When I think of the great guitar players in country music, the cream of the crop is pretty obvious. Brad Paisley immediately comes to mind, his dizzying technical masterpiece of a solo on "Nervous Breakdown" still blows me away. Similarly, Dwight Yoakam on "Fast as You knocks me off my feet with the wizardry on display. However, one artist that has a stellar ear for a killer guitar is Jason Isbell, either on his own or with his band the 400 Unit. He doesn't get this far without absorbing knowledge like a sponge. He reveals one artist in particular who taught him some valuable lessons with the guitar.
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Recently, Jason spoke with Uncut Magazine (captured by Guitar.com). There, he talks a little bit about his recording process for his 2020 album with the 400 Unit Reunions. Particularly, Isbell recalls sitting in with David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young learning tricks of the trade on the guitar. "I wish I knew how to tune a guitar the way Joni Mitchell does," he sighs. "Nobody really knows, but David Crosby did. He knew every single one of them. One night he got really stoned and we talked him into showing ustalked him into showing us all those Joni tunings."
Jason Isbell Learns Joni Mitchell Guitar Tunings From David Crosby During Reunions Era
As much as Jason wanted to emulate what Crosby was pulling from Joni Mitchell, he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. Moreover, it wasn't just a few tricks of the trade Crosby had on hand. Rather, he spends a hefty amount of time, high out of his mind, tinkering with every guitar tuning he knows from Joni at the time. "He just sat there for hours retuning his guitar over and over and over and showing us what notes they were supposed to be," Isbell recalls. "I couldn't do a single one of them, but Crosby knew them all."
It's unfortunate that Jason couldn't pull those tricks off. Regardless, through his wisdom and the 400 Unit's skills, Reunions was an incredibly powerful listen. Where he lacks in one area, he thrives in another.
