In anticipation of Isbell's Reunions dropping on Friday, I've seen a number of articles that rank his top twenty songs.
Of course, musical tastes vary, so the lists have some sleepers, but they also tend to favor slower odes that are introspective. I like those. They are powerful, no doubt.
I, however, tend to lean toward more rock-oriented songs, so I will just get that bias out of the way.
Here are my top twenty Isbell songs, and I am not including any songs from Reunions.
20. "Different Days"
Isbell is a master at presenting narratives of characters we might not focus on. The persona looks back at himself while considering how he would have interacted with a stripper.
19. "24 Frames"
One of my favorite lyrics is "You thought God was an architect./ Now you know/ he's something like a pipe bomb/ ready to blow./ And everything you built that's all for show/ goes up in flames/ in twenty-four frames."
18. "Cover Me Up"
The opening tune of Southeastern is a favorite of many Isbell fans if you go by the lists that travel about the InterWebs. It's about recovery and beautifully arranged. It's a solid song.
17. "Stockholm"
A song about a Swedish city. But it's really about missing a girl.
16. "Grown"
This song off his first album is sorely under appreciated. It's a tight narrative about a young boy having feelings for an older woman. "Are you still dancing to 'Purple Rain'?" "You taught me how to lust."
15. "Dress Blues"
This tune was a staple of his early shows, and I suspect he still plays it. As most people know, it was written for his friend who died overseas, which he relates at the start of this video.
14. "The Life You Chose"
This is a great song about coming back and realizing things are different and regret. In two stanzas he references "Jack and Coke" and The Bell Jar. The man is obviously well read.
13. "Alabama Pines"
The jangly guitar riff sets the tone well, and Shires' fiddle works as a backdrop on this tune. To me, it's a song about loneliness. It's a pleasant ear worm.
12. "Outfit"
I had to get this tune in the top twenty. I debated between this song and "TVA," but this is one of my favorites. This song features good advice from Dad.
11. "Songs She Sang in the Shower"
This is another underrated song in his catalog that showcases his wry wit. He incorporates Monty Python's "Bring Out Your Dead," for God's sake.
10. "Never Gonna Change"
This is one of the stronger songs on one of the best ever Southern rock albums: The Dirty South.
9. "Streetlights"
This tune has always captured me: a guy sitting at a bar, closing it down, wondering what happened to a lass he wants, and then stumbling back to where he's gonna crash. I guess I can relate.
8. "Elephant"
I remember when he tweeted about writing this song. As he's stated before, you know it's a powerful song when people cry when hearing it in concert. "We burn these joints in effigy/ and cry about what we used to be./ Try to ignore the elephant somehow./ Somehow..."
7. "White Man's World"
A fitting and poignant rumination on white privilege.
6. "Soldiers Get Strange"
Of the trio of songs about veterans, this is my favorite. As he stated when I saw him in concert years ago, it's a song about PTSD.
5. "Stopping By"
It's a great song about something many people deal with: an absent parent. "I think the best of me is still standing in the doorway."
4. "Speed Trap Town"
This tune weaves a tightly knit story about loss. At the end when the persona wakes up next to Indian mound, I always think about Moundville, AL.
3. "Goddamn Lonely Love" (Live from Alabama version)
This is one of his songs that will be played at my funeral. "The sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before."
2. "Relatively Easy"
In times like these, you got put things into perspective.
1. "Hope the High Road"
Whether you agree with statements in the song or not, it's a hell of a tune.
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