Reunions (album)

Reunions is the seventh studio album released by Jason Isbell, and the fourth accompanied by his backing band The 400 Unit. It was released first in independent record stores on May 8, 2020, through Southeastern Records, intended to help small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It received a wide release a week later on May 15, 2020. The songs "Be Afraid", "What've I Done to Help", and "Only Children" were released as singles prior to the album's release.[1] Reunions peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Reunions
Studio album by
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
ReleasedMay 15, 2020 (2020-05-15)
Recorded2019
StudioRCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)
GenreAmericana
Length41:10
LabelSoutheastern
ProducerDave Cobb
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit chronology
The Nashville Sound
(2017)		 Reunions
(2020)

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
American Songwriter[4]
And It Don't Stop[5]
Exclaim!9/10[6]
Flood Magazine7/10[7]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[8]
Paste8/10[9]
Pitchfork7.8/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Under the Radar8/10[12]

Reunions was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews.[2]

In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau highlighted the songs "It Gets Easier" and "What've I Done to Help?" while writing in summation of the album: "Lest anyone think he’s full of himself, this brave, soulful, articulate Nashville conscience singer turns the high beam on his own moral shortcomings".[5]

Accolades
Accolades for Reunions
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
[13]
Top 50 Best Albums of 2020 30 [14]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020 11 [15]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 2020 31 [16]
Mojo Top 75 Albums of 2020 73 [17]
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
6
[18]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 12 [19]
PopMatters The 60 Best Albums of 2020 25 [20]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
11
[21]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
37
[22]
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2020 28 [23]
Variety Variety's Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
[24]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jason Isbell except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."What've I Done to Help" (Isbell, Michael Kiwanuka)6:40
2."Dreamsicle"3:44
3."Only Children"3:57
4."Overseas"5:07
5."Running with Our Eyes Closed"3:42
6."River"3:22
7."Be Afraid"3:19
8."St. Peter's Autograph"4:11
9."It Gets Easier"3:47
10."Letting You Go"3:23
Total length:41:10

Credits[25]

The 400 Unit

  • Jimbo Hart - Bass
  • Jason Isbell - Vocals, Guitars, Piano
  • Chad Gamble - Drums, Tambourine
  • Amanda Shires - Fiddle, Background Vocals
  • Sadler Vaden - Guitars
  • Derry Deborja - Keyboards, Omnichord, Organ, Piano

Guest Vocalists

  • Jay Buchanan - Background Vocals
  • David Crosby - Background Vocals

Production and Design

  • Pete Lyman - Mastering
  • Dave Cobb - Mixing, Producer, Shaker
  • Fetzer Design - Art Direction
  • Toby Hurlbert - Assistant Engineer
  • Daniel Bacigalupi - Assistant
  • Paul James Butler - Composer
  • Michael Kiwanuka - Composer
  • Gena Johnson - Engineer

Charts

References
  1. Freeman, Jon. "Jason Isbell Supports Indie Record Stores With Early 'Reunions' Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  2. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. Zimmermann, Lee (May 12, 2020). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2020). "Consumer Guide: July, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. Mulling, Kyle (May 13, 2020). "Jason Isbell Gets Real About Sobriety on Gripping, Heart-Wrenching 'Reunions'". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  7. Fennell, Sean (May 28, 2020). "Flood Magazine Review". Flood Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  8. Lily Large, Meghan (May 13, 2020). "On his seventh studio album, Jason Isbell magnificently explores the human connection". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. Danton, Eric (May 12, 2020). "Jason Isbell Wrestles With Ghosts on Reunions". Paste. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  10. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (May 14, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  11. Bernstein, Jonathan (May 14, 2020). "Jason Isbell Looks Backward and Sees Ghosts on the Probing 'Reunions'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  12. Uitti, Jake (June 3, 2020). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  13. Billboard Staff (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  14. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  15. "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  16. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  17. Pearis, Bill (November 17, 2020). "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2020". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  18. "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  19. Staff, Paste (November 25, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  20. "The 60 Best Albums of 2020". PopMatters. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  22. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  23. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  24. Aswad, Jem; Willman, Chris; Barker, Andrew (June 5, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  25. "Jason Isbell/Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit: Reunions Credits". AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  26. "Australiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  27. "Ultratop.be – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  28. "Jason Isbell, CNA". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  33. "Swedishcharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  35. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  36. Caulfield, Keith (May 24, 2020). "Future Flies 'High' With Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  37. "Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  38. "Americana/Folk Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  39. "Top Rock Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  40. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2020.


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