“Blunderbuss” – Jack White III

by Rufus Onfire

Is Jack White the hardest working man in music?

Source http://jackwhiteiii.com/

After putting the White Stripes to bed, approving the extension of the sabbatical of The Raconteurs (Saboteurs in Oz, but that’s another story for another time!) as well as his other combo The Dead Weather.

Throw in the many other pies he has had his fingers in, he has now finally found time to do a solo record, one which he himself says is the right thing to do. The planets are aligning so to speak.

White wrote, recorded and produced the album with the help of session musos and his now ex wife Karen Elson and little Jack Lawrence from Saboteurs/Dead Weather. Sound wise the man has a healthy cupboard of influences. On the 13 tracks released here, the big cheese of Third Man Records has called on most of them, blending together an album which has many a pleasant twist and turns.

Sure, the current single "Sixteen Saltines" may reek of a lost White Stripes track. Others like the title track, "Hypocritical Kiss" and "Weep Themselves To Sleep" would not have been out of place on a Sab’s album either. However, hey we all know Jack is the epicentre of these bands he has been part of, so there is an expectation of sorts that there will be a wide and varied selection on offer here.

Some may feel that at 13 tracks it is a long release, but it is an enjoyable listen from go to whoa as you marvel at his ability to move from hard and fast to slow and breezy tunes with ease.

He may have lost fans along the way with his various incarnations and left turns into uncharted territory in terms of end products. Yet this is a punters' loss, as Jack has very rarely failed to grab the audience’s attention and maintain of quorum of devotees. They continue to enjoy the melting pot of a musical landscape this guy continues to create and be a part of.

ALBUM RATING Rating 4.5/5

Hell be here in Australia for Splendour In The Grass, and will no doubt sell out side shows and those who go along will enjoy hearing these songs played live.

TOUR DATES & VENUES

07/25/12	Melbourne	Festival Hall	Australia
Support: Lanie Lane. Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1 at 9 AM local time. Buy tickets
07/26/12	Sydney	Hordern Pavilion	Australia
Support: Lanie Lane. Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 1 at 9 AM local time. Buy tickets
07/27/12	Byron Bay	Splendour In the Grass	Australia
Support: Lanie Lane. Tickets on sale: April 27 at 9 am AEST. Buy tickets

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 11:57 pm. It is filed under Rufus Onfire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.