Am I the first to post on the new Raconteurs album?

Cafe Society
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I think so. . . woohoo! I finally got the drop on something cool!

Anyway, it’s called Consolers of the Lonely, and just shipped yesterday. In fact, they released it to all outlets on the same day - press review copies, downloads, CDs, radio promos, the whole shebang. I read they finished it two weeks ago, and shipped the masters to production the next day. Which is kind of cool, but since I’m a huge Jack White fan, I got totally blindsided by this when I read about it yesterday - “new Raconteurs album? Wha?”

Anyway, I downloaded it from Amazon today (didn’t realize until too late that you could buy it directly from their site), and have had a few hours with it, and I’ve gotta say, I like it. It’s better than Broken Boy Soldiers (as kickass as that one was), in that it seems they’ve gotten a bit more rumpled, and comfortable in their collective band-skin, and less polished, and are taking the kind of risks that Jack and Meg do. No Mariachi horns, but they come close.

A lot of the songs are very evocative of other artists (the usual ‘B’-list suspects with Jack W. - blues, Beatles, Bacharach, etc. - although I swear I heard a bit of Carpenters melody in one of the songs) but not really seeming directly influenced by them. If that makes sense. You’ll know it if you hear it, I guess.

I know this board has its share of Jack White-haters, but personally, I’m thinking he’s this generation’s musical genius. For all those who wrote off the White Striped as a novelty act (haters or no, 6 albums in, there shouldn’t be any of you left) check this album out. It proves he can integrate with a band of crack musicians and make awesome music. Obviously, it’s not the near-singular acheivement that a White Stripes album is, but it’s still really really good, in a much different way.

That’s all - oh, but check out their super-retro site. I won’t ruin it for you, but it’ll either make you geek out, or make you hate their webmaster with a fiery passion.

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I don’t know about haters, per se, but not everyone loves his approach, sure. But I am with you 100% - he’s a brilliant guitarist, songwriter and marketer - I am really glad you clued me in - I’m buyin’ it ASAP!

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HUGE Jack White fan here!! I knew they had a new album coming out, but didn’t realize it’d be out so soon! Guess I’m gonna have to make a run to the store later. (Prefer my albums with liner notes, thankyaverymuch.)

Now I just have to contain myself until the new Bob Dylan project is complete.

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There’s Jack White haters? I mean I’m not the biggest fan of his singing voice all the time but he’s immensely talented. Why would someone hate on Jack White?

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I may be conflating what I see on guitar boards vs. what I read on the Dope. There seems to be a constant undercurrent of “Is Jack White really a good guitarist?” because he is not a classic gun-slinging guitar hero. He holds down the rhythm, drives the hooks and plays fills. It’s a much more complete approach vs. playing straight-up lead and some folks get uppity about how he’s no Stevie Ray or something. I don’t think that folks realize that the Jimi Hendrixes, SRV’s, EVH’s, Jimmy Pages and Billy Gibbons of the world do exactly the same thing, but since they have a bass player in their bands they aren’t hanging out in the wind the way JW is.

Again, he is a truly gifted player.

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While it has been a while, I do recall reading quite a few “WTF is the big deal with Jack White?” posts - mostly around the time of White Blood Cells and Elephant, but even a few post-Icky Thump.

I strongly suspect that all those people suck, however. :stuck_out_tongue:

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If anything you have to respect that they guy is still finding monster riffs based on the same box patterns and power chords that rock and roll has been beating to death since the 1950’s. He’s a bit sloppy at times, but no worse than Jimmy Page, a guy who stumbled through most of his leads most of the time.

And I love that trick he does with the octave pedal on songs like Hardest Button to Button where he plays both the bass and guitar parts at the same time. That’s the business right there.

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I didn’t like the first Raconteurs album that much, but I’ll definitely give this one a listen.

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I’m going to pick it up tomorrow. Jack White can do no wrong. I actually think he’s the biggest musical talent of the decade.

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I just got it, but more because I’m a Brendan Benson fan than anything else. I saw him open for The White Stripes a few years ago, and it’s the only time that I’ve bought a CD right after a live performance and gone “Yes! He was as good as I thought!”

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I picked it up today and I’m listening to it right now. So far pretty much every song has been great.

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A lot of technical guitar players I know hate Jack White because of his sloppy and oddball technique. It’s not an uncommon opinion in what I dismissively refer to as guitar wank circles. Personally, I think he’s among the most interesting, quirky, and musical guitarists of our generation.

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I actually like that he can be a bit sloppy. It gives the music a quality that is desperately needed. There’s nothing I hate more than a slick, soulless technique. Give me quirky any day.

Haven’t gotten this album yet, but it’s my next to buy.

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I heard the single on the radio last night, that song kicks serious ass.

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I really liked the debut album. This one also sounds very good after a few listens. Best songs Consolors of the Lonely and Carolina Drama.

Best parts: 1.15 and 3.45 in those songs

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Downloading the MP3s from Amazon. The previews of the tracks sounded good, not White Stripes good, but good basic rock.

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Not quite a zombie thread but a couple of weeks old - however, I just want to report back that I am really enjoying the new Raconteurs CD. I like a lot more than Broken Boy Soldiers, their first. I really like the power pop songs - they have a similar feel to the single off the first CD, Steady as She Goes. Still plenty of Jack White unleashed-guitar goodness, but packed into a power-poppy box. The second track, Carolina Drama, is far more White Stripes-y than anything else on the CD so it stands out - nice enough murder ballad, but not quite a fit here. The bulk of the other stuff is just solid rock/pop - the favorites are starting to assert themselves as I listen more.

I recommend highly - and so far, find the **Black Keys’ ** new one, Attack and Release to also be very good and great at times. Produced by Danger Mouse, the Keys mine the same vein of straight blues with enough Zep/blues-rock to not be a curiosity, but their songs meander a bit more structure-wise, so the variations are a bit more wide.

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Jack and Brendan were interviewed on NPR this morning. I liked their take on the recording of the new album, calling it a step down from the SASG sessions (the earlier album was recorded in an attic).

NPR story – The Raconteurs: New Music for Old Friends

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Thanks so much for the link - I am going to listen now!

<update> Hmmm - your link didn’t work so I did a search on NPR.org and found this

appears to be the same story link - but they are saying the audio won’t be posted for another hour or so…

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Sorry about the bad link (a typo discovered after the edit window)–you’ve posted the right one. I guess NPR doesn’t webcast stories until after noon the day of the show.

I’m not even a fan of The White Stripes, but I’ll be picking up Consolers of the Lonely later on today.