Classic Rock Bottom

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT- THE NASHVILLE SOUND (2017 ALBUM REVIEW)

I know, I know, I know.  Isbell is country.  Not really.  Isbell is Americana.  Sort of.  Personally, I see Jason Isbell as a singer songwriter, kind of like Paul Simon or Van Morrison, or maybe even Bob Dylan.  The man is a tremendous wordsmith.  Isn't that the heart of singer songwriters?  Anyway, regardless of what genre folks want to place Jason Isbell in, he's my favorite modern singer songwriter.  So I was extremely pleased to see that he and is band were releasing an album this year.

The Nashville Sound is Isbell's sixth studio album.  This one features his permanent band The 400 Unit.  His last two albums, Southeastern and Something More Than Free were billed as solo albums.  Southeastern is the album that introduced him to me, and I'll tell you to this day that it is a masterpiece!  

The band features Derry deBorja on keys, Chad Gamble on drums, Jimbo Hart on bass, Sadler Vaden on electric guitar (the credits say that Isbell handles all acoustic guitar work) and Amanda Shires, Isbell's wife, on strings (meaning fiddle) and backing vocals.  I've seen the band live, and they are fantastic.  I dig the cover, and the CD comes housed in a tri-fold cardboard case.  There is a lyric booklet that I can read with my reading glasses, so that's a positive for sure.  

So, what about the music.  Stupendous.  Another ten tracks to add to Isbell's very impressive catalog.  I'm guessing the band get's billing along side of Isbell because the album does have more of a rocked-up feel than his last two outings. I'm not saying it's straight up rock, but you can hear The Faces in the opening riff to Hope The High Road.  It's a fairly rocking tune with some great lyrics, like "I've heard enough of the white man's blues, I've sang enough about myself. So if you're looking for some bad news, you can find it somewhere else.  Last year was a son-of-a-bitch, for nearly everyone we know.  But I ain't fightin' with you down in the ditch, I'll meet you up here on the road".  The organ running through the song sounds like something from REO Speedwagon.  That's not all of the rock influence on the album either.  Cumberland Gap starts with a jangling electric guitar riff, then a most outstanding bass line really kicks this song into high gear.  White Man's World checks off as sort of a political statement.  Isbell seems to be feeling guilty about white privilege as he sings about the "red man" and the "black man".  Anxiety is definitely the heaviest song on the album.  His words perfectly describe days from my recent past, describing that feeling you get when you know something's gonna hit you at any minute.  I don't know if I'd completely lump Molotov in with the rock songs, but I totally dig it.  It's a fun tune to turn up and belt out while speeding down the road.  

Of course, you'll always get the slower, more country/Americana styled songs.  Last Of My Kind is the album opener. It's a statement on past days that are gone forever.  Tupelo screams out Van Morrison to me.  Amanda Shires backing vocals here fit just perfectly.  If We Were Vampires is another Isbell instant classic.  The melodic acoustic guitar work and the absence of other instruments lends to the atmosphere of this track.  It's a love song to his wife.  It's worded perfectly.  "It's Knowing that this can't go on forever, likely one of us will have to spend some days alone. Maybe we'll get forty years together, but one day I'll be gone, or one day you'll be gone".  You can also hear Isbell's voice crack when he says he hopes he's not the one left behind.  I do believe that's a true emotion coming out of his voice while singing that line.  There is one song that has really gotten my attention (well, all of them have done so), and that is Chaos And Clothes.  It's another largely acoustic song, Isbell's voice double tracked.  I can really hear this song being performed by Paul Simon.  "And did she leave a trail of crumbs, so you could find her when you're what you could become? Or did she know you well enough to realize that garden just won't grow? Oh no".

This album and John Mellencamp's album are effectively sitting at the top of the 2017 list for me.  If you like lyrical meaning to your music, maybe you should give this one a try.  

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 Stars

Tracks:

1. Last Of My Kind

2. Cumberland Gap

3. Tupelo

4. White Man's World

5. If We Were Vampires

6. Anxiety

7. Molotov

8. Chaos And Clothes

9. Hope The High Road

10. Something To Love

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