Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Top Sales Charts with “Live From The Ryman”
Live records can often be a wild card when it comes to sales, but Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Live From The Ryman has proven to be a hit. Released on October 19th via Southeastern Records distributed by Thirty Tigers, Live at the Ryman was recorded during a six night sold-out stint at the Mother Church of Country Music in Nashville in 2017, featuring 13 live versions of songs from Isbell’s critically-acclaimed releases Southeastern for 2013, Something More Than Free from 2015, and 2017’s The Nashville Sound. Producer Dave Cobb also worked to help put this new live record together.
This week, Live From The Ryman debuted at #1 in country when considering pure album sales, #1 on the Billboard Folk-Americana chart, #3 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, #5 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, #7 on the all-genre Top Album Sales Chart, and #38 on the all-genre Billboard 200, which also factors in streaming equivalents. Luke Combs’ This One’s For You, and Jason Aldean’s Rearview Town were the only albums able to keep Isbell at bay on the Billboard Country Albums chart due to streaming activity. But Isbell’s 14,135 topped everyone in country when it comes to actual album sales.
The successful debut also comes as Jason Isbell just wrapped up another sold-out six night run at the Ryman Auditorium October 22nd through the 28th, which among other things, saw guest appearances from Sturgill Simpson, and openers Melanie Faye, Bully, Jeff the Brotherhood, Diarrhea Planet, Molly Tuttle, and Amanda Shires. Jason Isbell has now sold out 20 dates in a row at the Ryman dating back to 2014.
Joining Jason Isbell in the 400 Unit are guitarist Sadler Vaden, keyboardist Derry deBorja, Chad Gamble on drums, Jimbo Hart on bass, and Amanda Shires on fiddle.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have appearances coming up on December 7th at the Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center in Huntingdon, TN, then a three night residency at the Lyric Theatre in Birmigham, Alabama December 8th through 10th. In 2019, he has appearances planned at the 30A Songwriters Festival in the Florida Panhandle in January, and then the Cayamo Cruise in February.
October 30, 2018 @ 11:00 am
I was hoping for a bit more guitar work from Isbell on this album. The 400 Unit is great etc., but at this point in Jason’s career, you have to see him live for him to come anywhere near inhabiting his ability as one of the premier active southern rock guitarists, so I was hoping more of that would come through on this record.
That said, “Last of My Kind” is a real standout!
October 31, 2018 @ 7:05 am
Yeah, I honestly don’t love this album. Most of the songs hew to closely to the studio cuts, the drums seem messy on “Hope the High Road,” “24 Frames” starts out way too fast and slows down once Chad comes in on the drums (although I’ve noticed that at live shows too). The standout track on the album is definitely “Last of my Kind,” and it’s good to have a live version of “Cover Me Up.”
A little disappointing, because “Live From Alabama” is such a terrific album.
October 31, 2018 @ 9:55 am
I’m with you on ‘Hope the High Road.” Seems to be something off with the drum sounds at the start.
But I think ’24 Frames’ always feels like that. It’s just how the song is constructed, for better or worse.
Jimbo’s 8th notes on the bass make it feel like it’s going to take off but then it “slows down” when the straightforward drumming comes in.
November 5, 2018 @ 8:53 am
Live From Alabama honestly might be his best album.
At the very least, it’s damn close to Southeastern.
November 5, 2018 @ 8:54 am
Live From Alabama honestly might be his best album.
At the very least, it gives Southeastern a damn good run for its money.
October 30, 2018 @ 11:41 am
Pre-ordered the green vinyl version of this album. I am super thankful for the digital download that was included because three sides of the double album has serious pressing issues that make it almost unplayable. Other people in JI Facebook groups have had similar issues with different pressings of this album. I’m unimpressed with the mixes of some of the songs on the album as well, but such is life. None of this diminishes the amount I like JI & the 400 Unit (especially Jimbo), but I am disappointed in the quality of the vinyl.
October 30, 2018 @ 2:07 pm
This album is not good. The mix is really poor: there is an odd reverb to the entire set of vocals and none of the instruments stand out, and it’s all buried and muddy. Sonically this album is very disappointing. I’ve heard the vinyl pressing quality has been suspect as well.
But perhaps more disappointing is the dispassionate and warbly performance from the Man himself. I was at (one of) these live shows and thought the same thing at the time. Just very routine paint-by-numbers, and none of the extended instrumental sections made much sense within the songs. Not sure how you make a song like Hope the High Road boring, but the 400 Unit managed to do so. The only real highlight was John Prine’s Storm Windows, but of course that is excluded here.
Jason Isbell is one of the best living songwriters, but I question his ability as a live performer at this level. Unfortunately this album didn’t change that like I hoped it would.
October 30, 2018 @ 2:36 pm
Yeah I think the mix is off in a few ways. I don’t hear reverb on the vocals… that’s a pretty prominent slapback delay, if you ask me. Pretty distracting, none the less.
October 30, 2018 @ 4:22 pm
While I agree the mix on Live From the Ryman is off, especially on the first few songs, I disagree with you regarding his live performances as a whole. I wasn’t at any of the 2017 shows so maybe it was different, but I was at the Ryman a few nights ago and the whole band sounded amazing, no lack of passion.
November 5, 2018 @ 8:56 am
Jason’s usually fantastic live.
Might just have picked a bad night/stretch to record the album.
October 30, 2018 @ 2:12 pm
Anyone think the production sounds a little off on Hope the High Road?
October 30, 2018 @ 2:31 pm
Holy shit yes…. it’s like somebody bumped the drum faders down on accident and nobody noticed….
The drums finally get louder after the first few songs. I thought I had heard small sounding drums before but that takes the cake. Combine that with a loud and huge sounding bass and you get what we have here…
I’ve seen them twice. Wouldn’t say they were the best live show I’ve ever seen but they were good. This doesn’t do them justice at all.
October 30, 2018 @ 3:28 pm
I’ll second that. “Hope The High Road” is my favorite song off of The Nashville Sound and the live album killed it, and not in a good way. The real question is, Why does “Live From Alabama” have a better mix than “Live at The Ryman”?
October 30, 2018 @ 4:09 pm
Because it doesn’t
October 30, 2018 @ 4:37 pm
I can’t say with any authority on this album and I don’t care enough to research further, but usually a live recording with a half decent budget would be multitracked and mixed in a studio. This sounds like a 2 track “off the board” mix. My 2 cents anyway, could be wrong.
October 30, 2018 @ 3:41 pm
Diahrrea Planet?
October 30, 2018 @ 5:12 pm
Ouch. +1 on the board mix call. Vocals sound terrible. He’s a good writer, but man, does that vocal recording ever suck.
Not that people care, apparently.
October 30, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
The early success doesn’t mean people won’t ultimately care. I think some people just bought it on faith that it would be good. I too almost preordered this based on the strength of his past releases – I’m a fan. I’m glad I waited and streamed this one first. Maybe it will fall off the charts fast? Who knows…what I do know is that almost any phone captured YouTube video sounds better than this somehow – and the mix at the 2 shows I saw was way better than this. I’m really surprised by that.
October 30, 2018 @ 5:18 pm
I streamed this the day it came out. The only disappointing thing was Children of Children was not on this. That is one of his best songs live.
October 30, 2018 @ 5:39 pm
Good live album hampered by a poor mastering. It sounds muddled.
October 30, 2018 @ 5:55 pm
This version of Flagship with the violin added is incredible, well done Isbell
November 1, 2018 @ 6:49 am
I assume there’s a bunch of Lefty preaching between songs, so I’ll pass. The last studio album was his most mediocre, anyway.
November 1, 2018 @ 8:01 am
And I’ll assume your opinion of his last album is influenced by your tender feelings.
There isn’t any so called “lefty preaching” between songs or much of any banter, really. Makes sense, as it isn’t a live album of a particular concenrt, but highlghts from his residency at The Ryman last year. And I’ve seen him six times and really don’t recall him being overtly political between songs, like say, Steve Earle is wont to do. The last tiime I saw him was this summer in blue Northern Virginia. When he played White Man’s Blues, he just played it. No banter before or after, other than maybe “thank you” afterwards.
November 1, 2018 @ 8:09 am
Not tender feelings. He didn’t lose his mind like the DBT did; but there’s no unifying theme on “The Nashville Sound,” other than white-guilt politics.
Up against Here We Rest, Southeastern and Something More Than Free, it’s a mediocre record. And I assume you mean “White Man’s World.”
White man livin’ in a white-guilt world.
November 1, 2018 @ 9:23 am
Yes, of course, I meant White Man’s World. And the fact that you would rework the lyrics (the insertion of “white guilt”) of the song above to fit your projections is more evidence of your tender feelings.
Unifying theme, huh? That’s a stretch, to say the least. There are only two songs of a political nature on the album and the other one (HTHR) is mainly about the grief many felt about Trump getting elected. And I would suggest that this is the common theme of those two songs only.
I’d put Here We Rest at #4, myself, with Southeastern being my clear #1. SMTF and TNS battle it out for #2 and #3, the second album is #5 and SOTD is #6. They all have their charm, though.
November 5, 2018 @ 8:59 am
I put TNS firmly above SMTF, whose mix/sound I had issues with.
Southeastern’s definitely at the top, and I think the best versions of the songs from his first 3 albums can be found on Live From Alabama.
November 5, 2018 @ 9:27 am
I’m a huge Isbell fan, and generally, go see him 1-2 per year when he comes through town, but sometimes the live shows feel so competent that they are less than thrilling. The exceptions to this are often covers (like Whipping Post) or when he pulls out something pre-Southeastern that you weren’t expecting. For this reason, I haven’t really been that hyped about this album, although I love Live from Alabama, it seems like some of the songs on there get a significant re-working from their album versions.
November 5, 2018 @ 10:21 am
I think I know what you mean. I was going to pass on seeing him this summer as I had seen him 5 times in four years, but decided to go after all. I mean, in was a good show, but kind of samey. The cover was Neil Young’s Ohio, which is a great song, but not as exciting live as songs like Like A Hurricane, Can You Hear Me Knocking and Whipping Post. Plus he’s playing less of his DBT songs as his catalog of solo songs increases. For example, I don’t think he’s played Outfit the last few times I’ve seen him. And as far as the new live album goes, it doesn’t have the feel of an Isbell concert, Like Live in Alabama did. More like The Best of the Southeastern Years (So Far) Live.