I'll be honest, it's been a few years since I've kept up with Jack White. He's made it hard, with his side projects like The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather and guest roles on a number of different projects. I'd say after The White Stripes' Elephant, it all gets sorta fuzzy for me. I never even listened to Get Behind Me Satan or Icky Thump. Both of these albums reviewed pretty well, the latter especially, but I just felt after Elephant, the what I loved most about the band had changed fundamentally. De Stijl remains my favorite album of theirs even if I'm not 100% sure how to properly pronounce it. It was raw and dirty just the way I like it, White Blood Cells too. I know I really should go back and check out what I missed, but you know. The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather were fine, but I think I played the four albums they released less than 15 times total.
That brings us to Jack White's solo debut. A guy like Jack White doesn't seem like he'd work best without anyone to rein him in. He's shown that he's fearless when it comes to what he releases, as someone that's as prolific as he is has to be. Hell, he just put out a record that has to be played at 3 RPM. That's 10 times slower than a standard LP. That, dear readers, takes cajones. So what does an unchecked Jack White sound like? A lot like the White Stripes.
There was an elegant simplicity to The White Stripes' early albums, and it's on display here on Blunderbuss again. Even the drums sometimes sound like Meg White's basic, haphazard slamming sometimes. However, with added instrumentation, it's more obvious than ever that Jack White is a hell of a songwriter. He's able to deftly mix the throwback sound he's known for with a more modern sound. He's not always successful, but when he is, it's thrilling.
There's a fine line that an artist like Jack White has to walk. If you go too far in the direction of a throwback, you end up sounding hokey and dated. It crosses the line from "homage" into "gimmick." Let's call this line "The Brian Setzer Line." Setzer himself sprints well beyond the line and down the cliffs of dreck with reckless abandon. Blunderbuss for the most part stays clear of the danger zone, but it does dip a toe beyond the line from time to time. Sounds like "I'm Shakin'" and "I Guess I Should Go To Sleep" are a chore to listen to. Early album hard rockers like "Sixteen Saltines" on the other hand have a simple chord structure and only guitar, drums, and an electric piano but feel as big as any other song on the album. There's a lot to love on here and a couple songs that are really easy to skip over.
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