Jason Isbell is a talented musician and actor. He was a part of the band Drive-By Truckers (kind of an ironically hilarious band name, to be fair, even to the fans of such a Southern Rock-based USA band) and he left that band after being an important member of the band in 2001 and 2007 during his twenties. There has been speculation that he was fired from that band due to ongoing drug and alcohol use, which is a common theme for musicians to be removed as personnel from bands over the history of music. Nonetheless, this did not stop Jason Isbell from making some well-received music of his own. This album, his fourth solo release so far, is his best received as a whole. It even made it to the revised Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list back in 2020. It is common knowledge that Ryan Adams, his touring bandmate and friend, was supposed to produce this album, but shied away from the process of doing so after feeling unable to produce the material. Jason Isbell has stated that this was not necessarily due to poor quality material, quite the opposite. Regardless, this album shares the same name as his record label at the time and was also a childhood reference point for Jason Isbell. Jason Isbell recently has had a Fender Custom Shop Telecaster and original wound pickups made. This proves that he has some musical magic within him, from all these facts. Without any further hesitation, let’s take a listen to this album, arguably his best solo album, and we shall hear how it sounds.

Cover Me Up begins the album with some softly played acoustic guitar and sounds excellent. Jason Isbell opens with some iconic lyrics. Instantly, you can tell that this music is a hit with fans of Country Music and Southern Rock. This sounds gorgeous and tragic throughout, which is typical of this sort of genre. Chris Stapleton obviously has some good competition here, and this music is melancholic but beautiful. Some pretty slide guitar is present in this song as well. A very realistic and sweet listen throughout. The acoustic guitars and playing in general are fantastic, and this has lyrics about heartbreaking romantic imagery. Nonetheless, this is an instant classic to listen to, provided you like Country Music of any sort. A really cool listen about getting it on with no regrets, this is what Kid Rock should have done around this time, rather than have profanity-laden music lyrically instead (although that may appeal to some listeners). This simple yet loveable music is extremely great to hear. The slide guitar is extremely melodic to listen to here, and the music within is outstanding. Jason Isbell’s voice exudes pain, heartbreak and suffering, not unlike Kurt Cobain’s in many aspects, except without suicidal tendencies. A great start to an album. This ends softly.

Stockholm launches into a more traditional Rock Music based number, with some awesome singing in a Country way alongside some sweet backing vocals by Kim Richey. This tune is a glorious listen, as Jason Isbell produces a good song about being stranded in Stockholm, Sweden. Nonetheless, this is a short and magically beautiful tune that sounds inspired, fresh and excellent. One doesn’t need to be a Country Music fan to hear this music and be blown away by its magical feel. This has a synchronised string section and guitar solo to match. Very, very good and music to pull away at heartstrings. A short yet excellent listening experience.

Traveling Alone is the way of life when you are single, or on the road as a travelling musician. Jason Isbell sings sweetly over a violin part and acoustic guitars throughout. He sings in a deep and moving way. In fact, very few vocalists have the deep and moving singing that Jason Isbell does, and this makes this Southern Rock-based music even more touching. A great song about inviting a lady to join one for a long road trip, this song is designed to be played in the car for a long drive with a lover. In any case, this is wonderfully written, produced and performed. Jason Isbell is a mastercrafter of postmodern Country Music. Provided you dig that genre, you will likely love this music. A really moving and deep tune that sounds unique and movingly beautiful. This music is a really pleasant listen, and the key change sounds very lovely and natural. There is a violin solo here, amongst the nicely played guitars. An excellent song, and something that newlyweds may wish to listen to in their car on their honeymoon. Regardless, a very sweet listen. Excellent music, once again.

Elephant begins with moody acoustic guitar and sweet but melodic playing. This is a great listen about a lady of one’s fancy who one is dealing with. A really cool tune, with some excellent and descriptive lyricism. Jason Isbell, although not exactly John Lennon and Paul McCartney in terms of overall recognition for songwriting, is a great and creative lyricist. This is a slow-burning tune, just like a Cuban cigar that one passes around to their friends at a party. Indeed, this is a great song with a great deal of tragedy to it, as it deals with health issues. An awesome and moving tune, Jason Isbell references marijuana use and trying to hold things together in the face of bad luck. A very emotional listen, this is what one needs to hear when struck with the loss of a loved one. A very sweet song in any case, which gets subtle at the end.

Flying Over Water begins with crunchy electric guitars and launches into a great song from the start. Again, the tales of romanticism and pleasantries throughout are really great to listen to. There are some overdriven Fender Telecasters set to a more straightforward Rock tune at hand here. This is the more punchy and upbeat side of Jason Isbell, sounding joyous and spirited. This also proves that he had a great deal of musical variety in his musical senses. This still retains the Southern Rock flavour of his music. This is about taking a flight with one’s one and only lover and sounds magical, beautiful and sweet throughout. If you like this sort of songcraft, one can imagine being with your soulmate in a similar position. A loud and overdriven guitar solo is present in the second half of this song, and it sounds great. Nonetheless, this gets stripped back towards the end with a gorgeous climax and has Jason Isbell reflecting on love and relationship issues. Again, a great song.

Different Days begins with some crisp acoustic guitar playing and sounds great in the process. This is a continuation of the previous track. Although this is not technically a concept album, one can certainly pick out the themes of romance and travel here. In any case, this is another fresh, inspired and beautiful listening experience that sounds simple, melodic and powerful. This is genuine proof that, unlike some of the loud Punk Rock bands, making subtlety a point in music can be just as powerful, rather than cranking everything to full volume. Nonetheless, this is another awesome song that references Jesus and family affairs, which is typical Country stuff. Even if you aren’t into Christianity, this music will lift your soul and touch your heart. Another simple yet emotionally powerful song at hand. Jason Isbell showcases his glorious and unique musical talent, he is not to be underestimated on this album. A great listen, once again.

Live Oak begins with a lone vocal performance, and this is direct and spoken word poetry sung nicely. Eventually, acoustic guitar enters and this song gets going nicely. This is a sad yet fairly relatable song about being alone and lonely, until finding true love that melts one’s heart. This sounds really fresh and emotionally powerful. Without sounding wimpy, Jason Isbell puts a deep sensitivity and heart on his sleeve for the listener. There are many references to Country based imagery, and this song is very close to the bone for those who have experienced heartbreak of any sort. A Fender guitar solo and Mellotron part combine nicely in the second half. This gradually wraps up with some direct lyrics and moving musicianship and singing. Another great song.

Songs That She Sang In The Shower begins with some shuffle instrumentation and launches into an acoustic guitar riff-based piece that sounds interesting. The lyrics also match the music nicely, and this sounds very different musically. This is another relationship-based piece that sounds very good. A really different and emotionally moving listening experience about the simple and romantic things that couples do. Nonetheless, this music does sound really wonderfully done and it sounds absolutely gorgeous as a result. The music is incredibly lovely and sweet to listen to, with some Country/Southern Rock styled lyrics throughout. This references the Pink Floyd 1975 classic album Wish You Were Here as well, lyrically at least. A really fine and awesome tune to listen to, this certainly sounds really fantastic as a piece of music. This is a great song, and it has a glorious and wonderful reflection on happier times before. Good but a sad listen.

New South Wales is actually the Australian state where the major city of Sydney is for those of you who know your geography. It begins with some cheerful and upbeat acoustic guitar, and bass guitar and it sounds like the sort of song that the NSW government should actually put in a tourist advertisement for the place, perhaps money was involved with this particular song. Regardless, this sounds simple, beautiful and amazing from the start, and the music is rural based and unique in its own way. The acoustic guitar playing is really sweet and crisp, perfect for the Country Music-based artistry throughout. There are open references to cocaine and other deeds, although this is not Life In The Fast Lane by the Eagles. A unique and clever listening experience that sounds really fine and great throughout. A thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable song about drinking with friends in the country, this is very appealing music, especially if you are from Australia. Australia is a great country that is very beautiful and unique in its own cultural way, being formally established as a penal colony in 1788 in New South Wales itself by the British (although the Indigenous people of Australia inhabited the country for thousands of years prior to this). History and iconic lyrical references aside, this is a timeless song. Excellent to hear from start to finish, once again.

Super 8 begins with a drumstick-clacking intro, before launching into a rather cringe-worthy song that, although is quite different here, makes little sense to destroy this section of the album by putting in a song with gnarly overdriven guitars and a lazy musical feel to the listening experience. In any case, this music does have some good singing throughout and the lyrics are about dirty deeds. This is not a good song from this album, and it sounds like a Southern Rock imitation of late 1970s Punk Rock Music. Not a good mixture of tunes or sound, there is way too much overdrive on the guitars as well. Go ahead and skip this tune if you wish, nothing extraordinarily special or listenable here. In any case, this tune is a bit of a letdown. Not worth hearing this track.

Yvette begins with some soft drum rolls and launches into a hybrid of acoustic guitar, slide guitar and piano playing along with the main band. Jason Isbell sings sweetly and beautifully in this song. This is a love letter on the surface, but it is actually about sexual abuse. Not a light topic to listen to. This builds up to a Neil Young-style bleak chorus. This is okay, but not exactly a good topic of songwriting choice, as it will be close to the bone for many people out there. That is not what good music is about unless you dig such an unpleasant topic. Still, one can appreciate the musicianship and melodies here. It seems towards the end of the album, Jason Isbell runs out of consistency. This is a better song than you’d think, but there is no need to write about ghastly topics unless you are a band such as Slayer (who aren’t 100% serious about this sort of thing). Not the best song from this album, and again, it is probably worth skipping. Avoid this song, it is not a comforting listen.

Relatively Easy is the final song on this album. It begins with a more upbeat-sounding, bright and breezy acoustic guitar playing. This is a much better song to conclude this good album with. Jason Isbell reveals a sweet and pure singing voice throughout. His voice is one of the most underrated in the history of music, showcasing a deep and moving sensitivity and emotion that others would struggle to imitate. In any case, this music is a good summary of the tracks before it. A wonderful, lovely and upbeat tune that showcases the better side of Jason Isbell. A good and nicely played and performed piece of music. After the climax of the song is reached is an electric slide guitar solo that sounds majestic and sweet. The music here should leave a good impression on most listeners, as does this album. A really simple and small-town sort of listening experience, and something one can come back to if the need for 21st-century Southern Rock listening arises. This begins to wrap up with strummed acoustic guitars and sweet melodies. The album ends here.

Jason Isbell is certainly talented. In particular, he is the first real singer since Kurt Cobain to exude pain, suffering and sensitivity in his singing voice in a personal way. This album is a good example of what he can do musically. The only downside to this album is that the material wears thin towards the end. However, this is easily forgivable as the other tracks before it are amazing to hear. Should you listen to this Southern Rock album? Do give it a shot if you like Country Music in the 21st century, but not all music listeners will dig its Southern Rock sounds and formula.

A good decent listen but not quite a masterpiece.

8/10