Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit

★★★★ Georgia Blue SOUTHEASTERN. CD/DL/LP

Isbell, band and guests cover songs by great Georgia artists.

In a belated thank you to the 2020 Election swing state of Georgia, Isbell and co’s latest fires on the participants’ shared affection for the material. Deeper cuts such as Indigo Girls’ Kid Fears, here a luminous duet for Brandi Carlisle and Julien Baker, sit alongside a take on R.E.M.’s Nightswimming with banjo pecks from Béla Fleck, and Brittney Spencer’s stirring reading of James Brown’s It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World. With The Black Crowes’ Steve Gorman helming a combustible version of said act’s Sometimes Salvation, Isbell himself shining on Otis Redding’s I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, and Cat Power, Vic Chesnutt and The Allman Brothers Band also covered, Georgia Blue’s diversity of Georgia sounds sits well with its campaign for inclusivity. Highlight? The Truth, originally by country-blues great Precious Bryant, sweetly sung by Adia Victoria. All proceeds from the album will go to voting rights and social housing charities.