JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT
''LIVE FROM ALABAMA''
NOVEMBER 20 2012
RECORDED AT WORKPLAY, BIRMINGHAM, AL & CROSSROADS IN HUNTSVILLE, AL, ON AUGUST 17 & 18, 2012
72:23
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1. Tour of Duty/3:36
2. Decoration Day/6:24
3. Goddamn Lonely Love/6:26
4. Heart on a String/4:23 (Mickey Buckins, George Jackson)
5. Danko / Manuel/8:00
6. In A Razor Town/3:38
7. Alabama Pines/4:11
8. Outfit/5:30
9. Cigarettes and Wine/7:19
10. TVA/5:12
11. The Blue/4:52
12. Dress Blues/5:39
13. Like A Hurricane/7:13 (Neil Young)
Tracks By Isbell, Except 4, 13
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Derry Deborja/Keyboards, Vocals
Chad Gamble/Drums
Jimbo Hart/Bass Guitar
Jason Isbell/Guitar, Vocals
Brad Guin/Tenor Saxophone
Chad Fisher/Trombone, Horn Arrangements
Rob Alley/Trumpet
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REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Not long after Jason Isbell released his first solo album, 2007's Sirens of the Ditch, he released an EP, Live at Twist and Shout, which documented an in-store performance by Isbell and his band the 400 Unit at a Denver, Colorado record shop. Just four years later, Isbell has delivered another live disc, Live from Alabama, a full-length album culled from a pair of August 2012 concerts, and if one wonders why Isbell seems so keen to record his live sets, one listen will tell you why: Isbell and his band are at their best in front of an audience, and Live from Alabama demonstrates Isbell's impressive gifts as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and frontman. While his work with the Drive-By Truckers was impressive, he's grown tremendously as a singer since striking out on his own, and with a crowd to cheer him on, Isbell delivers the goods on Live from Alabama, sounding richly soulful on "Heart on a String," rueful and evocative on "In a Razor Town," and full of bluesy swagger on "The Blue." If the 400 Unit lack the volume and firepower of the DBTs, the smaller, more dynamic combo leaves more room for dynamics and subtlety, which works well for Isbell's songs (the versions of "Decoration Day" and "Danko/Manuel" here rival those he recorded with the Truckers), and like his vocals, Isbell's guitar work is all the more impressive when it doesn't have to fight for space. As a storyteller, Isbell's tales of dashed hopes and Southern pride are powerful, realistic, and keenly intelligent, and he and the band bring them to life with just the right touch. And the closing cover of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" is a barn-burning finale. If you haven't seen Isbell and the 400 Unit on-stage, Live from Alabama will likely convince you to show up the next time they play in your area, and if you already have, this will remind you why you walked home impressed.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
James Christopher Monger
After spending six years with Southern rock outfit Drive-By Truckers, singer/guitarist Jason Isbell left the group in 2007 to pursue a solo career. Isbell had already honed his songwriting skills during his tenure with the Truckers, and he funneled those talents into Sirens of the Ditch, a bluesy, punk-infused lesson in guitar tones and Southern swagger that marked his solo debut in summer 2007. Backed by a new band dubbed the 400 Unit, Isbell took his songs on the road and soon began penning another album, which he recorded with the 400 Unit in 2008. Released the following year, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit was another step away from his work with Drive-By Truckers, relying as much on sad, melancholic country ballads as the familiar Muscle Shoals sound.
After performing more than 200 shows annually for several years running, Isbell took a breather in 2010 and returned home to northern Alabama. The area had been hit hard by the recent economic downturn, prompting Isbell to write a new batch of songs about the war vets, barflies, and out-of-luck characters who populated the area. The result was Here We Rest, which was released in spring 2011 to critical acclaim. Isbell followed it a year later in 2012 with a live set, Live from Alabama, recorded at the WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham, Alabama and at the Crossroads in Huntsville, Alabama. Embracing his newfound sobriety, Isbell next produced an album of haunting atonement and redemption, the sparse and impressive Southeastern, which appeared in 2013.
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WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''LIVE FROM ALABAMA''
NOVEMBER 20 2012
RECORDED AT WORKPLAY, BIRMINGHAM, AL & CROSSROADS IN HUNTSVILLE, AL, ON AUGUST 17 & 18, 2012
72:23
**********
1. Tour of Duty/3:36
2. Decoration Day/6:24
3. Goddamn Lonely Love/6:26
4. Heart on a String/4:23 (Mickey Buckins, George Jackson)
5. Danko / Manuel/8:00
6. In A Razor Town/3:38
7. Alabama Pines/4:11
8. Outfit/5:30
9. Cigarettes and Wine/7:19
10. TVA/5:12
11. The Blue/4:52
12. Dress Blues/5:39
13. Like A Hurricane/7:13 (Neil Young)
Tracks By Isbell, Except 4, 13
**********
Derry Deborja/Keyboards, Vocals
Chad Gamble/Drums
Jimbo Hart/Bass Guitar
Jason Isbell/Guitar, Vocals
Brad Guin/Tenor Saxophone
Chad Fisher/Trombone, Horn Arrangements
Rob Alley/Trumpet
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Not long after Jason Isbell released his first solo album, 2007's Sirens of the Ditch, he released an EP, Live at Twist and Shout, which documented an in-store performance by Isbell and his band the 400 Unit at a Denver, Colorado record shop. Just four years later, Isbell has delivered another live disc, Live from Alabama, a full-length album culled from a pair of August 2012 concerts, and if one wonders why Isbell seems so keen to record his live sets, one listen will tell you why: Isbell and his band are at their best in front of an audience, and Live from Alabama demonstrates Isbell's impressive gifts as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and frontman. While his work with the Drive-By Truckers was impressive, he's grown tremendously as a singer since striking out on his own, and with a crowd to cheer him on, Isbell delivers the goods on Live from Alabama, sounding richly soulful on "Heart on a String," rueful and evocative on "In a Razor Town," and full of bluesy swagger on "The Blue." If the 400 Unit lack the volume and firepower of the DBTs, the smaller, more dynamic combo leaves more room for dynamics and subtlety, which works well for Isbell's songs (the versions of "Decoration Day" and "Danko/Manuel" here rival those he recorded with the Truckers), and like his vocals, Isbell's guitar work is all the more impressive when it doesn't have to fight for space. As a storyteller, Isbell's tales of dashed hopes and Southern pride are powerful, realistic, and keenly intelligent, and he and the band bring them to life with just the right touch. And the closing cover of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" is a barn-burning finale. If you haven't seen Isbell and the 400 Unit on-stage, Live from Alabama will likely convince you to show up the next time they play in your area, and if you already have, this will remind you why you walked home impressed.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
James Christopher Monger
After spending six years with Southern rock outfit Drive-By Truckers, singer/guitarist Jason Isbell left the group in 2007 to pursue a solo career. Isbell had already honed his songwriting skills during his tenure with the Truckers, and he funneled those talents into Sirens of the Ditch, a bluesy, punk-infused lesson in guitar tones and Southern swagger that marked his solo debut in summer 2007. Backed by a new band dubbed the 400 Unit, Isbell took his songs on the road and soon began penning another album, which he recorded with the 400 Unit in 2008. Released the following year, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit was another step away from his work with Drive-By Truckers, relying as much on sad, melancholic country ballads as the familiar Muscle Shoals sound.
After performing more than 200 shows annually for several years running, Isbell took a breather in 2010 and returned home to northern Alabama. The area had been hit hard by the recent economic downturn, prompting Isbell to write a new batch of songs about the war vets, barflies, and out-of-luck characters who populated the area. The result was Here We Rest, which was released in spring 2011 to critical acclaim. Isbell followed it a year later in 2012 with a live set, Live from Alabama, recorded at the WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham, Alabama and at the Crossroads in Huntsville, Alabama. Embracing his newfound sobriety, Isbell next produced an album of haunting atonement and redemption, the sparse and impressive Southeastern, which appeared in 2013.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
1 comment :
Many, many thanks!
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