this just came out this past weekend. i received my copy on saturday and put it on while doing some errands in the car. i knew it was something special right out of the gates. after a long day working outside yesterday, i put it on while relaxing on the back porch and decided it warranted a proper listen.

let me first state that this is his first solo album (without the 400 unit) in ten years. on top of that, it is just him alone with his acoustic guitar. sparse, but captivating. i have now gotten through it maybe 4 times or so, and i am still processing the complexity and brilliance of the lyrics. i should also say that his guitar playing is extremely good. he is well known for his electric playing, especially on the slide, but his acoustic picking here is something i have not heard in a while.

about a year ago he announced his divorce from his wife and fellow band member amanda shires, and he does not deny that the process is the source for some of the material, maybe a majority of it. don’t let that turn you off. just as his journey into sobriety arguably was an inspiration for his 2013 breakthrough album ‘southeastern’, he seems genuinely inspired in both his songwriting and singing on this one. my first impression is that he realizes that at least part of the blame for their dissolution falls on him. knowing him like i do after following his career for over fifteen years, i do not doubt that it is true.

most fans of his think ‘southeastern’ is his finest work, not to be equaled before or since, and i fall in that category. but in just 48 hours of listening, i think this is as close as he has come. i hear echoes of that masterpiece in more than a few numbers. in an interview i just read, he was asked about making the departure to this solo acoustic format, and his reply was that he felt he had been doing the rocking 400 unit format for a while, and at age 46, he felt like he was a bit trapped in that role. i tend to agree. i have declined to catch him much on the road lately, even though i think their last few albums were interesting, because i stopped seeing anything new that i thought was worth my effort.

there are really just a few instances where you can tell that the subject matter is his relationship with amanda – both good and bad. but much of it could possibly be about her, but maybe about other relationships (it was his second marriage). and then there are songs that aren’t about women at all, but possibly tales about his rowdier youth. the title track might be the best song on the album (only jason could reference diphenhydramine in a love song). and then it closes with a song he was asked to write for his brother’s marriage – to be played at their first dance at their reception. he debuted it at that ceremony. nobody had had a chance to hear it before that. i would not be surprised if it is not the last time that song gets played in such a setting.

he is currently on tour solo without his band, featuring this material. i might have to go out and see him. see you there.