Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jack White - Blunderbuss

When I heard that The White Stripes were calling it quits I was really bummed out. Then I heard that The Raconteurs were calling it quits, and I got a bit distraught. Luckily, that turned out to be a bit of BS. They just took a break, which allowed Jack White to do a solo album, and I'm happy he did. His first, hopefully it won't be his last, solo album is a great album.

I picked up Blundrebuss when it first came out and it's been in my CD player ever since. I would have reviewed it sooner, but this is one of those albums that requires time to grasp the full richness. There are so many tones and flavours to the music that it's more than just a simple Rock album, or a Folk album, or a Country album.

The album opens with Missing Pieces. This song is a great lead off track. It has a bit of Raconteurs vibe, and a little taste of White Stripes, and yet is it's own flavour. It's a great way to introduce people to the album.

Sixteen Saltines reminds me of The White Stripes big time, right down to the drumming. Sure there's more to it than just that, but if you dig the Stripes you'll really enjoy this one.

Freedom At 21 is the first song on the album that doesn't remind me of either of Jack White's previous bands. This is the first song that sounds completely like it's own, and in a really good way.

I can't think of which song it is that Love Interruption reminds me of, but it has a total sixties vibe that has me thinking of all those folk artists that made up the flower power movement. This is even apparent in the lyrics. "I want love / To roll me over slowly / stick a knife inside me, / and twist it all around. / I want love to / grab my fingers gently / slam them in a doorway / put my face into the ground. / I want love to / murder my own mother / and take her off to somewhere / like hell or up above. / I want love to / change my friends to enemies, / change my friends to enemies / and show me how it's all my fault. / I wont let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me / I wont let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me / Yeah I wont let love disrupt, corrupt, or interrupt me anymore. / I want love to / walk right up and bite me / grab a hold of me and fight me / leave me dying on the ground. / And I want love to / split my mouth wide open and / cover up my ears, / and never let me hear a sound. / I want love to, / forget that you offended me / or how you have defended me, / when everybody tore me down. / Yeah I want love to / change my friends to enemies, / change my friends to enemies / and show me how it's all my fault. / Yeah I wont let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me / I wont let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me / I wont let love disrupt, corrupt, or interrupt me anymore."

The album's title track has a great Smokey Mountain Waltz kind of feel to it. I can so easily picture couples dancing to this song, in Tennesse or Kentucky in the 1800's.

I enjoy Hypocritical Kiss, but in the mix of this album it comes off as a bit of a filler, but only because it sounds like so much of the rest of the album. It contains many elements that are commonly found in many of the other tracks, and kind of hodge podges them all together into a well written song.

Weep Themselves To Sleep is much like the last track, except that it sounds heavier and thicker. I think this song would have been better if Jack played his guitar more on this track instead of focusing on the piano which doesn't really do much for the song. Also when he does use the guitar, it seems a little like it was just thrown in there for sound, and not for the musicianship.

I'm totally into I'm Shakin'. It has a great beat, and although musically one of the simpler songs on the album, it's well arranged and played. Also, after the last couple of songs it's up tempo feel is a welcome change. The lyrics are also enjoyable and performed in a way that reminds me of classic Motown Soul.

Trash Tongue Talker is another great track, with that classic vibe I mentioned in the song above. Lyrically I find the song a bit goofy, but that's okay, it works in the context. "I got no truck with you, woman / Always comin' over when I ain't home / You hand a buck to me baby / Tried your luck, you tried to get in my song / Oh well your mama was a bastard / Had your plastered face all over the scene / You got hassled by your daddy / Always pushing trying to make you come clean / You broke your tongue talking trash / Now you're tryin' to bring your garbage to me / I got some words for your ass / You better find somebody else up the street / Two monkeys jumping on the bed / And one fell off and hit his head on the ground / The other monkey called the doctor / Said another body dead on the ground". These lyrics then repeat a second time during the song, without adding any new words.

I'm still not sure where I stand with Hip (Eponumous) Poor Boy. It's a decent enough song, and well arranged with a variety of musical stylings. However, I do find it a bit jagged, and aside from the choruses, it doesn't really grab my interest much. I Guess I Should Go To Sleep is the one song on the album I will flat out say I don't care for. I can understand why it's tucked in on the later half of the album, in a spot that one might consider buried. If it had been up to me, I may have tried to talk Jack into leaving it off the album altogether.

On And On and On has a really cool slinking kind of sound to it. It's almost like a snake trying to slither into your mind, and get your body to sway and flow on and on. Yeah, it's not just a clever title. It's a vibe that's captured and manipulated musically to give a very distinct sound and style. I also would describe this song as being very Beatles influenced, even if it isn't. I can hear the Fab Four all over this song.

The album finishes with Take Me With You When You Go. The song starts off rather slow, and would seem like a snoozer, and a bad way to finish. However, it does pick up and get's movin' and groovin' in a Classic Folk Rock kind of way to finish the album off well.

I can't flat out say that White Stripes fans would like this album. Nor can I say that Raconteur fans would like this album either. This album is it's own musical beast, with it's own life and soul. I will say that this album does offer a very different and unique sound compared to most albums that have been released in recent years. It's almost an album out of time. Not a single song on this album sounds like it was released after 1967. Even the production has that sound matched perfectly, to give a great over all period style.

I will say that I am a bit put off by the sound, though. I don't like that Jack's vocals are generally pushed into a cleaner area of the mix, while the instruments get a bit muddied in the mix. That's one of those time period things I never cared for, with music prior to the mid 1960's.

8/10 - content

6/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

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