RECOMMENDED When word came down that Jason Isbell, one-third of the guitar-wielding trio steering The Drive-By Truckers—was going solo, a resounding approval swept the alt-country sphere. For years, Isbell had been squirreling away his own tunes and this year, as the Truckers unplugged, he tapped into some next-level pop of his own. The split was more than amicable; fellow DBT Patterson Hood even co-produced the New West release of “Sirens of the Ditch.” Recorded inside the hallowed walls of Muscle Shoal’s FAME Studios (Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding are among the legends to have laid tracks at the Alabama landmark) this solo debut showcases Isbell’s long-cultivated instrumental prowess. While many artists have wiggled an apprehensive toe into the waters of the Iraq war experience, the standout track “Dress Blues” cuts right to the heart of the military condition. No anti-Bush jabs or rabble-rousing here, Isbell instead focuses on the soldiers themselves, with the poignant sincerity that could only come from a southern soul. (K. Tighe) Saturday, November 10 at Park West, 322 W. Armitage, (773)327-1662. 9pm. $17.50.
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