Jack White, the lead singer of the rock band The White Stripes, first gained notoriety with the their self-titled debut. Critics fell in love with White’s infectious lyrics and impressive guitar work. But critics cannot always sell a band, and the album went relatively unnoticed in mainstream circles. The White Stipes in 2001, at the peak of the garage rock movement released Fell In Love With A Girl as their single, and success soon followed. Lumped in with acts such as The Vines and The Strokes at the time, White Blood Cells went on to sell a outstanding amount to both indie kids and mainstream rock fans alike. Jack and Meg White went on to create two other albums in the next two years, most notably Elephant which some consider to be a classic. However, there came a point in which White found himself confined to the simplistic nature in which he created music for his Grammy award winning band. In 2005, Get Behind Me Satan was released to the dismay of many long time fans. The album which showed White trying to find new ways of expressing himself, came out with mixed reviews.
White, looking for a new musical rush, joined up with long time friend and fellow musician Brendan Benson, they started writing songs together for fun in Whites home. Songs started to come together, and thoughts of releasing this material became more and more likely. Fans of The White Stripes, not knowing where the band will go next, got news of Whites new band, and as always expectations were high. On May 15, 2006, Whites new band The Raconteurs, released their debut album named Broken Boy Soldiers.
The Raconteurs:
- Jack White (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
- Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
- Jack Lawrence (bass)
- Patrick Keeler (drums)
The album starts off with the first single off the album. Steady As She Goes, shows much more the pop rock side of Benson rather then Whites blues rock side. Catchy verses over a repetitive chorus, Whites vocals shine over Keeler’s steady, but solid drum beat, which is a step up from Meg to say the least. Great key work, mixed with a nice, but generic guitar riff makes this song one of the best pop songs of 06'. Many tracks, like Steady As She Goes, show off Benson’s talent, over White’s. Songs such as Yellow Sun and Hands are perfect examples of this. Both tracks put the pop in pop rock with ease. Benson’s good, but much weaker voice on Hands take away from the tracks overall appeal, however Hands has one of the stronger riffs on the album. The bridge features Benson just humming along to White’s simple guitar work also. Yellow Sun features an acoustic guitar over the same format of Hands. Benson’s vocals once again take away from the track. These three songs, make the album very enjoyable to first time listeners, however over time these songs become boring, and tend to fade into each other. With little distinction in all three, they make for a boring experience after a certain amount of time.
With Benson showing off his talent, or to some listeners lack thereof on these tracks mentioned, Stripes fans need White to come through, and on the title track, Broken Boy Soldier and Store Bought Bones, White gets his turn to show off his talent that created The White Stripes. Broken Boy Soldier shows the garage rock side of White with powerful but messy cord structure. Easily Keeler’s best performance on the album, helps add to White’s rambling lyrics, about past days like fans of his know best. Could easily be on any Stripes album, Broken Boy Soldier adds nicely to Whites past work. Store Bought Bones is another highlight of the album, with Benson putting together his best vocal performance on the album for the verses of this song, with White taking the spotlight for the chorus. Inventive guitar work adds to the songs feel, and is supported by a great job done at the keyboard that flows perfectly with the song. Features the only truly great solo near the end. Say what you want about Jack White, but he can play that guitar like few others. Even though these are two of the best songs on the album, both fail to come close to the best track on the album. Blue Veins is a blues song, on par with anything the White or Benson has done before. Benson’s piano playing mixed with White’s eerie vocals, creates a mood of downright despair. A real treat for any Stripes fan, or any blues fan in general.
Level and Together are not like anything Benson or White have ever done before. Tracks that show true collaboration between the two talents that work very well. Level sounds like White’s blues roots, mixed with Benson’s pop driven rock. The guitar work is not anything special, and sounds forced at points though. Together, while following the same format of Level mixes it with an acoustic guitar. Benson’s voice works well with the Alt-rock song this is at its base. However Whites backing vocals make the tone awkward, and really are unneeded in the end. Laid back lyrics, with Benson’s voice make it a must listen to any fan of his. Another song that follows the lead of Together, but fails in its attempt to re-create it, is Call It A Day. The laid back feel of Together, gets dragged through the mud with Benson sounding bored and just waiting for the song to get over. Flat, dull, and just at the end of the day boring, Call It A Day is easily the worst song on the album. Intimate Secretary is a close to that unflattering title though. Lyrics are uninspired and sadly childish, nice key work saves this song from being the albums worst, but both songs are terrible and should be avoided.
Jack White and Brandon Benson’s side project is a solid album, but not free of major flaws. Although, a fan of either artists could find points that they love within the album, the same could be said for parts they hate. Jacks White, rid of the confinement (that he himself set) of The White Stripes, put together with Benson a good piece of work, but lacked variety. Now with that said, White got to do what he set out for, to expand his musical horizons, but it did not work as well as it could have. A follow up seems to be inevitable, and I for one hope the bar is set a bit higher the next time White and Benson get together.
Pros:
- Catchy pop rock.
- Jack White’s vocal performance is top notch.
- Drummer is an upgrade to Meg White.
Cons:
- Some songs become bland after repeated listens.
- White and Benson do not fit well together.
- Lack of variety.
Recommend Tracks:
- Broken Boy Soldier
- Store Bought Bones
- Blue Veins
3/5
