Jason Isbell - Sirens Of The Ditch

I like it lots, but I don't think anything on it quite compares to his contributions to the Dirty South or Decoration Day. It comes off a little tentative, like the side-project it was once going to be (prior to him splitting with the band). It's a very good album, but I have a feeling that his next one is going to be the big breakthrough.

I'm torn on "Dress Blues." I mean, I've loved the song since he started playing it as a solo piece with the DBT, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the reduced tempo and extra instrumentation (although that one high lead on the slide is really nice). Still, it may be the best song on the album, and that's promising, since it's also the newest, by far, which means he's just getting better.

I heard the Henley vocal comparison, too, but we will speak no more of this.

That's one of my favorites, actually. I'm pretty sure all of the songs except "Dress Blues" were recorded a while ago (around the time of The Dirty South, I think). Interesting to see Shonna Tucker on almost every track, since they split up somewhere along the line.

I'll echo the love/appreciation for the album. I don't hear much Henley when I listen to it, but I think Isbell wears his Tom Petty influence on his sleeve in all the right ways.

You should check out the new Ryan Adams. I've been lukewarm on his stuff since Gold, but he really delivers on the new one. If Isbell's turning your crank, you'll probably like it. Isbell's the better songwriter, but Adams' album sounds more confident and assured (and, most amazingly for him, consistent).

When Isbell gets to the same point in his career (especially now that he has free run of his A material for his solo work rather than having to contribute some of it to DBT*), I think he's going to be unfathomably good.

* Sirens is great, but imagine a debut that had "Decoration Day," "Outfit," "Danko/Manuel," "The Day John Henry Died," "Never Gonna Change," and "Goddamn Lonely Love" on it, along with the highlights of the album he actually put out. He'd have been legendary right off the bat.

DaveB beat me to it, but Isbell is the driving force behind the absolute best work the Truckers ever produced. I'm not surprised at all that this album turned out well. I just got a 25% off coupon from Borders today, and I'm going to scurry off after work and pick it up.

Seconded. I've been playing the new Adams a lot, too. I missed out on a lot of his middling stuff the last few years, but damned if I can't stop putting "Halloween Head" on repeat.

"GUITAR SOLO!"

Honestly, I have a hard time thinking of Jacksonville City Nights as anything other than a very strong album. The rest of his albums are hit-and-miss, but I'm a Ryan Adams fan, so I look at it as a glass half-full.

I remember it being easily the best of the three released that year, but it just seemed like the best of a really slapdash period for him. This one sounds more coherent.

I was a big fan of Cold Roses that year, actually, though Jacksonville is really strong, too. Both are light years better than 29. I haven't heard the new one yet.

I'm really interested to hear this new Jason Isbell record. I've barely heard anything that the Truckers have done because my local record store seems unable to actually stock (or keep in stock, perhaps) any of their more recent albums. I saw Southern Rock Opera when it first came out and I swear I haven't seen it in that store since.

So, I saw Isbell live last night in D.C.

Some thoughts:
First, he was playing at The Rock 'n' Roll Hotel in D.C. which is fantastic. Small, with a very clear soundsystem, and good air conditioning.

Second, the opening acts were both fantastic. The first opener, a bluegrassy group by the name of Phillips Saylor Wisor, were especially cool, and each copy of their disc had a different, hand-drawn cover on it.

As for Isbell...his show was excellent. I actually haven't picked up Sirens of the Ditch yet, but it didn't matter. The songs had immediate appeal, and the entire crowd was into it. He took requests all through the show, and played all his big DBT songs.

Having seen the Drive-By Truckers live and having seen Isbell alone, I prefer Isbell by himself. When I saw the Truckers, the entire show was midtempo and just kind of listless. Obviously, they're renowned for their live show, so I was pretty disappointed. Not the case with Isbell...his control of the pace of the show was excellent, and it was obvious that he was throwing himself into each song.

On an unrelated note, I spent some time standing next to his girlfriend (groupie?). Not bad at all.

I downloaded the CD release shows from the 40 Watt Club (Athens) and the Earl (Atlanta), and I've gotta say the 400 Unit sounds better than the recorded versions. Plus, I think they might even play some of his old material better than the DBT did.

He's playing a free show in Madison next Friday, and we're definitely going.

FYI - LD, I think you saw a bum DBT show. I've seen them three times, and they've been pretty great every time, usually pacing the material really well. I think they go without a setlist pretty often, though, so that might explain spotty sequencing.

On the first point, I didn't want to say it because I didn't want to have to defend it, but you're right. The performance of Danko/Manuel was jaw-dropping. Somehow, they made the song just out-and-out rock without losing any of the emotion. Really fantastic.

As for the Truckers, I assumed that was the case, which is why I'm going to go check them out again at the 9:30 Club on Friday.

Oh, and if anyone is curious...Isbell referred to the Truckers as "good friends of his" before he broke out into "Goddamn Lonely Love". I only mention this because I hadn't heard anything definite about the reasoning behind the split, and I was glad to hear there wasn't any acrimony.

I was just spinning this one again last night, myself. I enjoy it a lot, but I really need to dig out a couple of the older DBTs albums that I haven't heard lately. I've had echos of "Danko/Manuel" in my head all week, and I need the real thing.

Everyone in this thread who hasn't already should check Kim's post in the Atlanta forum... she posted up a nice video of Jason's in-store here in Atlanta before the EARL show.

Where'd you download that one, by the way, DaveB? Would be very cool to have a copy of the show I attended.

Both shows are posted here. Both are pretty good quality, but I give the slight edge to the 40 Watt. The set at the Earl is slightly more interesting, though.

And, LD, "Danko/Manuel" definitely sounds bigger with the 400 Unit. Also, I like the extra solo-y bits on "Goddamn Lonely Love," and "Never Gonna Change." The only one of his DBT songs not covered in either set is "The Day John Henry Died" (cripes, he even pulled out "When the Well Runs Dry," which was a Blessing and a Curse b-side, and "TVA," which DBT only ever played live). I'm hoping he pulls that one out for the Madison show, since I bet it cooks with this band.

I find it really strange that he's not playing John Henry, since it's such a crowd pleaser. Although, it's not like his sets are short on crowd-pleasing songs. He played Psycho Killer last night, and it killed. I can see why he's been throwing it in at his shows.

Yeah, we got "Psycho Killer" at our show, though his 2nd guitarist sang lead on that one. It rocked. They closed the show with [spoiler!] "Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy, which was raucous fun.

From the setlists I've read, it seems they're playing both of those covers at most shows. And also a cover of Patterson Hood's "The Assassin."

Saw Isbell and the 400 Unit last night, and they were absolutely awesome. The band is both tighter and more prone (and able) to improv than DBT. The versions of "Goddamn Lonely Love" and "Never Gonna Change" I heard last night crushed the DBT renditions, and his version of "The Assassin" not only destroys Hood's original, but may have been a highlight of the show.

Oddly enough, the show was light on DBT songs (the two aforementioned, plus "Decoration Day") and even a little light on songs from Sirens. Instead, it was a heavy covers night - "The Assassin," "Jailbreak," "Psycho Killer," "Please Be With Me" (a song Eric Clapton popularized), and, best of all, a sped up cover of Springsteen's "Atlantic City," maybe the only version I've ever heard that stacks up to the original version on Nebraska (including Springsteen's attempts at doing it live).

It was a full-band version, too. I guess he does it acoustic sometimes, but this is probably the only electric version I've ever heard that totally works (I include Springsteen's attempts in this).

We're getting Patterson Hood solo in a couple of weeks, then Isbell acoustic in September, followed a couple of weeks later by a Truckers show, then Isbell's back with the full band a couple of weeks after that.

Somebody want to spot me some cash?

Is that Truckers show one of the "Dirt Underneath" dates? Anyone seen them in that format yet? It sounds kind of intriguing, but I have to admit being a tiny bit less interested without Isbell in the fold and even a little less interested if it's all or primarily acoustic.

No, it's a rock show. I downloaded one of the Dirt Underneath shows and liked a lot of what I heard. They played several new songs, and I think the next record's going to be pretty great. Cooley has some killer new stuff especially. Dave, check either the Southern Shelter site or Archive.org, I can't remember which had it, but I think it's the April 28th show I got. If all else fails, PM me.

I'm heading up to Chicago to start school in a few weeks, and some of the things about moving to the big city that excites me the most are all the shows I'll have a chance to see. Sure enough, I got on Ticketmaster and found out that the Truckers, who are probably my favorite band at the moment, will be in Chicago in October. But now I find out that it is an acoutstic "Dirt Underground" show. I still plan to buy tickets and I'm sure it will be badass, but I can't help but feel that I would rather see a regular DBT show especially as I've never seen them before. I'm already kind of upset that I'm never going to get a chance to see the Truckers with Isbell. Has anyone here seen the band since Isbell left? He is probably my favorite song writer of the three, but I'm hoping they carry on without him fairly well, even though, in my opinion, they didn't really start doing their best stuff untill after he came aboard.

Nope - three times with him (in the electric format), though, and they were always spectacular. You might want to check out the message board at ninebullets.org for reactions to the Isbell-less Truckers (and the Truckers in Dirt Underneath mode). Beware that many of the people who post there are rabid old-school Truckers fans who didn't care for Isbell's poppier influence on the band*, and a number of them have bizarre man-crushes on Cooley to the point that it makes me sort of uncomfortable reading their posts.

* There are differences in taste and then there's outright insanity. Saying that Pizza Deliverance or Gangstabilly is better than Decoration Day or the Dirty South is the latter where I come from (actually where I come from, only about 25% of the people I introduce to the DBT end up liking them at all).

My roommate went and saw them, having only ever really heard Isbell's songs (to prep him for the Isbell show), and loved it. He said it split out about 50/50 acoustic v electric, but enjoyed it all anyways. As a warning, he thought the show lost some momentum during the acoustic set.