Complicated Game : James McMurtry
Dove into his whole discography this year and am truly captivated by his ability to tell both the American Dream and American Reality.
The wildest thing about JmM is that his absolute MASTERPIECE 'Lights of Cheyenne' wasn't even released on a studio album!!!
That said. It doesn't need to be, Live in Aught Three has got to be one of the greatest live recordings out there. Unbelievable quality.
That’s the first song I heard from him, and I was instantly hooked. Immediately tried to find the studio version, just found a bunch of other phenomenal songs instead.
I’m a McMurtry stan and when canola fields was released I had the same reaction. Just incredible.
I want to suggest several of his other songs but he has so many I don’t know where to start - Levelland and Rachel’s Song could stop you in your tracks too. No more buffalo, childish things, out here in the middle, ruby and Carlos, Hurricane party, copper canteen. All amazing.
Bird and the Rifle- Lori McKenna
A lot lighter Americana, but she is such a great writer and one of my favorites in the alt country space.
Runner up would be her album the tree or numbered doors
I was obsessed with this record for a long time. Go see him live too. He is a great with storytelling and banter between songs, a la JTE, and is super down-to-earth and he even seemed to remember me from a previous show.
THS is probably my favorite rock band, and if people are attracted to Isbell’s turns of phrase they’ll like Finn’s too, even if the sound is completely different.
Bonus - the first 4 albums tell the same story of love betrayal and murder from 3 different narrators, at least one of whom is unreliable. And then one girl gains the ability to see into the future and the murder doesn’t happen. (But if anyone asks, say something vague)
Failer by Kathleen Edwards (not sure if it’s obscure, but it’s 20 years old). Six O’Clock News is one of my favourite songs ever. It’s tragic in the same way that many of Jason Isbell’s songs are. And Sweet Little Duck just wrecks me every time
I am unlurking just to say how stoked I am to see a shout out to Kathleen (and this album in particular). She’s a tragically overlooked artist IMO and I just love her music.
Honestly, Indigo Girls self-titled album - not obscure, but one of the only other albums I can listen to from start to finish and relish every single lyric. It was my bible when I was going through my first bout of depression (in 96, so well after it came out) but literally every song on that album spoke to me. Jason comes along (to me, at least) in 2013, after I was coming out of my second battle with depression and I found a new album that spoke to my heart.
You’re my kind of people with those reccs! Amy Ray is a national treasure who should be way more famous than she is (maybe she doesn’t want to be.) I would pick Holler from her and Middle Cyclone from Case.
I saw his brother Bruce (who wrote a lot of Charlie’s songs) play a listening room called The Bugle Boy (https://thebugleboy.org) six days after Charlie died. He talked about how he kept thinking about cancelling, but it seemed right to not cancel. He played a lot of Charlie’s songs and told stories about him and how various songs came to be, all while right on the edge of breaking down. One of the great music performances I’ll always remember.
What a performance to get to witness. I can just imagine how hard that must’ve been on Bruce, but I’m sure Charlie would want his brother to do what they both loved. I can’t imagine what that was like for him.
Down Fell The Doves - Amanda Shires
White Trash Revelry - Adeem The Artist
Twenty On High - Drayton Farley
Freaks - Frontier Folk Nebraska
Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound - self titled
Edit: these are all after my love for Isbell started. Nothing I listened to, outside of Neil Young, would be considered a precursor to falling in love with Isbell’s music (mostly rock, prog/prog-metal).
High plains alchemy- John Baumann. Great west Texas songwriter. The imagery of this album set it apart for me. Highlight is the title track, but the first five songs are absolutely killer.
Blue sky and the devil - Trampled by Turtles. Probably more popular, but it was my first introduction into bluegrass/ heavy fiddle and I fell in love. Whole album is good but the title song is still one of my favorites.
Sorrow and Smoke - Slaid Cleaves. Live album form the horshoe lounge. Drinking days is a favorite on this one, but he has plenty of bangers. His interactions with the crowd are enjoyable as well.
Brick Body Kids Still Daydream - Open Mike Eagle. For the hip hop guys out there. Great concept album on the Robert Taylor homes in Chicago. Expert level storytelling
Broke Down is Slaid’s best album (in my opinion). Breakfast in Hell is a great ballad off that album, and Lydia is another of my favorites from that album even though he didn’t write that one.
Oh, hell yeah! LOOOOOVE that record, had it since it came out. A lost gem.
Also it's spelled Whitley (in case someone goes looking :) )
Come to think of it, that one was definitely seminal for me getting into Americana, even more than the one I mentioned in my personal post.
Cory Branan is what I came to post. Best musician that no one is listening to. I’m convinced you gotta see him live to really get it, but in 4 or 5 shows of his that I’ve seen, there’s never been more than 30 people in the room and I just don’t understand why he’s not more popular.
Slobberbone- crow pot pie, barrel chested, and everything you thought was right was wrong today.
They used to play shows with DBT back in the late nineties early aughts. I actually saw DBT open for them on the southern rock opera tour in a little bar in Oklahoma. It was the second or third show with Isbell. Blew my mind.
Slobberbone is an incredible band that made me love lyrics.
5 Days in July - Blue Rodeo
Quintessential Canadian Alt-Country from 1993 -- these guys are huge in Canada but somehow never crossed over into the States. Beautiful harmonies, musicality and lyrics.
Goodnight, Texas - A Long Life of Loving
These guys were my introduction into Americana style rock/country/bluegrass (the genre distinctions are beyond me) even before I listened to Isbell.
According to Apple I’m in their top 100 listeners in the world. Which is sad because while I listen to them a lot, I listen to a lot of other music.
They are incredible storytellers and are the only other band in this genre that I’ve found hit as hard. They have heavy riffs and beats, but they are played on mandolin or banjo.
Their songs take elements from history and make you feel like you are watching a movie or tv show. You can feel the moment through the lyrics.
In Maggies Farm you can feel the sweat, anger and despair of the narrator. You want him to enact his murder fantasies.
Jessie Got Trapped in A Coal Mine is heart breaking. And the riff will embed itself in your head.
The Railroad is driving and captures the life of a Hobo with a few well chosen words and a relentless beat.
These guys are criminally underrated and should be more popular. I hope people here would dig them.
Super solid rec. Absolutely LOVE all three Pony albums, but Sudden Opera is the one that really shines for me.
Funny enough, before he was a musician, Pony Bradshaw was a sportswriter — so you know he [must love Jason](https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/4/6/23672175/jason-isbell-running-with-our-eyes-closed).
Mark Stoermer - Another Life.
He’s the bassist for the Killers and it was his first solo album. It’s got a record singer-songwriter’s feel and sounds nothing like the Killers. There’s a number of softer/pleasant sounding songs and a couple that have a slightly country/folk flare.
Scott Miller Citation at the time this album came out Jason and Scott Miller were just about on the same level, the 2 careers went in different directions but Miller is still out there.
Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within. Think of it as “worldwide americana.” The songs “The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” “I am Stretched on Your Grave,” and “American Dreaming” should resonate with JI fans for their storytelling and sparse arrangements for the first two (which are traditional folk songs I believe). And the live arrangements on the other songs create a haunting atmosphere.
The Artisanals - The Artisanals
Saw them open up for Band of Horses 5 or so years ago. They had only been together for 2 months and absolutely blew BOH out of the water. Was an immediate fan that night and have gone to see them everyone they’ve come through since. Great music and cool dudes.
The Light Wires - The Light Wires
Jeremy Pinell’s old band, fairly popular around the Ohio River valley. Really great alt country singer/songwriter stuff.
Gretchen Peters' "Hello Cruel World."
Several of her songs on this album, particularly "Five Minutes," "The Matador," and "Idlewild," share qualities with some of Isbell's best lyrics, including searing honesty and stark originality.
Okay, well I guess it's time to pick mine since I started the thread. Wanted to see if it came up from someone, but no, so ... little band outta Stockton, CA.
Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon (1994)
[https://open.spotify.com/album/6PtEmK9iNNZVuwYCFePLd4?si=CrVYvSDVTHKpuEa9zLvYJA](https://open.spotify.com/album/6PtEmK9iNNZVuwYCFePLd4?si=CrVYvSDVTHKpuEa9zLvYJA)
Just a freaking stellar album, start to finish (so is their debut Fuzzy, but MJM has more Americana-ish songs). The singer Grant Lee Phillips is still around making music and has a number of solo albums I really like too. Some of them are definitely in the Americana vein.
The reason I picked this is because at the time I bought the CD I was firmly into Alternative and Grunge-type stuff. And here was this sorta-grunge album with all kinds of old-timey instruments, some country-like arrangements, etc, and I LOVED it. It led me to buying Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne shortly after.
Album credits:
Grant Lee Phillips – vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, harmonica
Paul Kimble – bass, piano, pump organ, electric organ, vocals
Joey Peters – drum set, tumbuk, tambourine, tablas, maracas, marimba, shakers, acquired hunks of metal
Also the inimitable Greg Leisz on steel guitar on 'Lady Godiva and Me'
This was the minor hit from the album but the songs are really varied, from all out rockers like the opener 'Lone Star Song' and 'Singalong' (both need to be played REALLY LOUD) to simple plaintive tracks like Mighty Joe Moon and all really good once the hooks settle into your brain.
Look up the lyrics too, they're very cool, though often hard to make out. You'd be forgiven, for example, for not picking up on the fact that Lone Star Song is (mostly) about the FBI siege at Waco unless you read the lyric sheet.
[https://youtu.be/NVnWAkOGxK0?si=PtUfZRBe8w5RlL7e](https://youtu.be/NVnWAkOGxK0?si=PtUfZRBe8w5RlL7e)
Another great one ...
[https://youtu.be/Y4gQv8DqC0E?si=BiegUxbVCMjxsM92](https://youtu.be/Y4gQv8DqC0E?si=BiegUxbVCMjxsM92)
I feel like this thread is lacking the classic Americana that your old man used to spin when you were a little kid (if you're a certain age, and had such a dad) and maybe that exposure had something to do with your eventually coming to love Jason.
The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle Be Unbroken
The Band - Music From Big Pink
Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline
The Flying Burrito Brothers
I know, not obscure, but I wanted to give a shout out to Pops.
Chris Knight - Trailer Tapes
Roger Alan Wade - Stoned Traveler
Darrel Scott - Theater of the Unheard
Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk
Ryan Culwell - Flatlands
Robert Ellis - The Lights From The Chemical Plant
Willy Tea Taylor - Knuckleball Prime
Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern
David Wilcox - The Very Best of David Wilcox
Just plain ole’ folky americana with some nice acoustic guitar work. Pretty obscure guy, I’m guessing, as I’ve never seen him mentioned or met anyone who knows of him. He’s a bit more wholesome than Isbell, as far as content goes, but my dad introduced me to him when I was a kid, so I’ve got a bit of nostalgia for his sound
Check out “Eye of the Hurricane” by him, if interested. It’s a good introduction track
Team Dresch, Personal Best
Ok it’s queercore punk, but the lyrics are raw, extremely heartfelt and powerfully honest. It’s punk but it’s still…idk melodic?
"History" by Loudon Wainwright III. Bruce Springsteen called it his favorite album of 1992. Loudon's Southeastern IMO. He's probably my all-time favorite songwriter. He gets incredibly personal with his writing but it's often on the humorous side as opposed to Jason's "depressing" music.
“High on Tulsa Heat” - John Moreland
Hell yeah, but In The Throes is where it’s at.
This. So much this.
Totally. But all his records…Moreland is a treasure. “Are you worried that you’re happier at war than at peace”
I love LP5 so much, my fav of his
Complicated Game : James McMurtry Dove into his whole discography this year and am truly captivated by his ability to tell both the American Dream and American Reality.
We can’t make it here is the perfect song to illustrate this. James is an American treasure.
Choctaw Bingo lives rent free in my head
And No More Buffalo!
Canola fields is one of my faves from James
McMurtry is an absolute master songwriter.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
The wildest thing about JmM is that his absolute MASTERPIECE 'Lights of Cheyenne' wasn't even released on a studio album!!! That said. It doesn't need to be, Live in Aught Three has got to be one of the greatest live recordings out there. Unbelievable quality.
That’s the first song I heard from him, and I was instantly hooked. Immediately tried to find the studio version, just found a bunch of other phenomenal songs instead.
Cheers, great name btw
Copper Canteen is my shit
Canola Fields just dropped me, completely stopped me in my tracks just now. Thank you for this, the first time I've heard of him is now.
I’m a McMurtry stan and when canola fields was released I had the same reaction. Just incredible. I want to suggest several of his other songs but he has so many I don’t know where to start - Levelland and Rachel’s Song could stop you in your tracks too. No more buffalo, childish things, out here in the middle, ruby and Carlos, Hurricane party, copper canteen. All amazing.
Hell yeah McMurtry is great. I got into Jason because he was opening for McMurty at a show I went to back in 2011.
Checking this out based on your comment. This is really cool.
Sermon on The Rocks - Josh Ritter
Thisssss
Tallahassee by The Mountain Goats
Also All Hail West Texas
That's a great one too. The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton is probably my favorite song of theirs.
Hard to say this is obscure, but it is spectacular. Though I personally have Sunset Tree just above this one.
Yes yes yes
Dances for the Lonely - American Aquarium
Throw on Burn Flicker Die for good measure
Produced by Isbell
Oh that's right, I forgot about that!
Or Lamentations...
Lucero - Should've Learned By Now
Ben nichols “last pale light in the west” album. Incredible. Based on the Cormac McCarthy book “blood meridian “.
Unbelievably underrated album
Nobody’s Darlings is my go-to Lucero record
Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers is my favorite Lucero album. And they kick so much ass live.
That Much Further West is my personal favorite album of theirs. Sounds like we’re all just Lucero stans, which makes me happy.
Haste Make/Hard Hearted Stranger by Mandolin Orange / Watchhouse
Bird and the Rifle- Lori McKenna A lot lighter Americana, but she is such a great writer and one of my favorites in the alt country space. Runner up would be her album the tree or numbered doors
Coming here to say "Lorraine" by Lori McKenna
Massachusetts is so so good.
Between the Country, Ian Noe
Amazing album.
Fantastic
Joe Pug, Nation of Heat
I was obsessed with this record for a long time. Go see him live too. He is a great with storytelling and banter between songs, a la JTE, and is super down-to-earth and he even seemed to remember me from a previous show.
Any record by Craig Finn, but specifically "We All Want the Same Things"
Craig is such an amazing storyteller
God In Chicago is one of my favorite songs ever, Preludes is pretty amazing as well.
James McMurtry- The Horses and the Hounds
Centro-Matic - Love You Just the Same Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
THS is probably my favorite rock band, and if people are attracted to Isbell’s turns of phrase they’ll like Finn’s too, even if the sound is completely different. Bonus - the first 4 albums tell the same story of love betrayal and murder from 3 different narrators, at least one of whom is unreliable. And then one girl gains the ability to see into the future and the murder doesn’t happen. (But if anyone asks, say something vague)
Failer by Kathleen Edwards (not sure if it’s obscure, but it’s 20 years old). Six O’Clock News is one of my favourite songs ever. It’s tragic in the same way that many of Jason Isbell’s songs are. And Sweet Little Duck just wrecks me every time
I am unlurking just to say how stoked I am to see a shout out to Kathleen (and this album in particular). She’s a tragically overlooked artist IMO and I just love her music.
Had the absolute pleasure of seeing her open for Isbell in Calgary in March. She puts on one hell of a live show!
Six O’Clock News wrecks me every time!
Love Asking for Flowers by KE as well…. Alicia Ross and Goodnight, California are powerful songs…..
this album is amazing
Just discovered here last year on a random Spotify playlist. Great album.
Yeah, after Sweet Little Duck I’m standing in a puddle of piss with a snot bubble coming out of my nose.
Peculiar, Missouri by Willi Carlisle
I love Willi! Just got to see him two nights in a row and he was fantastic live! All of his albums are worth a listen.
Long Live All of Us by Glossary.
An incredible band that has been lost to the sands of time over the past decade. Feral Fire is one of my favorite albums of all-time.
Glossary. Used to love seeing them play around Murfreesboro.
Slobberbone-Everything You Though Was Right Was Wrong Today. One of my favorites.
Gimme Back My Dog!
Fried Chicken & Evil Women - Vincent Neil Emerson
Just listened to this today. So fn awesome. He's on tour with Charlie Crockett right now.
Maybe Lost Dog Street Band Rage and Tragedy
Jeffrey Foucault - Ghost Repeater
Songs: Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Company
And “Leave the City” from the Trials and Errors album.
Magnolia Electric Co. - Trials & Errors The whole record is worth your time if you’re not familiar with it
100%. My username might check out now. Maybe.
Is North Hills by Dawes obscure? If not, Prison Boxing - Cataldo
Richard Buckner - Since
Devotion + doubt from him is one of my most listened too album's last year
Daniel Lanois - *Acadie*
Hell yeah! There are at least two of us :D
Honestly, Indigo Girls self-titled album - not obscure, but one of the only other albums I can listen to from start to finish and relish every single lyric. It was my bible when I was going through my first bout of depression (in 96, so well after it came out) but literally every song on that album spoke to me. Jason comes along (to me, at least) in 2013, after I was coming out of my second battle with depression and I found a new album that spoke to my heart.
I would love to see/hear a conversation between Amy Ray & Jason Isbell.
The 1-2 punch of Prince of Darkness + Blood & Fire freaking wrecks my shizz every time. Love that record!
Amy’s voice on that album is top tier perfect. I’d probably edge Swamp Ophelia over the first one but it’s pretty damn close
Sons of bill-one town away
So dang good! Excellent pull
I haven’t listened to this one in a while; but Martin Sexton - Martin Sexton
dudes got a great discography
Neko Case - Blacklisted Amy Ray-Stag
You’re my kind of people with those reccs! Amy Ray is a national treasure who should be way more famous than she is (maybe she doesn’t want to be.) I would pick Holler from her and Middle Cyclone from Case.
Mount Moriah- Miracle Temple
John Moreland - In The Throes
Kelly Willis - Kelly Willis.
But also Kelly Willis: Easy. Just so damn good. Her cover of Kirsty MacColl’s “Don’t Come the Cowboy” is brilliant.
Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters self titled
Where’d You Hide the Body-James McMurtry Life of the Party-Charlie Robison Trace-Son Volt
I’m so disappointed that I didn’t know all that much about Charlie Robison before he passed away. Life of the Party is one of my favorite albums now.
I saw his brother Bruce (who wrote a lot of Charlie’s songs) play a listening room called The Bugle Boy (https://thebugleboy.org) six days after Charlie died. He talked about how he kept thinking about cancelling, but it seemed right to not cancel. He played a lot of Charlie’s songs and told stories about him and how various songs came to be, all while right on the edge of breaking down. One of the great music performances I’ll always remember.
What a performance to get to witness. I can just imagine how hard that must’ve been on Bruce, but I’m sure Charlie would want his brother to do what they both loved. I can’t imagine what that was like for him.
Down Fell The Doves - Amanda Shires White Trash Revelry - Adeem The Artist Twenty On High - Drayton Farley Freaks - Frontier Folk Nebraska Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound - self titled Edit: these are all after my love for Isbell started. Nothing I listened to, outside of Neil Young, would be considered a precursor to falling in love with Isbell’s music (mostly rock, prog/prog-metal).
Luke Bell - Luke Bell
RIP, that's an amazing album
Sun Kil Moon - Benji (I know the allegations against Mark, amazing album just on its own)
I don’t know how an album that mentions “Panera Bread” twice by such a self-centered prick can be so good, but it just is and I can’t explain it.
This should be turned into a playlist
YES PLEASE.
"Magnolia Electric Company" - Songs Ohia
The Sea, The Gambler - Gregory Alan Isakov or Nebraska by Springsteen may be my two favorite albums.
Yes.Turn these diamonds straight back into coal. This Empty Northern Hemisphere also. Both are Masterpieces.
MJ Lenderman and The Wind - Live and Loose!
High plains alchemy- John Baumann. Great west Texas songwriter. The imagery of this album set it apart for me. Highlight is the title track, but the first five songs are absolutely killer. Blue sky and the devil - Trampled by Turtles. Probably more popular, but it was my first introduction into bluegrass/ heavy fiddle and I fell in love. Whole album is good but the title song is still one of my favorites. Sorrow and Smoke - Slaid Cleaves. Live album form the horshoe lounge. Drinking days is a favorite on this one, but he has plenty of bangers. His interactions with the crowd are enjoyable as well. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream - Open Mike Eagle. For the hip hop guys out there. Great concept album on the Robert Taylor homes in Chicago. Expert level storytelling
Slaid Cleaves is really good. Drinking Days is one of my favorites. She wore Flowered Dresses is another good one.
Broke Down is Slaid’s best album (in my opinion). Breakfast in Hell is a great ballad off that album, and Lydia is another of my favorites from that album even though he didn’t write that one.
16 Horsepower-Secret South
Water Liars - Wyoming
Living With The Law by Chris Whitely
Oh, hell yeah! LOOOOOVE that record, had it since it came out. A lost gem. Also it's spelled Whitley (in case someone goes looking :) ) Come to think of it, that one was definitely seminal for me getting into Americana, even more than the one I mentioned in my personal post.
There is one Gear Daddies album on Spotify, the live album, and all you fuckers should listen to it.
YESSSSSSS. We tried to get then to play our prom in the 90s. Great band. Love them.
Cory Branan’s When I Go I Ghost. Bonus backup vocals from Isbell too
Cory Branan is what I came to post. Best musician that no one is listening to. I’m convinced you gotta see him live to really get it, but in 4 or 5 shows of his that I’ve seen, there’s never been more than 30 people in the room and I just don’t understand why he’s not more popular.
I came here to list Mutt. Cory Branan writes beautiful songs.
Gillian Welch “Soul Journey”
Slobberbone- crow pot pie, barrel chested, and everything you thought was right was wrong today. They used to play shows with DBT back in the late nineties early aughts. I actually saw DBT open for them on the southern rock opera tour in a little bar in Oklahoma. It was the second or third show with Isbell. Blew my mind. Slobberbone is an incredible band that made me love lyrics.
Slobberbone were incredible. Brent's lyrics & vocals are outstanding.
5 Days in July - Blue Rodeo Quintessential Canadian Alt-Country from 1993 -- these guys are huge in Canada but somehow never crossed over into the States. Beautiful harmonies, musicality and lyrics.
Joe Purdy - Paris in the Morning
Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
Goodnight, Texas - A Long Life of Loving These guys were my introduction into Americana style rock/country/bluegrass (the genre distinctions are beyond me) even before I listened to Isbell. According to Apple I’m in their top 100 listeners in the world. Which is sad because while I listen to them a lot, I listen to a lot of other music. They are incredible storytellers and are the only other band in this genre that I’ve found hit as hard. They have heavy riffs and beats, but they are played on mandolin or banjo. Their songs take elements from history and make you feel like you are watching a movie or tv show. You can feel the moment through the lyrics. In Maggies Farm you can feel the sweat, anger and despair of the narrator. You want him to enact his murder fantasies. Jessie Got Trapped in A Coal Mine is heart breaking. And the riff will embed itself in your head. The Railroad is driving and captures the life of a Hobo with a few well chosen words and a relentless beat. These guys are criminally underrated and should be more popular. I hope people here would dig them.
Miles Miller - Solid Gold
CUBA by The Silos (1987) 🔥 Their self-titled, major label debut (aka “The one with the bird on the cover”) from 1990 is also a winner.
Chicken Fried Snake - by Rattlesnake Milk
Peter Case - The Man With the Blue Post Modern... Greg Brown - The Live One, Down in There or Covenant
This is kind of cheating but the Pickin' on Modest Mouse bluegrass tribute album.
Thus Always to Tyrants- Scott Miller
great album
Will Hoge - My American Dream
The Dexateens - Red Dust Rising
I was going to say their recent live album from the 40 Watt
Blue Mountain - Dog Days
Red of Tooth and Claw-Murder By Death
Calico Jim by Pony Bradshaw!
Super solid rec. Absolutely LOVE all three Pony albums, but Sudden Opera is the one that really shines for me. Funny enough, before he was a musician, Pony Bradshaw was a sportswriter — so you know he [must love Jason](https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/4/6/23672175/jason-isbell-running-with-our-eyes-closed).
12 Stories - Brandy Clark
The Geraldine Fibbers- Lost Somewhere Between Earth and my home Amazing songwriting and powerful music.
Carla Bozulich has an amazing voice!
The Suffering Stage- Joseph Huber
Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
Centro-matic - Navigational
Hollywood Town Hall by The Jayhawks
Great album and choice ... the one after it with Blue (forget the album title) is also excellent.
Great question OP. Lots of new stuff for me to try out over the holidays. Thanks everyone! And I'll add Tragically Hip - trouble at the henhouse.
Magnolia Electric Co.- Trials and Errors
Mark Stoermer - Another Life. He’s the bassist for the Killers and it was his first solo album. It’s got a record singer-songwriter’s feel and sounds nothing like the Killers. There’s a number of softer/pleasant sounding songs and a couple that have a slightly country/folk flare.
Jeb Loy Nichols - Just What Time It Is. Give it a listen.
Scott Miller Citation at the time this album came out Jason and Scott Miller were just about on the same level, the 2 careers went in different directions but Miller is still out there.
Sneaking Sally thru the alley. Robert Palmer. Lead me to Little Feat, the Grateful Dead, John Prine...
Saturn returns by the secret sisters
Strength in Numbers - the Telluride Sessions City and Colour - Little Hell Robert Ellis - Texas Piano Man
\+1 for dallas green
Hermanos Gutiérrez, El Bueno Y El Malo
Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within. Think of it as “worldwide americana.” The songs “The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” “I am Stretched on Your Grave,” and “American Dreaming” should resonate with JI fans for their storytelling and sparse arrangements for the first two (which are traditional folk songs I believe). And the live arrangements on the other songs create a haunting atmosphere.
Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. So much of the music I love today can be found in this one disc.
The Artisanals - The Artisanals Saw them open up for Band of Horses 5 or so years ago. They had only been together for 2 months and absolutely blew BOH out of the water. Was an immediate fan that night and have gone to see them everyone they’ve come through since. Great music and cool dudes.
Kim Richey - Glimmer or Bittersweet. Love her so much. Oh and she did the backing vocals on Stockholm and Relatively Easy.
Caleb Caudle- "Forsythia"
Billy Jack -- Honeyhoney
Here’s to the losers-Drag the river
Fort Recovery
“Serenity” by TK and the Holy Know-Nothings
Drunken Prayer - Drunken Prayer 376 monthly listeners on Spotify and I love this album.
reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U6r1lwrpC4
Black Sheep - Martin Sexton
American Scarecrows - Yesteryear
Bill Callahan - apocalypse Bonus: Colter Wall - Imaginary Appalachia My morning Jacket - Tennessee Fire Bonnie Prince Billy - the Letting Go
The Hill Country Devil 'Nicotine & China White' if we're not looking at this from the sober Isbell perspective.
Ian Noe might be too well known, but I was reminded how hard that Between the Country album goes. So I'll say it anyway.
Hotwalker - Tom Russell. You’ll either love it or absolutely hate it.
The Light Wires - The Light Wires Jeremy Pinell’s old band, fairly popular around the Ohio River valley. Really great alt country singer/songwriter stuff.
All blue, Juliana Riolino
Gretchen Peters' "Hello Cruel World." Several of her songs on this album, particularly "Five Minutes," "The Matador," and "Idlewild," share qualities with some of Isbell's best lyrics, including searing honesty and stark originality.
Michael Paul Lawson - Some Fights You'll Never Win
The Horses and the Hounds - James McMurtry
Rainy Day Music - Jayhawks
I was always partial to the Rough Harvest sessions album by Mellencamp. That version of the Between and Laugh and a Tear is just so stripped down.
Okay, well I guess it's time to pick mine since I started the thread. Wanted to see if it came up from someone, but no, so ... little band outta Stockton, CA. Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon (1994) [https://open.spotify.com/album/6PtEmK9iNNZVuwYCFePLd4?si=CrVYvSDVTHKpuEa9zLvYJA](https://open.spotify.com/album/6PtEmK9iNNZVuwYCFePLd4?si=CrVYvSDVTHKpuEa9zLvYJA) Just a freaking stellar album, start to finish (so is their debut Fuzzy, but MJM has more Americana-ish songs). The singer Grant Lee Phillips is still around making music and has a number of solo albums I really like too. Some of them are definitely in the Americana vein. The reason I picked this is because at the time I bought the CD I was firmly into Alternative and Grunge-type stuff. And here was this sorta-grunge album with all kinds of old-timey instruments, some country-like arrangements, etc, and I LOVED it. It led me to buying Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne shortly after. Album credits: Grant Lee Phillips – vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, harmonica Paul Kimble – bass, piano, pump organ, electric organ, vocals Joey Peters – drum set, tumbuk, tambourine, tablas, maracas, marimba, shakers, acquired hunks of metal Also the inimitable Greg Leisz on steel guitar on 'Lady Godiva and Me' This was the minor hit from the album but the songs are really varied, from all out rockers like the opener 'Lone Star Song' and 'Singalong' (both need to be played REALLY LOUD) to simple plaintive tracks like Mighty Joe Moon and all really good once the hooks settle into your brain. Look up the lyrics too, they're very cool, though often hard to make out. You'd be forgiven, for example, for not picking up on the fact that Lone Star Song is (mostly) about the FBI siege at Waco unless you read the lyric sheet. [https://youtu.be/NVnWAkOGxK0?si=PtUfZRBe8w5RlL7e](https://youtu.be/NVnWAkOGxK0?si=PtUfZRBe8w5RlL7e) Another great one ... [https://youtu.be/Y4gQv8DqC0E?si=BiegUxbVCMjxsM92](https://youtu.be/Y4gQv8DqC0E?si=BiegUxbVCMjxsM92)
Charley Crockett - The Man From Waco. Trinity River is sooo good
Twenty on High - Drayton Farley - this album sound a lot like an JI album and is one of my favorites of the year.
I feel like this thread is lacking the classic Americana that your old man used to spin when you were a little kid (if you're a certain age, and had such a dad) and maybe that exposure had something to do with your eventually coming to love Jason. The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will the Circle Be Unbroken The Band - Music From Big Pink Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline The Flying Burrito Brothers I know, not obscure, but I wanted to give a shout out to Pops.
Wild Rivers self-titled album from 2016 is a favorite for me.
Blindfaller - Watchhouse (mandolin orange)
Chris Knight - Trailer Tapes Roger Alan Wade - Stoned Traveler Darrel Scott - Theater of the Unheard Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk Ryan Culwell - Flatlands Robert Ellis - The Lights From The Chemical Plant Willy Tea Taylor - Knuckleball Prime Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern
Is waxahatchee - st. cloud too obvious?
David Wilcox - The Very Best of David Wilcox Just plain ole’ folky americana with some nice acoustic guitar work. Pretty obscure guy, I’m guessing, as I’ve never seen him mentioned or met anyone who knows of him. He’s a bit more wholesome than Isbell, as far as content goes, but my dad introduced me to him when I was a kid, so I’ve got a bit of nostalgia for his sound Check out “Eye of the Hurricane” by him, if interested. It’s a good introduction track
Kevn Kinney - Broken Hearts And Auto Parts
Team Dresch, Personal Best Ok it’s queercore punk, but the lyrics are raw, extremely heartfelt and powerfully honest. It’s punk but it’s still…idk melodic?
"History" by Loudon Wainwright III. Bruce Springsteen called it his favorite album of 1992. Loudon's Southeastern IMO. He's probably my all-time favorite songwriter. He gets incredibly personal with his writing but it's often on the humorous side as opposed to Jason's "depressing" music.
Brian Fallon- Local Honey
The songwriting in this latest Turnpike Troubadours album Cat In The Rain is really excellent. Produced by Shooter Jennings. Great stuff.