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Southeastern
Price: | $12.38 |
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Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, 11 June 2013
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$12.38
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Vinyl, Import, 11 June 2013
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Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Product Dimensions : 12.6 x 14.17 x 0.86 cm; 72.57 Grams
- Manufacturer : THIRTY TIGERS
- Item Model Number : 26922874
- Original Release Date : 2013
- Label : THIRTY TIGERS
- ASIN : B00CCEHS48
- Number of discs : 1
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Best Sellers Rank:
13,243 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- 70 in Alt-Country & Americana
- Customer Reviews:
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Product description
Southeastern, the new solo album from Jason Isbell, contains 12 new Isbell compositions and the most personal songs of self-reflection and discovery he has written to date. The lyrics of the beautiful and haunting opening track Cover Me Up, make it immediately apparent that Isbell is speaking from an entirely new viewpoint. The song features his strongest vocals to date, but also kicks the door to his soul wide open for all to see. Isbell struggled, fought his demons, and has remained sober for over a hear now. Also, he was recently married and has entered the next chapter of his life. However, Southeastern is not an album preaching sobriety, but a work of repentance, self-realization and most importantly, personal growth.
By no means is Southeastern a wholly solemn offering. Tracks such as Stockholm (with Kim Richey) and Traveling Alone (with Amanda Shires) offer laid back tempos and memorable choruses, while Flying Over Water and Super 8 are strong reminders of Isbell's deep roots in rock. The poetic and deeply intimate lyrics are the common thread that runs throughout the album, perhaps no better illustrated than on Live Oak.
- There's a man who walks beside me, he is who I used to be / and I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me / and I wonder who she's pining for on nights I'm not around / could it be the man who did the things I'm living down. -
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries

However, for me it is the quieter more poignant songs that leave a longer lasting and memorable impression. These songs are filled with remorse and regret on troubled relationships, and what might have been with hindsight, such as on "Different Days". The challenges of life on the road on "Traveling Alone" and elsewhere frequent references to excesses of drink and drugs like cocaine abound. It seems like he has lived life to the full in the past, and sometimes suffered the consequences on his lifestyle and relationships. Many of the songs tell sad stories, but his singing is clear and assured at the centre of things, and the supporting band are high quality musicians who provide an assured platform for this strong set of songs.
I have listened to this album half a dozen times now, and its nuances have grown on me with every listen. The good news is that he now seems to have cleaned up his life 5 years on from here and has got a new family with young children, and has turned over a new leaf. Sometimes a broken heart and sad or challenging incidents in life make for the most memorable heartbreaker songs, and this album seems to have been put together after he was recovering from a low point. "Elephant" is perhaps the most poignant song of all, dealing with the loss of a loved one from cancer, a real tear jerker. I am not sure how many of the songs reflect his direct personal experiences, and how many are imagined scenarios, but it is a cracking set of songs well written and excellently performed, that justifies the rave reviews of others. I can now appreciate what all the fuss is about .

The songs and music cover a variety of subjects and run the gamut of emotions from sad to totally desolate, Isbell apparently channeling Leonard Cohen in that respect, with some quiet and contemplative ballads alongside more lively rockers, though there's no AC/DC here.
Traveling Alone opens with the most plaintive fiddle ever, Amanda Shires apparently strangling the notes out of her instrument, and as she continues to squeeze melancholy from its pores Isbell's voice and words match the ongoing mood. Elephant, the following track, hardly lifts the veil, being about the big C, and features the bitter line "No one dies with dignity".
Songs That She Sang In The Shower, one of a number of songs in a pleasing 3/4 time, is the first of a couple of songs where the singer is on the wrong end of a beating, opening with a smack in the eye which requires application of a steak, and progressing to his significant other walking out as a consequence, prompting his reflection on her musical repertoire whilst showering. The second song in which he receives a beating is Super 8, the chorus of which, "Don't want to die in a Super 8 motel", reminded me of a stay in Lafayette.
The collection ends with Relatively Easy, in which Simon and Garfunkel meet the E Street Band for another contemplation of loneliness.
Since buying the record I've played it constantly, and it's one that rewards repeated listening, with something new noticed every time, about the music or the words. Really, really excellent.

(It was recommended to me by Spotify as I'm a fan of Glen Hansard. Well, the similarities are there but not blindingly obvious I must say)
There is something about this album that just comes together on all fronts. The voice is perfect, the tunes and the musicianship are just cracking, and the lyrics - whether the icing on the cake or the foundations on which everything else sits - are stunning. Given the subject matter of a number of the songs (cancer, domestic abuse, alcoholism, break ups) this could be a very depressing listen and I have other albums that fall into that category. However this album never comes across as depressing - heartwrenching yes but I can, and do, listen to it again and again. And again.
Very clever stuff indeed and I can't wait to discover more by Mr Isbell ...

There are many highlights to be enjoyed here (although I'm not sure if enjoyed is an appropriate term). The album begins with one of the best tracks, with "Cover Me Up" and Isbell's clear, southern-tinged voice expressing his vulnerability beautifully. The appealing "Stockholm" has the air of one of Ryan Adams' more mainstream compositions and the gentle country tones of "Travelling Alone" suit the weariness of the lyrics perfectly. "Elephant" is, for me, undoubtedly the greatest song on the album, written about a friend who was dying of cancer and the sheer humanity expressed is enough to bring a lump to the throat and so "Flying Over Water", a superior country-rock piece, is a welcome musically uplifting punch in the gut, albeit with rather melancholy lyrics. "Yvette", the heartbreaking story of a classmate going through sexual abuse at home, is my last pick of this release and the detail and emotion invested into this track means that it is truly superb; it rivals "Elephant" as the album's greatest accomplishment.
This album isn't a revolutionary piece, but it's definitely very good indeed. There isn't anything thematically on "Southeastern" that hasn't been said elsewhere previously and the music doesn't take this listener to any places he hasn't been before either, but there is something rather wonderful about Isbell's latest that makes it undeniably brilliant; it is so well written, especially the lyrical content, and so very beautifully performed that it is impossible to listen to and not be anything other then both impressed and moved. In fact, as accomplished as the music is, without the brilliance of the lyrics, "Southeastern" could easily have been a much lesser album. I'm not sure it's quite the classic album, overall, that I've read other reviewers say it is, but its excellence is without question and there are a handful of songs on this album that make it a worthy addition to any serious music lover's collection.

The record itself is 180 gram heavyweight vinyl. The music is stunning, the lyrics are heartfelt and it’s an album that can be enjoyed in any mood in my opinion. A brilliant album from start to finish, with a blend of acoustic, and soft rock throughout.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 August 2020
The record itself is 180 gram heavyweight vinyl. The music is stunning, the lyrics are heartfelt and it’s an album that can be enjoyed in any mood in my opinion. A brilliant album from start to finish, with a blend of acoustic, and soft rock throughout.

