Southeastern
Studio album by
Jason Isbell
ReleasedJune 11, 2013 (2013-06-11)
Genre
Length47:18
LabelSoutheastern
ProducerDave Cobb
Jason Isbell chronology
Here We Rest
(2011)		 Southeastern
(2013)		 Something More Than Free
(2015)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[1]
Metacritic87/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
American Songwriter[4]
The A.V. ClubA−[5]
The Independent[6]
Mojo[7]
Paste9.0/10[8]
Pitchfork7.7/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Spin8/10[11]
Uncut8/10[12]

Southeastern is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, released on June 11, 2013 on Southeastern Records. Initially set to be produced by Isbell's friend and touring companion Ryan Adams, the album was recorded following a stint in rehab, with Isbell noting, "This time I want to remember it all."[13] Produced by Dave Cobb, the album was released to widespread critical acclaim.[14] In 2020, the album was ranked at 458 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[15]

In 2023, Isbell re-released the album as a deluxe edition with an updated album cover, a remaster of the original album, demos, and a live performance of the album from a December 2022 show at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee.[16]

Background and recording

The album was recorded without the full participation of Jason Isbell's regular backing band The 400 Unit, with Isbell noting: "It really came to the nature of the songs more than anything else. It's a very personal record for me. And I had gone into the studio with the intention of making more of a solo, acoustic album. But Dave [Cobb], the producer, and I both sort of got bored with that idea and we decided to bring a band in for some things."[17] The 400 Unit band members Chad Gamble and Derry deBorja appear on drums and keyboards, respectively.

Ryan Adams was originally the album's producer, but Adams suddenly backed out of the agreement after Isbell sent him the first demos for the album. Isbell believes that Adams was "intimidated" by the quality of the music, after first thinking that Adams was disappointed.[18][19]

Producer Dave Cobb encouraged Isbell to record his vocals in one take: "I think the big difference is that during the process we kept a lot of live vocal takes and I've not done that in the past. I was sort of terrified, really. Before, we'd spend a couple days at the end of the sessions tuning everything. Dave Cobb really encouraged me to sing with the live tracks while we were recording it."[17]

Isbell finished recording Southeastern one or two days before his wedding to musician Amanda Shires,[13] saying he "even went back and did some final touches on Sunday after the wedding before we went on our honeymoon.[20]

On the title, Isbell said that geography "wasn't actually the reason I named the album that. That came from a tool and die shop in Alabama that my dad worked at when I was very young. He came home with terrible stories; I thought of the place as a dungeon. So I wanted to reclaim that for my own purposes."[20]

Writing and composition

The album's title stems from Isbell's childhood, with Isbell stating, "My dad used to work for a tool-and-die shop when I was a kid that was called Southeastern and that's how it originally occurred to me. I had moved from Muscle Shoals to Nashville – almost a year ago now — and it struck me that, at this point in my life, I don't have any interest in living in any other part of the country or the world, really."[17]

The album's fourth track, "Elephant", focuses upon cancer, with Isbell stating: "It's something that everyone has had an experience with, or they will have. It can be difficult, but it's supposed to be. You're supposed to give enough of a damn about the songs you're singing that you might get a little choked up a little during one of 'em."[21]

The album's tenth track, "Super 8," reflects on the humor that comes with sobriety, with Isbell saying: "There’s more to the human experience than the other songs on that album represent. Thematically, it’s important to represent the humor in addiction and recovery, and the humor that happens when you open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable to the people that you care about — and to your audience.”[22]

The track "Yvette", which deals with sexual abuse, is a companion piece to the track, "Daisy Mae", on Isbell's previous studio album, Here We Rest (2011). He notes, "I got to a point, I guess when I was probably thirty, or thirty-one years old, where it occurred to me almost everyone you meet was sexually abused as a kid, almost everybody, by someone. That never happened to me, believe it or not, but the percentages are just staggering, and writing a song about something that's that depressing I think it's good to discuss it. Some people like to discuss those things, maybe they don't want to start the conversation themselves, but sometimes those things help folks to relate and get those things out of their system a little bit."[17]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200,[23] and No. 7 on the Top Rock Albums chart,[24] selling 18,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 148,000 copies in the United States as of June 2015.[25]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jason Isbell

No.TitleLength
1."Cover Me Up"4:51
2."Stockholm"2:49
3."Traveling Alone"4:27
4."Elephant"3:37
5."Flying Over Water"3:58
6."Different Days"3:34
7."Live Oak"3:35
8."Songs That She Sang in the Shower"3:56
9."New South Wales"3:53
10."Super 8"3:25
11."Yvette"4:28
12."Relatively Easy"4:45
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Elephant" (demo)3:57
14."Traveling Alone" (demo)4:01

Personnel

Primary musicians
  • Jason Isbell – vocals, guitar
  • Brian Allen – bass guitar
  • Chad Gamble – drums
  • Derry deBorja – keyboards, mellotron
  • Dave Cobb – percussion
Additional musicians
Recording personnel
  • Dave Cobb – producer
  • Mark Petaccia – engineer, mixing
  • Pete Lyman – mastering
  • Bill Satcher – runner
  • John Michael Brady – drum tech
Artwork
  • Chris Kro – art direction
  • Michael Wilson – photography

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 23
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 7
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[29] 5

References

  1. ↑ "Southeastern by Jason Isbell reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Reviews for Southeastern by Jason Isbell". Metacritic. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Leggett, Steve. "Southeastern – Jason Isbell". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (June 6, 2013). "Jason Isbell: Southeastern". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  5. ↑ Bayer, Jonah (June 11, 2013). "Jason Isbell: Southeastern". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  6. ↑ Gill, Andy (October 4, 2013). "Album review: Jason Isbell, Southeastern (Southeastern)". The Independent.
  7. ↑ "Jason Isbell: Southeastern". Mojo (240): 90. November 2013.
  8. ↑ Adams, Jerrick (June 11, 2013). "Jason Isbell: Southeastern". Paste. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (July 11, 2013). "Jason Isbell: Southeastern". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  10. ↑ Hermes, Will (June 17, 2013). "Southeastern". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  11. ↑ Menconi, David (June 14, 2013). "Jason Isbell, 'Southeastern' (Southeastern/Thirty Tigers)". Spin. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ Meuller, Andrew (December 11, 2013). "Jason Isbell – Southeastern". Uncut. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  13. 1 2 Garner, Dwight (May 31, 2013). "Jason Isbell, Unloaded". New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ Leahey, Andrew (September 17, 2013). "Jason Isbell Keeps On Truckin'". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ Fu, Eddie (August 8, 2023). "Jason Isbell Announces 10th Anniversary Reissue of Southeastern". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Adams, Jerrick (June 11, 2013). ""Commiserating Is Underrated in Art": An Interview with Jason Isbell". popmatters.com. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  18. ↑ Arthur, Ben. "Jason Isbell's 'Southeastern' Stands the Test of Time". Nashville Scene. Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ ""He was intimidated": Why Jason Isbell thinks Ryan Adams backed out of producing his award-winning Southeastern record". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Lacher, Irene (September 7, 2013). "The Sunday Conversation: A sobering change for singer Jason Isbell". L.A. Times. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  21. ↑ Woodbury, Jason P. (September 18, 2013). "Jason Isbell on His "Bromance" with Ryan Adams and Powerful Recovery Album, Southeastern | Phoenix New Times". Blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ Arthur, Ben. "Jason Isbell's 'Southeastern' Stands the Test of Time". Nashville Scene. Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ Matt Wake (June 20, 2013). "Jason Isbell's 'Southeastern' album debuts at 23 on Billboard 200; singer to tape 'Austin City Limits'". AL.com.
  24. ↑ "Top Rock Albums: June 29, 2013". Billboard.
  25. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  27. ↑ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  28. ↑ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  29. ↑ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
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