Raconteurs album brings back the '70s

Recently announced album brings back the decade’s epic power vocals.

By Patrick Daugherty

Published April 4, 2008

Say what you will about White Stripes frontman Jack White, but don’t argue this: The man sure knows how to create a scene. Whether it’s pulverizing Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer’s hapless face or playing a one note “concert,” few in music are as adept at creating publicity and buzz.

So when it was shock-announced on March 18 that Jack’s other plaything, The Raconteurs, were rush-releasing their sophomore album only one week later, it was a surprise — but certainly not surprising.

And a scene is what Jack and his Raconteurs needed. After initially making 2007 the year of Jack White, the party ended prematurely when he had to cancel his White Stripes tour because of Meg White’s nervous breakdown. Icky Thump subsequently fell off the charts, and its third single “Conquest” never even made them.

As for The Raconteurs, after their surprise smash (well, on rock radio) debut single “Steady, As She Goes” ran its course, it was about as easy to find news on them as it was for Bear Grylls not to stay in a hotel.

After Jack went back to playing with his big boy toy, people shockingly ceased to care about the demos Brendan Benson posted on his MySpace. But now that they’ve been thrust way back into the limelight, those who aren’t White Stripes obsessives now have to decide: Should they care?

The answer is a resounding yes.

And that’s the first big difference between Consolers of the Lonely and Broken Boy Soldiers. Everything’s resounding. Where Broken Boy Soldiers explored more of the singer/songwriter dynamics of ‘70s music, Consolers takes direct inspiration from its guitar theatrics and power vocals.

The first song — the title track — makes this immediately known. A decidedly Pete Townshend-y riff enters unaccompanied but is quickly joined by the kind of lead drumming that hasn’t been popular since, well, the ‘70s. Jack and Brendan trade vocals about being bored and lost before a breakdown so embarrassingly retro you’d think The James Gang wrote it.

Then first single “Salute Your Solution” bursts in. While not as good as its preceding track, it’s a close enough relative that should blow up on the radio shortly with Jack and Brendan trading more vocals and solos — making it abundantly clear that the intricate songcraft and power pop of The Raconteurs’ debut is gone for good. They are now officially a rock band.

This shameless ‘70s aping might sound scary to some, but the result is the first legitimately great “real” rock ‘n’ roll album in ages. There is no irony or flashes of futurism mixed in here — it’s all devil-horns rock, all the time.

After the beginning’s double-barrel blast, we get the mediocre ballad “You Don’t Understand Me” before being thrust back into the arena by the first great rock song (“Old Enough”) to feature fiddles since Led Zeppelin.

What follows includes an absurd but well-crafted Western (“The Switch and the Spur”), an excellent White Stripes homage (“Top Yourself”), a two-minute joke ballad (“Pull This Blanket Off”) and the pre-punk rave up (“Attention.”) They’re all triumphs, and they all willfully ignore 30 years of musical progression.

Perhaps the album’s two best songs, a cover of Terry Reid’s (who?) “Rich Kid Blues,” and a kitschy Jack blues story so steeped in Southern tradition you might think you’re watching a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at a Nascar race, end the constantly rocking and always-thematic affair.

If you were raised to love classic rock and you love everything that comes with the Jack White show (this is his album — sorry, Brendan), this should be your oasis in the far-too-earnest 2008 rock music desert. If not, well hopefully you like Tapes ‘n Tapes.