Four-time Grammy winner, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, is justifiably proud of making three immensely successful consecutive albums, all since his well-chronicled transition to sobriety. Three in a row is a feat not many have accomplished. Don’t blame him if he feels some pressure to pull off a proverbial four-bagger with his latest, Reunions. Reviewing the seldom accomplished feat inevitably brings us back to the golden age of folk and rock with these names: (sure, many who are devoted fans of certain artists or bands will argue) – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, and Stevie Wonder. Now that we’ve probably ignited a huge argument, do the research: not even revered songwriters like Kris Kristofferson and the late John Prine are on that shortlist. Look again, there are only six truly solo artists. That’s the rarified company Jason Isbell hopes to enter. And, he just might.
Like the predecessors, Reunions is produced by Dave Cobb and recorded in Nashville. Isbell explains the origin of the title, “There are a lot of ghosts on this album. Sometimes the songs are about the ghosts of people who aren’t around anymore, but they’re also about who I used to be, the ghost of myself. I found myself writing songs that I wanted to write fifteen years ago, but in those days, I hadn’t written enough songs to know how to do it yet. Just now have I been able to pull it off to my own satisfaction. In that sense it’s a reunion with the me I was back then.” He goes on, “I didn’t notice it when I was writing it. And not really even when we were recording it either. But when we mixing it and I was listening back to mixes at the end, I thought, Man, almost every song has a ghost. Like, a literal ghost. And I start thinking, What is a ghost? Usually it’s not a stranger. In the ghost stories that actually mean something, it’s somebody that you’ve know in your past, so you are reuniting in a way with that person.”
Remarkably Isbell is nearing almost two decades of recorded music, having begun as a budding 18-year-old talent, first appearing on The Drive-by Truckers 2003 Decoration Day, the title song of which was composed by Isbell. As we know, even though he only recorded three albums with the band, he still performs many of the songs from that era in live shows and we’ve even seen lists of “Jason Isbell’s Thirty Best Songs.” Yes, in many corners, he is being hailed as “one of the best” and “the best singer-songwriter of his generation” today.
Reunions is Isbell’s seventh full-length solo studio album and the fourth released with his band, the 400 Unit: Derry deBorja (piano, keyboard, organ, omnichord), Chad Gamble (drums, tambourine), Jimbo Hart (bass), Amanda Shires (fiddle) and Sadler Vaden (acoustic guitar, electric guitar). The new album also includes background vocals from special guests David Crosby (Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Byrds) who sings on “What I’ve Done to Help” and “Only Children” and Jay Buchanan (Rival Sons). There are ten new songs, most written while taking long rides in the country in late 2019.
The first song he wrote, “Only Children” was an homage to a dead friend with his consistently honest lyrics – “Heaven wasted on the dead/That’s what your momma said/And the hearse was idling in the parking lot/She said you thought the world of me/And you were glad to see/They finally let me be an astronaut.” In the album, he continues to visit his past with songs about childhood, divorce, sobriety, and fatherhood. And, as he usually does, he adds social commentary too. Singing about lost jobs in “Overseas” – “This used to be a ghost town, but even the ghost got out.”
Isbell has been struggling to forgive his pre-sobriety self but perhaps this album marks a beginning. The opening “What’ve I Done to Help” is perhaps his way of saying that perhaps his own journey has helped others to a healthier state. Stories are also already appearing about Isbell’s relationship with Ryan Adams, the subject of “Running with Our Eyes Closed.” Adams helped Isbell into rehab, the first stages of reaching sobriety. Then of course, all the allegations about Adams’ mistreatment of women came out. Isbell says, in retrospect, “…if you’re gonna be somebody’s friend, you need to know em’ better. I wasn’t being a very good friend. You know? Whether he deserved a good friend or not, I should have known that those things we’re going on.”
Two singles have already been released, the sad melodic song “Dreamsicle” rife with imagery like this –
“A dreamsicle on a summer night, In a folding lawn chair. Witches ring around the moon, Better get home soon. Poison oak and poison ivy, Dirty jokes that blew right by me. Mama curling up beside me, Crying to herself.” And, more recently, “Be Afraid” which is about the temptations of stardom – “The stage belongs to you, and you feel like a star. And you can bark and snap like a dog at the man who just tuned your guitar. And I don’t think you even recognize the kid in the wings, and I don’t think you even see her in yourself. She looks to you for what to do with all her delicate dreams, But you’re too terrified to be of any help. Be afraid, be very afraid, do it anyway, do it anyway. Be afraid, be very afraid, do it anyway, do it anyway.”
His songs remain deeply personal, revisiting his drinking days and happy to be done with them in “It Gets Easier” and paying tribute to his wife, Amanda’s natural mothering instincts in “Letting You Go” yet there is not a song as impactful as “Cover Me Up” or “Elephant.” Nonetheless, his material is consistently strong enough to merit the four-bagger. Yes, four in a row equals a grand slam.
