Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium is a special venue for Isbell & the 400 Unit. As their stature has grown beyond roots music, they’ve performed on that vaunted stage more than 50 times in the past decade and recorded a previous album there. This new collection reprises material from their most-recent albums, Reunions and Weathervanes, with a couple of additions.
Vocals and songwriting skills aside, the former Drive-By Trucker is a first-rate guitarist, working alongside 400 Unit guitarists Sadler Vaden (VG, May ’20) and Will Johnson, supported by bassist Anna Butterss. A compelling and emotional vocalist, Isbell, Vaden, and Johnson’s guitars flawlessly wrap around each tune with powerful, crashing chord work and subtle rhythm licks. The pair unfurl blistering, feverish breaks on “King of Oklahoma,” the second exchange closing the song.
A reflective take on Tom Petty’s ballad “Room at the Top” begins with Isbell’s guitar before the entire band joins in. Vaden and Isbell swap leads at one point. Slamming rhythms from both kick off and drive “When We Were Close” the whole way through. Isbell’s steady acoustic launches the potent “Cast Iron Skillet.” On every performance, voice, lyrics, and guitars are in perfect sync. – Rich Kienzle
This article originally appeared in VG’s March 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
