Jack White - Blunderbuss

When Jack White teamed up with Alicia Keys to produce the theme song for James Bond's Quantum of Solace, 'Another Way to Die' it might well have topped the Finnish singles chart but there was almost the final nail in the coffin of White's obscurity. 4 years later and the omnipresence of White still won't fade: aside from the death of his most famed venture the White Stripes, he continues to be an active member in the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather, has produced tracks and records with Insane Clown Posse, Stephen Colbert, has appeared on Danger Mouse's 2011 album and endeavours to perform at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend and the Rock Werchter in Belgium.

Commercial success, this side of the Atlantic, has only been sparse though. Prior to his solo record Blunderbuss grabbing a #1 spot in the UK album charts, only his Stripes records Elephant and Icky Thump had managed the same. I express this with some surprise given the Rolling Stone's placing of White at #70 in their list of the greatest 100 guitarists of all time a couple of years back. With already legendary credentials there's going to need to be a heck of a debut solo album to live up to expectations.

Commencing with 'Missing Pieces', it's an early indication that White's musical direction hasn't strayed too far from the formula that made the Stripes so popular. Matching a rousing blues guitar performance with some chirpy organs (and an energetic solo), it's a dizzyingly catchy introduction. Second single 'Sixteen Saltines' aims then for the riff-junkies demographic with a stomper of a hook, shouting "force fed, forced meds until I dropped dead!" in a uniquely White bizarre lyrical tale. 'Freedom at 21' offers up another excellent riff, watching rather calmly as a woman "cut off the balls of my feet/ make me walk on salt/ take me down to the police". The first glimpse of the album we got, 'Love Interruption', is perhaps the most classic of the offerings here, sounding poised for future Tarantino soundtracks with a kind of Son of a Preacher Man blissful simplicity about it, and the duet with Ruby Amanfu is pretty sweet too.

Temporarily dismissing all rock music for a second, 'Blunderbuss' then introduces violins and pianos for a much more Leisure Society or Fleet Foxes-inspired track. With pretty rapturous vocal sequences and a quiet restraint it's definitely a more intimately satisfying side to Jack White, and a signpost of his versatility. By 'Hypocritical Kiss' though the clear influence on White's album is Neil Young, borrowing some of the rich multi-instrumentalism of Don't Let it Bring You Down, with jangly piano chords to boot. Angry lyrics ("You would sell your own mother out/ And then betray your dead brother with another hypocritical kiss") aren't even able to detract from the sheer rapture of the song. Aspirations reach new heights on 'Weep Themselves to Sleep' with increasingly ambitious piano solos throughout, making it one of the more exhilarating songs from the album.

A couple of tracks do slightly mire themselves with pastiches, and whilst White's passion for his influences is admirable and he's able to do them justice, the cover of Rudy Toombs' 'I'm Shakin'' seems like it's much more fun for White than it is for the listener. 'Trash Tongue Talker', too, whilst optimistic with its instrumental choices, gets a little bogged down in a slow rhythm, like an average YouTuber's Rolling Stones cover. There are signs of personal sentiment though on 'Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy', probably referencing the Stripes' demise, singing "And you'll be watching me girl/ taking over the world/ Let the stripes unfurl" over a cutely-drawn melody. The brash 'I Guess I Should Go to Sleep', with its sci-fi theme piano ascensions, does cross the line between zany and nonsense, and the end result is quite unloveable - at least by Jack White standards; it doesn't completely appall.

Thankfully though, the album is saved by its two majestic closers. 'On and On and On' nails the ragtime tune to a tee. Nonchalantly singing "High and low I may go, but God only knows just where I am going", it's a pretty summery tune piqued by a laidback vocal. And then 'Take Me With You When You Go' rounds the record off triumphantly, evoking past classic closers such as You Can't Always Get You Want, with another richly orchestrated slice of experimentation and reverie.

Although most have come to expect an excellent new sideproject from Jack White, there were definite fears (from me, at least) that a solo record might lack the punch of his bandmates. If anything, though, Blunderbuss is free from clouded vision, and contains some of the best-written songs of his career. The instrumentation and diversity displayed is uniquely Jack White, and some of the strongest and richest seen in rock music in years. There are a couple of blips around two-thirds of the way in, but the end product is a fantastic album.

Rating: 9/10
Highlights: Love Interruption, On and On and On, Hypocritical Kiss, Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy, Take Me With You When You Go

Avoid: I Guess I Should go to Sleep, Trash Tongue Talker



Artwork Watch: Ville Valo will be delighted to know that his 'look' is very much alive and well. White's haircut, that is. And the colouring. Not the evil mutant bird on his shoulder.