Jason Isbell –Something More Than Free (Southeastern)
With plenty of expectations riding on the follow-up to 2013’s critically acclaimed commercial breakthrough Southeastern, it would be understandable if Jason Isbell were to fall short. His 2015 outing instead validates his being a world-class talent with a sure-handed ability to create loads of rich, character-driven fare. With fiddle-playing spouse Amanda Shires helping out with the musical heavy lifting, Isbell kicks everything off with “If It Takes a Lifetime,” a cavalier ditty about a recovering alcoholic working on sobriety that’s buttressed by rich harmonies and a solid twang. From here, the Alabama native never wavers, revisiting an old girlfriend knee-deep in bad life choices (a soaring “The Life You Choose”), tries to emerge from emotional wreckage (the stark “Speed Trap Town”) and uses the epic string-soaked “Children of Children” to address the sorrow of teen pregnancy with couplets like, “Seventeen ain’t old enough to reason with the pain/ How could we expect the two to stay in love/ When neither knew the meaning of the difference between sacred and profane.” Success seemingly suits Jason Isbell just fine.
Jason Isbell will be appearing on Feb. 25 and 26 at the Beacon Theatre, 74th Street & Broadway. NYC. Visit www.beacontheatre.com or call 866-858-0008 for information.
