''Southeastern'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

, released on June 11, 2013 on Southeastern Records. Initially set to be produced by Isbell's friend and touring companion

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

, the album was recorded following a stint in rehab, with Isbell noting, "This time I want to remember it all." Produced by

Dave Cobb Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is an American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons . Cobb i ...

, the album was released to widespread critical acclaim. In 2020, the album was ranked at 458 on ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

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 obb the producer, and I both sort of got bored with that idea and we decided to bring a band in for some things." The 400 Unit band members Chad Gamble and Derry deBorja appear on drums and keyboards, respectively. 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." Isbell finished recording ''Southeastern'' one or two days before his wedding to musician Amanda Shires, saying he "even went back and did some final touches on Sunday after the wedding before we went on our honeymoon. 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."

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 Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

– 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." 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." 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.” The track "Yvette", which deals with

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

, 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."

Commercial performance

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

Track listing

Personnel

;Primary musicians *

– vocals, guitar *Brian Allen – bass guitar *Chad Gamble – drums *Derry deBorja – keyboards, mellotron *

– percussion ;Additional musicians *

Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Career Kim Richey came onto the music scene in the 1990s and entered her first recording contract at the age of 37. Kim signed with Mercury Nashville. She spent the n ...

– vocals (2, 12) * Amanda Shires – fiddle and vocals (3) *Paul Griffith – drums (3) * Will Johnson – vocals (10) ;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

References

External links

''Southeastern'' at iTunes.com
{{Authority control 2013 albums Relativity Records albums Jason Isbell albums