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Something More Than Free

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Untitled

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.TitleLength
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 Billboard Top Country Albums number-one album
August 8, 2015 		Succeeded by

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. ^ a b "Reviews for Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  4. ^ a b "New sides of Jason Isbell surface on the excellent Something More Than Free". avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  5. ^ a b Manning, Craig (2015-07-14). "Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free - Album Review". absolutepunk.net. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  6. ^ a b 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. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  26. ^ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  27. ^ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  28. ^ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  29. ^ "Jason Isbell Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2015.


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