now, was on the fence about traveling down to RVA but then saw that goddamn Will Johnson is in the band and well... that's just a no-brainer.
Should be a fun night on the Island.