Jason Isbell Goes Georgia Blue

It seems like every other week, I find myself shaking my head and saying, “Jason Isbell has gone and done something really wonderful.”

Maybe it’s sponsoring a “sensory room” at the Tennessee Titans’ stadium in Nashville, accommodating fans who have sensory challenges (autism, PTSD, dementia).

It might be raising money for 300 Afghan refugees who were settling in Nashville.

Or, you might have heard, insisting on proof of vaccination for attendance at his shows, making it safe for his audience, and making it safe for other musicians to do the same.

This week, it was releasing a new album, Georgia Blue.

Say what you want about him: Jason Isbell is a man of his word.
During the 2020 Presidential Election, when the world was watching Georgia count its votes, Mister Isbell made a promise.

If Biden wins Georgia I’m gonna make a charity covers album of my favorite Georgia songs- REM, Gladys Knight, Vic Chesnutt, Allmans, Cat Power, Precious Bryant, Now It’s Overhead, etc… And damn is that gonna be fun

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) November 6, 2020

And damned if he didn’t deliver on every one of those promises.

Sure enough, less than a year later, he released the all-covers album Georgia Blue (with his band The 400 Unit, featuring his wife Amanda Shires, along with a few of their friends).
Amazingly, he covered all those Georgia artists he listed on November 5 (and a few more).
And damn, did he and his pals have fun.

My buddy Dexter has a great analogy, borrowing from the poet Robert Frost.
“A good cover song is like chopping firewood,” he tells me. “It warms you twice.”

First, he reckons, because it’s so great to hear a song that you love.
And second, because it’s so thrilling to find out that a favorite artist loves the song, too.

Georgia Blue is like hanging out with Jason and Amanda and their pals on their front porch, swapping tunes, and playing songs that they love.

Just look at the choices Isbell and his friends have made.

Sure, there are some of the old chestnuts.
They tackle the Allman Brothers head on with “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, Jason’s slide guitar dueling with Sadler Vaden’s electric riffs.
Then Jason throws all caution to the wind, and lets loose with his vocal prowess – and shows some tenderness – on Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”
(He leaves his vocal chords on the floor with his shredding of the Black Crowes “Sometimes a Salvation,” too. Jason may be known as one of the great songwriters of this generation – but the man can sing.)

But it’s the underdogs, the unappreciated artists, that really get to me.

One of my favorites is “The Truth”, a song by the late Georgia blues woman Precious Bryant.
(Fans of Friday Night Lights may recognize the song from Season 2, the “Leave No One Behind” episode, when Coach Taylor suspends Smash.)
The wonderful Adia Victoria guides the song with her soft, gentle voice, while Jason plays a sweet, jaunty guitar (similar to his “If It Takes a Lifetime”).
It’s quietly calming, and beautiful.

Here’s the original, from 2005.

R.E.M. was a banner of a band for a lot of kids trying find a place to fit in during the ‘80s.
Jason and his pals could’ve plucked any number of songs from “the little band that could.”
They chose two quiet, lesser-known songs to bookend the album.
It opens with “Nightswimming” (a deep cut off the Automatic For the People album) and ends with “Driver 8” (an early song from the Fables of the Reconstruction album).

For “Nightswimming,” Jason pulls in two ringers: Bela Fleck on banjo, and Chris Thile on mandolin.
With Jason’s slightly trembling voice, it’s mesmerizing.

On “Driver 8”, Jason’s guitar and vocals are softer and more reflective than on the original, and a piano glides through it.
His friend John Paul White (formerly of the Civil Wars, now a solo artist), sings the Mike Mills part, echoing the vocals in the chorus.

A lot of folks will be glad to know that the Indigo Girls made the cut.
Jason chose “Kid Fears,” off their first album.
And those folks will be heartened to hear Jason’s old pals Brandi Carlile and Julien Baker weaving their Amy Ray and Emily Saliers harmonies around each other, until Jason steps in with his Michael Stipe incantations as the song spins to its dizzying climax.

But even with all the stellar contributors, Brittney Spencer may stand out as the album’s secret weapon.

She’s the driving force behind two iconic songs, by James Brown and Gladys Knight.
First, she turns “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” into a sly, women’s power song.

Then she gathers the troops for “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

That song in particular just tickles me, with Jason and John Paul doing their best Pip harmonies. (One can only hope they mimicked the dance steps while shouting out the “Whoo hoo!” train whistles.)
And Brittney does Gladys proud, without imitating her.
Try and listen to it without smiling.

As I write this, Jason, Amanda, and the 400 Unit are holding down an eight-night residence at at the Ryman Auditorium (known as “The Mother Church”).
It’s a triumphant homecoming, a return to live music, in their hometown of Nashville.
Brittney Spencer is one of eight different women opening for Jason on each night of the residence.
Amanda opened on Friday night, and she was followed by Brittney, then Mickey Guyton, Amythyst Kiah, Shemekia Copeland, Allison Russell, Joy Oladokun, and Adia Victoria.
Aside from Amanda, all of the artists are African-American women.
Several of them have opened for Jason on his tour across the country, and the mutual support has been palpable.

Saturday night, Brittany joined Jason and the band for a rousing encore of “Gimme Shelter,” which they’ve been doing across the country.
Watch it, and soak in the unmitigated joy.

Truth be told, Jason isn’t the first artist to put out an album of Georgia-based covers during this pandemic.

Back in the early months of COVID, Blackberry Smoke put together a Live From Capricorn Sound Studios EP.
The wild-eyed southern boys covered six songs from that celebrated Macon studio, with help from Jimmy Hall (of Wet Willie) and the Black Bettys.
As I wrote in my review last May, “It is the sound of pure joy.”

Put together, the two tribute albums paint a really full, fun picture of the Peach State’s musical legacy.
The Blackberry Smoke gang let their hair down a bit more, ripping up songs by Wet Willie and Little Richard with a mischievous gleam in their eye.
Jason and the 400 Unit’s tribute album goes a little deeper, with songs by lesser-known artists like Cat Power (“Cross Bones Style”, with haunting fiddle and vocals from Amanda), Vic Chesnutt (“I’m Through”), Now It’s Overhead (“Reverse”), and Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ (“Honeysuckle Blue”).
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ was another unappreciated American treasure, a birthright band for Southern kids who carried their songs and lyrics close to their heart.

Honestly, I enjoy Jason and his 400 Unit when they’re letting their hair down.
(Think “Super 8” or “Codeine”.)
I wouldn’t mind seeing them try their hand at some lighter, looser songs.
Perhaps the Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” might be too much to ask.
But I think they could had fun with R.E.M.’s “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” (the country song that made me fall in love with them) or Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s “Straight To Hell”.
Believe me, I’m not complaining – Georgia Blue is enough of a gift.

Go on and give it a spin.
If you like it, spend the extra bucks on a CD or a download.
The money goes to great causes: Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight organization, Black Votes Matter, and Georgia STAND UP.
(Personal note to some of my country music friends: Those are organizations that gets people out to vote. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with democracy.)

And once again, Jason Isbell has done something to make the world a better place.