Jack White has a reputation for being one of the most talented musicians playing today. Critics love him; and the White Stripes have an impassioned, if not meha-huge, popular following.
I don’t know much about his music. There was that “… bears repeating now” song that I believe was WS, but I never got the title – that was on the radio all the time for a while here. The White Stripes were on the Grammy’s last year, and seemed to rock pretty hard. And I’ve read “Best Albums of the Year” posts both here and elsewhere a while back that put Elephant on a pretty high pedestal.
So for someone weaned on '70s arena rock (think Queen, Styx, Journey) and 80s hard rock/metal (think Randy Rhoads + Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde), help me understand Jack White and his potential place in the rock music pantheon. Does White ever display astounding speed or finesse on the guitar (disclaimer: my White Stripes listening experiences have been very limited)? Or is that not his game? A guitarist without much handspeed (relative to the shredders) can succeed wildly in rock (Mark Knopfler). Finesse is also not a necessity (see Neil Young).
I’m interested on getting an accurate bead on Jack White’s general abilities and musical range on guitar – thanks to anyone in advance who can help. And please, by all means recommend some tracks.
I’m not a guitar expert, but I have to chime in that I was and continue to be most impressed with his work not as a shredder, but his wonderful work on Cold Mountain. He wrote and arranged much of the score, sung and performed many of the songs, as well as turning in a very touching performance as Georgia. Now, how you would compare his talents as a Civil War-era musician to Classic Rock, I have no idea.
Can’t comment on the technical level of his playing, but if his live performances are anything to go by then the guy is going into the history books. Saw them at Glasgow last year and the intensity of the set was unbelievable, JW is easily the most charismatic, badass singer I’ve ever seen at a gig. Given that there’s only the two of them and he’s the one playing all instruments bar drums, whilst simultaneously blowing the roof off the place, I’d say its a safe bet that he is a freakishly good musician.
There’s better rock bands than the White Stripes around right now, but I seriously doubt that anyone is in the same league as Jack White as a performer. Catch them live before its too late!
He’s good. His drummer isn’t so good, but he works well with her.
He’s easily Slash-quality. I’d also compare him favorably to Randy Rhodes, if Randy hadn’t died, and thus ascendend into eternal perfection.
Yeah, he’s not a shredder, but he’s often playing with a slide on his pinky.
I like the comparison to Slash. The thing about Jack White’s playing is that he can extract gobs of emotion out of his guitar. His phrasing, timing, and musicality are genius.
Not only that, but he can cross genres at will. He plays Bass on Beck’s new album. He plays country on Loretta Lynn’s. He can tear with the best acid-rockers, and he’s one hell of a blues musician. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sat down one day and recorded classical.
Wow, clearly the songs that get radio air play leave something to be desired. The little I’ve heard of the White Stripes has been the one or two hits that get played on FM radio, and I have been incrediably unimpressed by the songwriting and musicianship. Perhaps there are other songs I should listen to? Based on what I’ve heard I never would have pegged him as a guitar great.
I’m sure others will chime in shortly, but I think that it’s not really useful to compare guitarists like tennis players. I’d guess that Jack White couldn’t play a harmonic minor scale in 32nd notes if you held a gun to his head*****, but that doesn’t have to reflect on one’s appreciation of him as a guitarist.
From the little I’ve heard of the Stripes they seem to be *very derivitive * of older rock acts, maybe someone with some more ear-time confirm/deny/explain this?
My pretty much uninformed opinion would be that fairer comparisons would be with groove/feel guys like Jimmy Page and Ry Cooder not with 1980s shredders.
*****Unlike Yngwie Malmsteen who you would have to shoot DEAD to stop him.
Jimmy Page is probably an apt comparison. Page has a distinctive style, but he was never very technically proficent in the music-school sense of the word. The White Stripes earliest stuff sounded like Black Sabbath–really heavy rock but pretty solidly blues-based.
White is a great songwriter and performer, and if you consider the fact that he’s making all of the non-drum sounds when they play live, then you can see how remarkable a player he is.
Word is that the White Stripes just finished recording their next album. It took two weeks.
So true. Knofler couldn’t play those notes either, and Eric Clapton either couldn’t or didn’t (assumedly the latter). But I wanted repondants to my OP to be aware that I came up in a time when fast guitar = great guitar.
I was recently involved in a bull session in which folks threw out nominations for great rock-and-roll guitarists. Then it became “the best guys after Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and Clapton”. Someone mentioned Jack White, and was subsequently shot down by complaints that Jack White was barely average on his instrument. That didn’t ring true to me – admittedly based on third-hand info (Internet posts, critical reviews, etc.) – but I didn’t have enough knowledge of White’s music to give an informed opinon.
I only have his first album, the one that looks like a peppermint candy. From that, I can see that he writes catchy, good songs, but from a purely technical viewpoint, there’s nothing difficult about it. I am far from a shredder (nor is it a title I’d even want), but if you’re speaking in terms of technical prowess, I haven’t heard anything from him that would make any of the “greats” pause.
I’ve always liked them, but when I saw them live it was a huge disappointment. Jack White seemed completely underwhelmed to be in Indianapolis and wasn’t afraid to let us know it. And the set really reflected that attitude. I actually got bored.
It’s hard to still be a fan when one of your faves acts like a total douche after you’ve shelled out $45 for what they obviously feel is a privilege for you to be there. Blah.
But yeah, I do still think he’s an incredible guitar player, but that’s from recordings, not from the live show.
Long-time guitar player here, and yeah, in my book, he’s that good. I agree with vibrotronica and others, Page would be an apt comparison. Shredders, as a rule, concern themselves with single-note leads more than anything.
Jack White comes from a roots basis - blues, some folk, country, and classic rock, esp. Led Zeppelin - and focuses on the groove. So he can play the rhythm, throw in a lead fill, maybe a bit of slide - but keeping locked into the groove the entire time. The shredder who can probably do that the best is Eddie Van Halen - he, unlike most of his peers in the '80’s - did a great job of keeping the rhythm bits locked down while throwing in leads. Listen to “I’m the One” off of VH1.
Is Jack White as good as EVH or Jimmy Page? Too soon to tell. But I love his tone, his ability to lock in and do really interesting things, his tasteful leads - he is a complete package guitar player, for sure.
What’s with the no bass thing? That just bugs the fuck outta me. No matter how good they sound, they would sound so much better with someone playing the fucking bass. Am I wrong?
Speaking as a bass player, I generally agree. But the White Stripes and John Spencer Blues Explosion (now just called the Blues Explosion) were able to pull off the no-bass thing pretty effectively. Those two successes (which were both remarkable, IMHO) have spawned a whole bunch of bands who can’t pull it off. And that’s a bad thing. For example, I saw a live video of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Trio a couple of weeks ago and their lack of bass hurt them big time.