Jason Isbell has only just released his latest LP, Georgia Blue – a star-studded charity covers album featuring the likes of Julien Baker, Chris Thile, John Paul White – but he says he's already keen to drop new music, on one condition: if Beto O'Rourke is successful in the race to become Texas governor.
Following the Democratic candidate's announcement that he would run yesterday (November 15), Isbell wrote to him on Twitter: “You need a singer for anything, you just call.” In response, a fan replied: “If he wins, do we get a Texas covers album?” To which Isbell responded, “You know what, hell yes.”
And we fully expect Isbell to deliver: Georgia Blue arrived off the back of a promise he made last year, when he tweeted: “If [then-presidential nominee Joe] Biden wins Georgia, I'm gonna make a charity covers album of my favorite Georgia songs.”
He then proceeded to list of the artists he would cover – “REM, Gladys Knight, Vic Chesnutt, [The Allman Brothers Band], Cat Power, Precious Bryant, Now It's Overhead” – and songs from each of these acts appeared on the album, so Isbell is clearly a man of his word.
Shortly after the guitarist made his promise, legendary producer Steve Albini chimed in, adding that he was “happy to donate studio time” and engineer the project.
Unfortunately, we'll have a year to wait in any case, as the election to decide Texas's next governor will take place on November 8, 2022.
Jason Isbell's had a busy 2021. Aside from releasing his latest album, Georgia Blues, the guitarist offered up a frenzied, country-fried blues rendition of Sad But True to Metallica's sprawling compilation album, The Metallica Blacklist, and also collaborated with Fender to launch a new Road Worn signature Telecaster.
