Today: Mar 29, 2024

Album Review: “Lazaretto” by Jack White

Jessica PellegrinoGeneral Assignment Reporter 

You may remember Jack White as the quirky front man of the alternative band The White Stripes. The White Stripes saw moderate success with hits such as “We’re Gonna Be Friends” and “Fell in Love with a Girl.” Being that the band was comprised of Jack and Meg White, it was only a matter of time until Meg White Yoko Ono’d her own band. When the band officially split in February of 2011, the plucky vocalist, Jack White, took to a very successful solo career.

Jack White released his first studio album, “Blunderbuss,” in April of 2012 on MP3, compact disc, and vinyl record. The album was written and produced by White and released through his own label, Third Man Records. Third Man Records was founded under the mission of reviving the vinyl record, suggesting that having a tangible album was an important part of the listening experience. The label’s slogan is, “Your Turntable is Not Dead.”

jack whiteThe album was met with great success. “Blunderbuss” reached number one on the Billboard Rock Top 200, and received various Grammy nominations, including Album of The Year. The hit tracks “Sixteen Saltines” and “Love Interruption” were heard all over the radio for months after their releases. The album skyrocketed White’s solo career and set up big shoes for the sophomore album to fill. Only two years later, White released his second studio album.

White’s second solo album, “Lazaretto,” is a beautiful complement to White’s previous album. The album takes risks and explores music deeper than White ever has, even with The White Stripes. The album experiments with different instruments and digs deeper with into different musical styles.

The first track on the record, “Three Women,” is a punchy number in which the song’s subject can’t choose between his three women, “red, blonde, and brunette”. The keyboard riffs and pedal guitar in this track and catchy and it is an easy song to start the album with.

The title track is reminiscent of White’s prior style. The track is minimal in terms of instruments and sounds similar to much of “Blunderbuss.” “Lazaretto” is one of the weaker tracks on the album. It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just nothing special in an otherwise hearty album.

The stand out track of the album is “Would You Fight for my Love?” The track starts off slowly with an organ playing. Gradually, the listener begins to hear a low hum. Almost angelic in sound, the hum continues for the entire song. As soon as White chimes in, the tempo becomes faster and the instruments marry beautifully. The bass is a main focus in this track. Mixed with the hum, the bass gives the track a spooky yet ironically whimsy sound. This song could easily be overlooked for its slow beginning, but shouldn’t be skipped.

The final mentionable track on the album is “Just One Drink.” The track, perhaps an homage to Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee” which the White Stripes covered early in their career, is an upbeat number in comparison to other tracks on the album. It features that signature bluesy piano and guitar sounds we’ve come to expect from Jack White, with the addition of a Southern rock vibe, resonant of Nashville, Tennessee, where White took inhabitance during the creation of the album. This sound marries with White’s quasi-screeching vocals to create an interesting and dissonant, yet strikingly pretty sounding cacophony. By far my favorite track on the record, “Just One Drink” is an example of White’s growth as an artist and his exposure to the sounds around him.

In general, “Lazaretto” is everything fans would expect from White and then some. You can hear the creative liberty White took during the producing process and the album is truly a winning sophomore album.

Photo Credit: media.digest

Photo Credit: Radio Free SoDo

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