The musical path Jason Isbell has taken isn’t recommended. At the age of 22 he joined the Drive-By Truckers, ending up addicted to alcohol and coke, eventually being asked by the rest of the band to leave. Sober for over a decade, he has taken control of his life, making the kind of choices that lead one to realise he has become a man of principles. When Morgan Wallen had a hit with Isbell’s song, ‘Cover Me Up’, then proceeding to become a MAGA hero for running around unmasked during Covid, Isbell, shocked by Wallen’s actions, ended up donating all his royalties to the NAACP. That kind of determination and dedication to doing the right thing is what makes his album with the 400 Unit, Live at The Ryman Vol. 2 truly special.
Though he could play much larger venues, 10 nights at 2,362 seat Ryman Auditorium allows him a sense of sound and intimacy that makes his music more appealing. It also contributes to performances that lay himself bare and contribute to his continuing sobriety. That same honesty comes through in everything he writes, like ‘Cast Iron Skillet’, where lines like “He was sweet and soft/ Shied away from the inside fastball/ And died doing life without parole” reveal a world that isn’t quite so simple.
From the acoustic tones of ‘Strawberry Woman’, with lyrics that ask as many questions as they answer, “I remember you when the bar was closed/ Dancing on the table with a bloody nose/ And you still look fine, you still look free/ Strawberry woman with your back to me,” to the heartbreaking, poor s.o.b. from ‘King of Oklahoma’, who arrives too late to pull off a worksite copper heist, Isbell brings his characters to life, faults and all. There’s still a majesty to the chorus even as it relates just how far his life has fallen. Guitars rage as the song burns toward the conclusion.
Isbell has a way with songs about pain, his take on Tom Petty’s ‘Room at the Top of the World’ lays bare the depression of a marriage falling apart, and the 400 Unit find a way to distill the desperation of those moments. The twin guitar leads of ‘This Ain’t It’ flame the fire of failure that isn’t even buried. The entire band burns with flames that won’t go out.
Despite their name, the 400 Unit, being taken from a Florence, Alabama hospital building that housed a mental treatment facility, Jason Isbell and his band have found a way to play with brains and passion that cannot be extinguished. Live at the Ryman Vol. 2, illustrates just how potent a force that really are, adding to a most distinguished legacy.