by Ben Schofield
As a man who performs well under constraints, limiting himself to just guitar piano and drums in The White Stripes, often forcing himself to record a whole album in two weeks, I was uncertain as to whether Blunderbuss could ever live up to the past. But that wasn’t the point of this album, it wasn’t to live up to the past, or to recreate it, it was to step away, and make the album that he always wanted to make. As he puts it himself in “On and On and On”, “The people around me/Won’t let me become what I need to/They want me the same”. Letting go of the past, this is a great album, it isn’t ground-breaking, it isn’t quite awe inspiring, but it is great. There’s something timeless about the songs which leaves you feeling almost as though you’d heard them before but just never before in that way. “And men who fight the world/And love the girls that try to/Hold their hands behind them/they won’t be left behind by time” and neither will this album.
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| Copyright 2012, Third Man Records |
With the release of Blunderbuss
Jack White marks a cornerstone of his career. His first solo album steps away
from everything he’s done before, towards an uncertain future; on the surface
littered with predatory women and weak, socially ill-adjusted men, this isn’t a
celebration of love, but a withering remark on it’s betrayal by the people of
the 21st century. The album comes straight from the heart of Tennessee but it
can’t be pinned down musically. One moment, soul aching blues, another, pure
furious angsty rock, and as a man who was practically breastfed on punk before
turning to blues, Jack does angst well.
The first thing you notice when
you listen to the album is the tortuous descriptions of the sufferings laid
upon the subservient male characters. “Cut off the bottoms of my feet/Made me
walk on salt/Take me down to the police/Charge me with assault/Smile on her
face/She does what she wants to me” So goes the opening verse of “Freedom at
21” asymmetrically spat over a ferocious, repetitive riff, reminiscent of
“Seven Nation Army”, add to a backdrop of speeding drums, produced by an
ingenious tape echo of the original recording, and you’ve got a hit. In keeping
with his affectations towards the number three perhaps he has intentionally
placed the most powerful song third. The third verse, within which White, cuts
everything down to the bare minimum, stripping this album to it’s core moment.
Jack White III lyrically rapping the accusatory stanza in one ear, while the
guitar thunders in the other. It’s his best moment by far.
Of course in the past year the
great gentlemanly Jack has seen plenty of troubles with the women in his life.
The first single from the album, “Love Interruption”, was released two days
before the one year anniversary of the White Stripes split which left many fans
(including the reviewer) bereft. In June of 2011 White also went through a
divorce from his partner Karen Elson; however the couple have remained good
friends. Miss Elson has remained on Third Man Records, the record label of
which Jack White is CEO and founder, as a recording artist and has even sung
backing vocals on three songs from side two of the album. However in the
bouncing blues ballroom number “I’m Shakin‘”, written by Rudolph Toombs, it is
perhaps poignant in the way White delivers the line “Samson was a mighty good
man, strongest in his day” before Elson comes back with “Then along came
Delilah and clipped his wig”.
Rating: *****
Download Amazon MP3:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blunderbuss/dp/B007U7T3HW
Download from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/blunderbuss/id510424743
Download from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/blunderbuss/id510424743
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