Something More Than Free

Something More Than Free
Studio album by Jason Isbell
Released July 17, 2015
Genre Alternative country
Length 43:55
Label Southeastern Records
Producer Dave Cobb
Jason Isbell chronology
Southeastern
(2013)		 Something More Than Free
(2015)

Something More Than Free is the fifth studio album by Jason Isbell. It was produced by Dave Cobb, who also produced Isbell's last record, Southeastern.[1] The album received the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubA-[4]
AbsolutePunk9.5/10[5]
Country WeeklyA[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
Pitchfork5.8/10[8]
PopMatters8/10[9]
Slant Magazine[10]

Something More Than Free received mostly positive reviews. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[3]

The A.V. Club's Eric Swedlund praised the album, writing "though Something More Than Free may not repeat Isbell’s album-of-the-year accolades, it continues the magic of that breakthrough LP."[4] In another positive review, Craig Manning of AbsolutePunk wrote "Like Southeastern, Something More Than Free is a masterwork, and while I'm not sure if I quite agree with Isbell that it's better than Southeastern, it certainly offers a different (but equally satisfying) experience."[5] Jon Freeman of Nash Country Weekly gave the album a grade of A, writing "Jason Isbell has a reporter’s eye for detail and a poet’s gift for a beautifully crafted turn of phrase." Freeman continued, "Jason’s throaty rasp, not unlike Tyler Farr’s, is the ideal vehicle for those stories [..] It may not be all pretty, but Something More Than Free is as real as it gets."[6]

In a mixed review, Pitchfork Media's Stephen Deusner described Something More Than Free as " an album that contains too few surprises," writing that " the music does little to distinguish these characters or enliven the lyrics."[8] In an otherwise positive review, Jeremy Winograd of Slant Magazine wrote that Something More Than Free "retains Southeastern's intimate acoustic-based feel and heavyhearted lyrical matter, but it's even more smooth-edged and lacks the emotional gut-punches of its predecessor."[10]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015 #31[11]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 6, and on the Top Country Albums as well as the Top Rock Albums charts at No. 1 upon its release in the United States, with 46,000 units sold.[12] As of February 2016, the album has sold 128,800 copies in the US.[13]

Something More Than Free debuted at number 1 on Billboard Magazine's rock, folk and country record charts.[14][15] Although he had had critical success in the Americana genre, this was the first time Isbell received such high ranking across genres.[16] The album was well received.[17]

The single '24 Frames' peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Triple A chart[18] and at No. 42 on Rock Airplay.[19]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "If It Takes a Lifetime"   3:43
2. "24 Frames"   3:16
3. "Flagship"   3:52
4. "How to Forget"   4:06
5. "Children of Children"   5:52
6. "The Life You Chose"   4:05
7. "Something More Than Free"   3:33
8. "Speed Trap Town"   4:04
9. "Hudson Commodore"   3:26
10. "Palmetto Rose"   4:06
11. "To a Band That I Loved"   3:52

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 83
Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] 48
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 17
US Billboard 200[25] 6
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[26] 1
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[27] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] 1
Preceded by
Montevallo by Sam Hunt		 Billboard Top Country Albums number-one album
August 8, 2015 		Succeeded by
Angels and Alcohol by Alan Jackson

References

  1. ↑ "Jason Isbell - 06/20/15". Absolute Punk. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ Colurso, Mary (2016-02-15). "Grammy Awards 2016: Jason Isbell wins for Best Americana Album & Best American Roots Song". Alabama Media Group. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Reviews for Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  4. 1 2 "New sides of Jason Isbell surface on the excellent Something More Than Free". avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  5. 1 2 Manning, Craig (2015-07-14). "Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free - Album Review". absolutepunk.net. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  6. 1 2 Freeman, Jon. Something More Than Free - Jason Isbell. countryweekly.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell: EW review". http://www.ew.com/. Retrieved 2015-07-17. External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. 1 2 "Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free | Album Reviews". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  9. ↑ Conaton, Chris (2015-07-13). "Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free". Popmatters.com/. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  10. 1 2 Winograd, Jeremy. Jason Isbell: Something More Than Free. Slant. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". stereogum.com. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  12. ↑ Jim Asker (July 28, 2015). "Jason Isbell Lands No. 1 on Country Albums Chart". Billboard.
  13. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (February 22, 2016). "The Top 10 Country Albums Chart: February 22, 2016". Roughstock.
  14. ↑ Mason, Anthony (9 August 2015). "The fall and rise of Jason Isbell". CBS News. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  15. ↑ Kellmurray, Beth (27 July 2015). "Jason Isbell Celebrates the Chart Success of ‘Something More Than Free’". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Hight, Jewly (5 August 2015). "Country Star (and Expectant Dad) Jason Isbell 'Glad to Have My Baby on the Brain'". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  17. ↑ Mazor, Barry (4 August 2015). "‘Something More Than Free’ by Jason Isbell Review". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Jason Isbell Album & Song Chart History - Adult Alternative Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "Jason Isbell Album & Song Chart History - Rock Airplay". Billboard.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  22. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 30, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Jason Isbell – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Jason Isbell. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Jason Isbell – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Jason Isbell. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Jason Isbell – Chart history" Billboard Folk Albums for Jason Isbell. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Jason Isbell – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Jason Isbell. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Jason Isbell – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Jason Isbell. Retrieved July 28, 2015.

External links


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