Album Review: Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Reunions

**** out of *****

The newest release from Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit is a strong collection of Americana and builds upon the success of his recent efforts. Reunions continues Isbell and company's ride as some of the most important artists on the scene today with Isbell writing impressive songs regarding sobriety, parenthood and dealing (or not dealing) with societal  change.

Album Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

The Nashville Sound

**** out of *****

Jason Isbell's last two albums are the strongest Americana/Sing-Songwriter releases to come out this millennium, so he has created some high expectations for himself. Now he begins opening up his sound (pop, rock, country) even posing with his longtime backing band and adding them as contributing artists (the first time since 2011's Here We Rest).

Album Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Weathervanes

**** out of *****

The newest collection of stout songs from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, titled Weathervanes, is yet another example of top notch song writing in a discography full of them; every release since Southeastern has been must hear and excellent. 

Album Review: Jason Isbell - Foxes in the Snow

Jason Isbell

Foxes in the Snow

**** out of *****

For his most recent effort, Foxes in the Snow, the singer/songwriter Jason Isbell stripped down to as basic as it comes. Isbell set up shop at Electric Lady Studios with just an all-mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17 acoustic guitar and his impressive vocals. Working with producer Gena Johnson over the span of just five days, Isbell's open, raw and hypnotic tunes are enchanting. 

Album Review: Jason Isbell-Southeastern

Jason Isbell

Southeastern

****and1/2 out of *****

The second solo album from the former Drive-By Truckers axe-slinger/songwriter Southeastern is a slice of powerfully gorgeous Americana. Layers of delicate strings, a confident front-man and songs that hold up under scrutiny via honest pleas, needful choruses and an powerful emotional anchor make it a must listen to fans of any genre, no country clichés here. 

The personal nature Isbell uses fits this collection of tunes as they were written and recorded after leaving rehab. Originally conceived as a strictly solo record his backing band The 400 Unit was brought in to spruce things up late and the accentuation's are critical, a hand drum here, a piano run there (and full on rocking for "Fly Over Water" and "Super 8") all add depth, but Isbell is the focal point and deservedly so.

The road song in both the physical and human state "Traveling Alone" is a classic as his new wife Amanda Shires joins him for the ride. Whether Isbell is recalling past complicated relationships and dealing with disease on the powerful "Elephant" or a bizarre form of "Stockholm" syndrome, Isbell's vocals are crisp dynamic and slightly wounded.  "Different Days" and the stripped down "Live Oak" both address how Isbell (or the protagonist in the song at least) has changed while "Yvette" deals with sexual abuse, these aren't light issues that can be drunk/sniffed away and a sober Isbell knows this, deepening the tone of the album.

That sobriety isn't pussyfooted about using metaphors, it is addressed head on during "Cover Me Up" "New South Wales" and those dark lonely times with "Songs That She Sings In the Shower". Where Isbell in the past has been a dynamic storyteller creating beautifully rich tunes, Southeastern has a deeply personal feel and raises above all his past work simply through one key ingredient, honesty.
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With the year coming to an end I am getting to some of my friends recommendations of great albums from this year. This is one of them and I wasn't lied to, it is amazing. It may show up in our year end list, it may not, stay tuned.  

Support the artist here, you can stream the album here, and peep some video below:
"Traveling Alone"

"Elephant"

"Live Oak"

Album Review: Jason Isbell- Something More Than Free

Jason Isbell

Something More Than Free

****and1/2 out of *****

Following a milestone record is never easy and when Jason Isbell released 2013's Southeastern he didn't only redefine his career, he straightened out his life, got married (for the second time) and sober (for the first time). The passion, heartfelt emotion and raw yearning all came clearly through the stripped down songs on Southeastern and Something More Than Free could never live up to it; but when the dust settles it has tried it's damnedest

Live Review: Jason Isbell & Father John Misty 6/19/19 Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY

Jason Isbell & Father John Misty 

Live 6/19/19 

Prospect Park- Brooklyn NY

There has been a ton of rain in New York City this Spring and it poured all day Wednesday June 19th but while the clouds and some light sprinkles fell over the Prospect Park band shell Mother Nature thankfully held off from soaking the three quarter full crowd on this night. While Jason Isbell and Father John Misty's co-headlining tour did not sell out, the groups played strongly to the receptive audience.

Jason Isbell opened up this night as the players alternate on the tour and he and the 400 Unit oozed confidence as they delved into their collection of songs about recovery, broken homes, tough choices and even a cover. "Hope The High Road" opened things up with Isbell's slide guitar playing fantastic but a bit muted as the sound system caught up to the players. On the whole the volume was low this night, probably so the rich neighbors lining the park wouldn't complain, but eventually the sounds leveled off nicely. 


"White Man's World" had a great fiddle guitar duel from Amanda Shires and Sadler Vaden who also paired up for a closing jam, which included mallets on the drums and fluid bass runs during "Last of My Kind" which proved a set highlight. Another great tune was the glorious version of "Cover Me Up" which started as a duet before huge swells and powerfully gorgeous vocals from Isbell. There was some banter around his Star Is Born song "Maybe It's Time" and the group covered Fleetwood Mac on "Oh Well" but it was the delicate closer "If We Were Vampires" which showed the strength and nuance of the songwriter and band.

After a brief set break Father John Misty took to the stage in his blazer and pants, hands in pockets to serenade the crowd with "Hangout at the Gallows" around pumping horn work. His ten-piece backing band were fluid and nimble on the evening, at times providing dramatic backing to Misty's singing or laying in the background to allow his voice to shine.   

"Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" had a good groove but allowed the guitars to get after it, all the while bathed in soothing red lighting while "Mr. Tillman" brought out huge cheers from the crowd when he hit the line, "Jason Isbell's here as well/And he seemed a little worried about you" but Isbell did not make a cameo.

Two of the major set highlights came back to back "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) included swelling drama as trumpets soared before he introduced "Please Don't Die" from the excellent God's Favorite Customer as "yet another song about death" but the harmonica work from Tillman, strumming guitars and warm increasing horns were life affirming.

Misty and company played two newer, unreleased songs, "Time Makes a Fool of Us All" which is pushed along with an 80's pulsing dance beat while "Tell It Like It Is" was a slow poetic piano ballad that started off slow but included beats and more harmonica work. 

The set wrapped up with Misty dancing with his microphone for "I Love You, Honeybear" before the encore of "I Went to the Store One Day" and "Date Night" ended an excellent night of music under the swelling clouds and darkening Brooklyn sky.
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Support the acts, see the tour and peep some video below:

Full Show Friday: Jason Isbell Live @ The House of Blues 2/27/16

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Jason Isbell!

This week we dip back into 2016 for one of RtBE's favorites, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Live @ The House of Blues in Boston.

We were lucky enough to have caught this tour only two nights beforehand when the group played the Beacon Theater on the 25th. Lots of the same songs were played at both shows, this one is pro shot with pro sound and the full set list is below. Enjoy:



February 27, 2016 – FULL SET – Jason Isbell, winner of two grammy awards in 2016 (Best Americana Album & Best American Roots Song), performs in front of a sold-out House of Blues Boston, MA. Setlist: 00:25 Palmetto Rose 05:17 24 Frames 08:52 Flying Over Water 13:28 Stockholm 16:54 Dress Blues 23:23 Decoration Day (Drive-By Truckers) 31:18 Flagship 37:08 Alabama Pines (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) 42:55 The Life You Chose 46:54 Traveling Alone 52:25 Something More Than Free 57:50 Never Gonna Change (Drive-By Truckers) 1:06:45 Cover Me Up 1:14:27 If It Takes A Lifetime 1:18:28 Super 8 1:23:49 Children Of Children (Encore) 1:32:50 Speed Trap Town 1:37:45 Codeine (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) Jason’s website: http://www.jasonisbell.com/ Band Credits: Jason Isbell - lead vocals/guitar Derry deBorja – keys/accordion Chad Gamble – drums Jimbo Hart – bass guitar Amanda Shires – fiddle Sadler Vaden – electric guitar

Live Review- Jason Isbell 2/25/16 Beacon Theater

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

2/25/16

Beacon Theater, NYC

In early February one of or favorite song writers played a new favorite venue of ours, now another favorite song writer plays an old favorite venue of ours with Jason Isbell putting on a stellar show at the Beacon Theater.

Isbell is riding a high after winning two Grammy's, having his albums praised and clearly madly in love with his wife, violinist Amanda Shires, and his newborn baby. The glowing Isbell played songs from all aspects of his career and each one shows pieces of what makes him a great songwriter/singer/player and most songs are the complete package, dropping jaws with their nuance power and style.

His transformation into a Southern Springsteen took another step as he was clad in all black and looked in top shape as he and the backing 400 Unit took the stage to the closing strains of "Promised Land" a fantastic omen. The band tour into "Palmetto Rose" and the night never looked back, great tune after great tune followed.

Some highlights to point out were the huge tom drums that put a cap on emotional "Cover Me", the Rolling Stones licks/vibes that were injected into "We Ain't Ever Gonna Change" and the twangy pop of "Takes A Lifetime" which received a huge cheer and showed up around the same time on Late Night TV having been recorded earlier in the day.  

 The solo "Dress Blues" was spine tingling in its cinematic scope, as was the film titled "24 Frames". "Something More Than Free" was the only tune that didn't seem to soar as high (or higher) then the original while the solo to close out the set during "Children of Children" prove that Isbell is as good a lead guitarist as he is songwriter. 

The band plays with plate glass shaped lighting fixtures turning the Beacon into a beautiful church. This whole environment captures things perfectly as Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is a religious experience, one RtBE wants to return to again and again for musical inspiration and salvation.  
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Amazing show from an amazing artist who is better than he ever has been with a band who is lock and step with him. Quick apology to Shovels and Rope who we missed unfortunately.  Support him, see him live and peep some video from the show and the full setlist below:

"Cover Me Up" (The toms come in so loud they distort the recording...it sounded great from the loge)



Setlist:
Palmetto Rose
Stockholm
Decoration Day
Alabama Pines
The Life You Chose
Traveling Alone
24 Frames
Dress Blues
Never Gonna Change
Different Days
Something More Than Free
Cover Me Up
Flying Over Water
Speed Trap Town
If It Takes a Lifetime
Children of Children
 
Encore:
Flagship
Codeine

Album Review: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Georgia Blue

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Georgia Blue

***and1/2 out of *****

Most of the time, PR for an album is all fluff, but for Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit's most recent offering, Isbell himself wrote about the process, the inspiration and the limitations in a clear and illuminating way: 

Georgia Blue is a labor of love. On election day 2020, when I saw that there was a good chance the state of Georgia might go blue, I came up with an idea: to record an album of Georgia-related songs as a thank you to the state and donate the money to a Georgia based non-profit organization.

I will admit my motivations were a bit selfish. For years, I’ve been looking for an excuse to record these songs with my band and some friends. The songs on this album are some of my favorite Georgia-related songs, but the tracklist is not meant to be comprehensive. I would love to cover Outkast and 2 Chainz, but I don’t think the finished product would be very good. We’re a rock band, so we covered rock songs. We have roots in blues and R&B, so we enlisted some brilliant artists to help us pull off songs by Precious Bryant, James Brown, and Gladys Knight.

This cover album allows the band to try new things all for a great cause. They open up with REM's "Night Swimming" Bela Fleck's banjo picking, strumming guitars and strings make for deep layers of sound while "The Truth" by Precious Bryant bounces along with a country jaunt led by Adia Victoria. The acoustic strums and eerie vocal harmonies float along with Brandi Carlile and Julien Baker helping out on The Indigo Girls "Kid Fears" while Cat Power's "Cross Bones Style" puts a modern spin on those strings, digitizing them up with the help of Amanda Shires. 

The big rock sound enters the fray with the sweet sounding "Honeysuckle Blue" with 400 Unit guitar man Sadler Vaden leading the way while "Driver 8" finds a smooth version of the REM track book ending things while "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" fits the outfit like a glove. The best Black Crowes song also gets a stirring cover complete with Steve Gorman helping out on drums as "Sometimes Salvation" blares out power, riffs and passionate vocals as the band slays the song on all fronts.  

The band also does a sweet job with their R&B covers as Brittney Spencer gives it her all on "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" supported by horns along with Isbell's weeping guitar in the distance and "Midnight Train To Georgia" which finds John Paul White supporting the polished effort. Isbell himself delivers his powerful vocals on the iconic "I've Been Loving You Too Long", putting in a top notch performance. 

A unique album worth hearing from a band on top of their game just playing some of their favorite songs with friends, for a State they love and giving the funds to very worthy causes. Nothing negative to say about any of that. 

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Support the artists, buy the album and peep some video below:

Jason Isbell & Father John Misty Co-Headlining June Tour

In the Father John Misty song "Mr. Tillman" he sings the line "Jason Isbell's here as well/And he seemed a little worried about you". Now Jason Isbell himself can keep close tabs on Mr. Tillman as the two will be co-headlining a cross country tour this June.

Both are RtBE Personal Favorites as we love Isbell's albums and shows while rating Misty's most recent album, God's Favorite Customer our favorite from last year, but have not yet seen him live.

That will change this June in Brooklyn as the pair play hour long sets each for the Celebrate Brooklyn show. Tickets can be obtained now through the artists pre-sale with the code: FJMISBELL
The full on-sale happens this Friday if the pre-sale sell out. It is going to be a fun night of tunes out in Brooklyn in June, or wherever you happen to catch this tour as Isbell and Misty are two of the best songwriters going today. Below are some live videos to prep for the show:

June 6 – San Diego – Cal Coast Open Air Theatre $ + 
June 7 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl $ + 
June 8 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre At UC Berkeley $ + 
June 9 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater $ + 
June 11 – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park $ + 
June 14 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory $ + 
June 15 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion $ + 
June 16 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion $ + 
June 17 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre $ + 
June 19 – Brooklyn, NY – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival $ + 
June 20 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC $ + 
June 21– Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion $ + 
June 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Metropolitan Opera House $ + 
June 24 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater $ + 
June 25 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheater $ *
June 27 – Irving, TX – Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory $ + 
June 28 – Houston, TX – White Oak Lawn $ + 
June 29 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center $ + 

$ – Father John Misty
* – Jade Bird
+ – Erin Rae
^Unless otherwise specified.

Album Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Live From the Ryman

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Live From the Ryman

** out of *****

Jason Isbell is an amazing songwriter as his recent run of outstanding records (Southeastern, Something More Than Free and The Nashville Sound) has placed him at the center of the Americana scene with southern version of Bruce Springsteen small town tales. He is also a whip crack live performer who can solo and move in/out with his longtime live band The 400 Unit. Unfortunately the combos newest release, Live From the Ryman does not prove the live part of that assertion and the songs all sound better on the studio efforts.

Having seen Isbell multiple times the performer puts energy and class into his playing, but one of the coolest things is how he mixes in covers and his Drive-By Trucker tunes to give a complete overview of things. Live From the Ryman dos not contain any of that, instead you just get note for not recreations of his recent songs which is fine just not very essential.

In truth the only tunes which deviate much from the originals are "Last of My Kind" which contains delicate solos from most of the band members, the bombastic ending of "Cover Me Up" and the punchy opening "Hope The High Road".  The rest are just fine live versions and even these small changes to the originals are never must hear. This is professional yet completely inconsequential and dull; had we not already mentioned them, this album would have been included in 2018's biggest let downs. 

The artwork is perhaps the best part of the vinyl and while it is highly recommend to see Isbell live, skipping this record and just re-listening to the studio originals is probably the best bet. The 400 Unit may have a great live album in them, but Live From the Ryman is not it.     
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Support the artist, buy the record and peep some video below:

Live Review: Jason Isbell/Craig Finn 5/20/15

Hey all got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of the amazing Jason Isbell/Craig Finn show from the beautiful Capital Theater in Port Chester NY. It was RtBE's first time at the Capital and it will not be our last, a short train ride and a quick stroll leads to gorgeous setting for music.

If you have followed this site at all you know the immense love we have for both of the performers on this evening. Finn and Isbell are both in our personal top 5 for living song writers and if you cut out the old legends they would probably be the top 2 on the list. Both are song writers for people who love passionate lyrics with their music and both played wonderfully tonight.

It was clear Finn was still working out the new songs, while Isbell was so tight it was crazy. Each set was immensely enjoyable and the only downside was sitting in a bar pre show, seeing Jason walk by solo through the window and not getting outside fast enough to chat with him. 

Oh well, next time. Read the review here and enjoy a few pictures of Finn and videos of Isbell:

"Flying Over Water"

"Decoration Day"

"Like A Hurricane"
 

Dylan Cover #527 Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires "The Man in Me" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires playing "The Man In Me"

Every April (and first week of May) we have a special focus in our ongoing Monday Bob Dylan Cover Series on artists who will be playing Jazzfest in New Orleans. Today we highlight, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit who play the best festival in America on Saturday April 30th.

Thoughts on Original:
Almost a forgotten throw away track from Bob, which proves how great he really is, this peach of a song originally appeared on New Morning. The famous La-la-la's are so unlike Bob it instantly stands out as unique in his back catalog. "The Man In Me" is playful, loving, sincere yet deceptive. It took on an added life after showing up in the cult classic The Big Lebowski and now has a whole new generation digging its quirky sounds.  

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:

RtBE are big fans of Isbell, Shires and the Whole 400 Unit having seen them, reviewed them, and written about them a bunch. 

Thoughts on Cover:

Fantastic, like most music Isbell and Shires touch. A little more gravity than Dylan's original, but the duet is a gem on every level, from Jason's vocals to shires violin, A+ stuff. 

Jason Isbell New Album and Tour This Spring

One of our absolute favorite songwriters going today, Jason Isbell, is coming out with a new album and will be touring behind it this spring. RtBE can not wait to hear it and see the fantastic band.

The group is touring this spring, playing NYC's Beacon Theater at the end of June (tickets on sale Friday) and we loved the last show we saw them play there. While the show (or shows) will be great, the album is even more anticipated.

According to an interview Isbell did with Rolling Stone, this one (still untitled) is going to rock a little more and will be credited to Isbell as well as his backing band The 400 Unit. RtBE are greatly anticipating this disk and can not wait to hear it.

Also announced recently, for Record Store Day in April the band will be releasing a cover album titled Live from Welcome to 1979. Covering some of our favorite Stones Songs (including the criminally underrated "Sway") as well as John Prine and Candi Stanton we are excitd to grab this one when it it comes out. 

Until then, lets check out some live Isbell and 400 Unit. Enjoy:


 

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit New Album, Single and Tour

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit has announced a new album, Reunions, which will be out May 15th.

The group released the first song from the album titled "Be Afraid" and it is an upbeat piece of modern rock and roll. Lyrically it seems to be addressing writing protest songs, and does a neat trick/cop-out of not actually writing one while singing about writing one...

A good start to a record and RtBE certainly loves Isbell, having rated two of his albums among last decades best. Tour dates are below, and tickets go on sale today as the band are playing with some pretty cool opening acts (Billy Strings, Lucinda Williams etc) as well.



Jason Isbell — 2020 Tour Dates
February 29 — Tempe, AZ @ Innings Festival
March 26 — Savannah, GA @ Savannah Music Festival
March 27 — St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
March 28 — Mobile, AL @ Saenger Theatre
March 29 — Montgomery, AL @ Montgomery Performing Arts Center
May 22 — Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
May 29 — Bethel, NY @ Mountain Jam
June 3 — Philadelphia, PA @ Met Opera House*
June 4 — Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap†
June 5 — New York, NY@ Rooftop at Pier 17†
June 6 — New York, NY @ Rooftop at Pier 17†
June 8 — Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center‡
June 9 — Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center‡
June 11 — Atlanta, GA @ The Coca-Cola Roxy*
June 12 — Atlanta, GA @ The Coca-Cola Roxy*
June 13 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
June 18 — Milwaukee, WI @Riverside Theater*
June 19 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory*
June 20 — East Moline, IL @ Rust Belt*
June 21 — St. Louis, MO @ The Stifel Theatre*
June 23 — Grand Rapids, MI @ DeVos Performance Hall*
June 25 — Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall*
June 26 — Moon Township, PA @ UPMC Events Center*
June 27 — Williamsburg, VA @ Williamsburg Live at DeWitt Museum Lawn
June 28 — Boone, NC @ Schafer Center for the Performing Arts (on-sale TBA)
July 18-19 — Whitefish, MT @ Under The Big Sky Festival
July 20 — Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum#
July 21 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre#
July 22 — Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds#
July 24 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Theatre#
July 25 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Theatre#
July 26 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl#
July 28 — San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts By The Bay#
July 29 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre#
July 31 — Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort#
August 1 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Eccles Theater#
August 2 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks+
August 4 — Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater#
August 5 — Little Rock, AR @ First Security Amphitheater#
August 7 — Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater#
August 8 — Austin TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater#
August 9 — Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory#
August 29 — Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field^
September 11-13 — Bristol, TN @ Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion
November 6 — Oslo, Norway @ Spektrum
November 7 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Stockholm Waterfront
November 8 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
November 10 — Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
November 11 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
November 14 — Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma
November 15 — Koln, Germany @ Gloria
November 17 — London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
November 18 — Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
November 19 — Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre

*with Strand of Oaks
†with David Crosby & Friends
‡with The War & Treaty
#with Billy Strings
+with Lucinda Williams
^with Chris Stapleton

Full Show Friday: Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Live On My Green FM Music Festival 2020

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit! 

This week we head to Live On My Green Music Festival back in 2020 for Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's set. 

Having caught Isbell and crew this summer, and multiple times before that RtBE can attest to their live prowess. 

Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Full Set List Below.  Enjoy! 

Intro: 00:00:45 If It Takes a Lifetime 00:01:03 24 Frames 00:05:03 Stockholm 00:08:30 How To Forget 00:12:10 Traveling Alone 00:16:19 The Life You Chose 00:22:04 Decoration Day 00:26:19 Speed Trap Town 00:34:04 Alabama Pines 00:39:09 Codeine 00:44:10 Cover Me Up 00:51:20 Super 8 00:58:15 Something More Than Free 01:03:25 Flagship 01:07:25 Never Gonna Change 01:13:10 Children of Children 01:21:25

Album Review: Drive-By Truckers - Plan 9 Records July 13, 2006

Drive-By Truckers 

Plan 9 Records July 13, 2006

**** out of *****

When the bands co-front man Patterson Hood makes the statement "The Live at Plan 9 recording is the best recording I have ever heard of the 2001-2006 version of the Drive-By Truckers" you take notice. A band who has gone through various iterations, DBT have made their bones by non-stop touring and leaving it all on the stage. More recent incarnations of the band have produced some amazing live albums, and while Plan 9 Records July 13, 2006 is not up to It's Great To Be Alive's heights, some fans may cherish it more as it includes the amazing talents of Jason Isbell. 

There is no doubting the bands studio records from this time are their strongest with three songwriters and this live show, a benefit for The Harvey Foundation in Plan 9 Records for only a few hundred fans, captures the rock outfit clicking on all cylinders. The twenty five song set keeps pumping out classic DBT fare as each song gets varying levels of raw rock, country heartache and twangy folk. 

Opening with the pedal steel lead of John Neff on "Tales Facing Up" the harmonies Isbell and Shonna Tucker brought in are evident from the get go, overflowing into "One of These Days". The band eases into the rock with some honky-tonk on "Aftermath USA" and a slowed down "Gravity's Gone" while the swaying "Why Henry Drinks" must have gotten the glasses raised all around the record store on this night. 

Two early highlights are Hood's advice giving, life loving ode "World of Hurt" and Isbell's fatherly tips of "Outfit", both ringing honest and true. Later on "Shut Up And Get On The Plane" and "Let There Be Rock" are raucous vibrating with energy propelled by drummer Brad Morgan. Mike Cooley's "Zip City" rips around the three guitar attack while Isbell's duo of "Goddamn Lonely Love" and "Decoration Day" are stunners. The finale "Lookout Mountain" revved up the room ending on a super high peak of metallic wailing and wah wah pedals as the guitars fire out into the ethos.  

There are some missteps like any full on live show, "Marry Me" gets a bit wonky after a fun breakdown and "The Day John Henry Died" and "Wednesday" chug along yet never elevate, but overall this collection of mid era Truckers is dynamite. The groups heartfelt cover of The Rolling Stones "Moonlight Mile" is worthy on it's own, never before being officially released by the Truckers.  

The band was paid a case of PBR and two bottles of whiskey to play this show and the results speak for themselves as Hood states, "It was by far our favorite show of the year and all these years later, I think it is one of the best performances from that era of the band". Hard to argue against that. 

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Support the band, buy the album and peep some video:

Top 50 Albums of the 2010's: Numbers 30-21

Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.

Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.

If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.

Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.

Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.  

We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.

As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8. For Reference, here is 50-41 40-31 and all of those are also listed at the bottom of this post.

Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...

Year In Review 2025 - Favorite Albums of 2025

Here are our all of our favorite albums of 2025. This is the year end review, all in one place.

Below are our picks for RtBE's favorite albums of the year. It starts with our honorable mentions then moves into our top ten albums of the year. There is a short blurb about the album and a song from it, click on the title to read our full review of the selected records. The focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen to all the way through.

We also took some time to discuss our favorite album artwork, our favorite archive/live album releases and favorite live shows from the year if you are interested.   

Thanks for reading. Until next year....