Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit -- Alabama Pines [REACTION/RATING] 

He's talking about Jacksonville, Alabama. He's saying he can't drive through Talladega in October, because it's too busy due to the races. So he heads through Jacksonville, Alabama, passing through Boiling Springs along the way - noting it's a speed trap town.

That’s what makes country so great. Imperfect people hard times story telling. ❤

Yep...Amanda is playing with him. This was pre-rehab and before they were married. Such incredible writing.

His songs always make me feel like I'm listening to a writer who' s spent a lifetime learning to write “The Great American Novel,” decided to edit that down to a short story, decided to edit that down to a poem. Then, just for fun, he becomes an excellent guitar player so he can set the poem to music, making a song of it. He then performs the song with the mesmerizing clarity of a great actor reciting lines of Shakespeare on an otherwise empty stage in such a way that the lyrics and music enter my brain through my ears and then re-assemble themselves back into the brilliant novel that he wrote in the first place. Just amazing.

Yeah that air conditioner line gets me every time. Every time I hear an Isbell song I reflect on an interview where he and interviewer were frustrated by the lack of empathy in today’s society. This was before COVID It seems prescient now

Last season, the High-school band did "sounds of Alabama" and being the school Jason graduated from, they chose to do Alabama Pines. Then he and Amanda headlined a show in Florence and the band performed Alabama Pines in front of him. Seeing him reunite with his old band director and smile while the kids played his song for him was really special.

When it comes to songwriting, Isbell has entered another universe. He's so good, it almost defies comprehension. Springsteen used to tell a life story in three or four minutes and Jason has followed in those footsteps of greatness the past decade. The dude has written 50 or 60 truly great songs and he's literally only getting started. His songwriting skills will be studied and emulated for generations to come. He's also a killer guitar player leading the best rock band America has to offer in my opinion. He's also got a great voice. He's my favourite artist on the planet and has been for a decade and I don't expect that to change for a very very long time.

It was this song when i first got into Jason many years back. Still a great song. One of my favourites of his is 'Children of Children' and the live version at house of blues is so good with the guitar solo at the end.

Love Jason, his songs are just so deep... you can think about them for days...

" No one gives a damn about the things I give a damn about" - Favorite Jason line ever to me.

I just love him. Incredible writing. Raw yet executed in a beautiful way. Love it.

Thank you for returning to Jason Isbell! I have been waiting anxiously for you to react to more. Please react to "Overseas" from last years Reunions album. It has fast become one of my favorites from him.

You should do Children of Children. That one really makes you think. Great guitar as well.

There’s a solo version of this that he did at The Living Room in NYC in 2011. It’s part of a four song set that also includes the definitive version of “God Damn Lonely Love”. The whole thing is epic. It was shortly before he met Amanda Shires… and he was clearly at the height of his alcoholism. He even mentions his need for a drink at some point during the set. The air conditioner line along with the “tried to make the whole thing mine” lines make this song a lyrical masterpiece - second only to “If we were vampires” in my mind. The guy is the definition of tortured genius. Great reaction video. I enjoyed watching you hear it for the first time.

I think the line " i needed that woman like a dream needs gasoline" means just that. . . A dream doesn't need it, and he didn't need that woman.

Great reaction Don Jason sings about real life and what we go through. He is just honest enough to speak the words……

Wayne’s package store is in Warrior Alabama not far from where I live on the county line right before you enter a dry county.

You NEED to react to “Only Children” off his latest album, like ASAP.

This was from Jason Isbell's "Here we Rest" album which broadly speaking chronicled his move back to his hometown in North Alabama to lick his wounds and reflect. The title is taken from the old state motto of Alabama, adopted after the civil war. Jason was in a fairly dark place and I think wondered if he was was going to die sooner rather than later and maybe figured if he was he should be buried back home. But I believe it was later in this period when he met Amanda and turned things around. I believe she is on this record don't know where exactly

Yesssss!!! Man you need to react to his older album Siren Songs of the Ditch - "Dress blues","the magician", "Chicago promenade", or one of his off singles "I follow rivers". Masterfully done story telling in all of his albums but that album is f*cking beautifully done.

Being from North Alabama when I left this song really helped me process what I had left behind and why.

Please do his song Something more than free

His writing should, if not now, one day, be studied as poetry in schools along with other greats like Shakespeare and Keats.

The way he paints a portrait is just something to behold. I mean he puts you in that hotel room with him, the way he articulates the loneliness. Similar vibe to on of my favorite other songs, Streetlights. Just...lyrical perfection.

I know it seems like it should be deeper, but 'I needed that woman like a dream needs gasoline' could just be a showier way of saying I need her like another hole in my head. I don't recall a single dream of mine that ever needed gasoline.

Jason is a brilliant artist. This song was on “Yellowstone”. And that voice.

Thanks Don . I haven't heard this before but I enjoyed listening and trying to figure out some lines. You are right it is important that people you meet remember your name ,if for nothing else but validation that you mattered while here on this planet/ Take care Have a good weekend

A dream doesn’t need gasoline, a car does. He didn’t need that woman. Btw thanks for returning to Isbell. Long awaited.

Don, If you like Jason Isbell and Tyler Childers, give Parker Millsap a listen. Start with Heaven Sent and Yosemite.

Hey Don. I would love to hear your take on John Prine’s “The Oldest Baby In The World”

Well done, Don. I've only seen a handful of your videos but I quickly subscribed. Your reactions and analyses are great. You have a great understanding of what makes music great, and what doesn't. Just curious, do you play an instrument, or write or sing?

Can I recommend Chaos and Clothes or Molotov?

Here are two other Trixie Mattel. ”Moving Parts” is probably their best known song: Moving parts: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SOVpoTKt2Xo.html Soldier (audio only): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CV9mKv1s6wg.html

One question right before I watch...did this get a 9.9 or a 10?

You should check out I'm Not The Devil,by Either Cody Jinks or Ward Davis.They co-wrote it and both recorded it,I'm partial to Ward's version,but Cody's is more well known.Talk about a song facing your weaknesses

Your ending thoughts remind me of one of my absolute favorite “country” songs. Jackson Brown somehow wrote “These Days” when he was 17. David Allan Coe sang it like he was just recollecting shit. As a request, if you haven’t heard DAC’s version, here’s a link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8XkT2ZhO5AI.html

It would be nice to see a reaction to Trixie Mattel. Start with ”Gold” or the cover of Johnny Cash’s ”Jackson” with Orville Peck. Gold: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WJI7Hlo5zxY.html Jackson: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k2_KkCZbdfo.html

I was a big fan of his until he got political. Not because I disagreed or anything. I just think it got a little corny.