When you put an electric guitar in the hands of a blues driven mad man, things are bound to get rowdy.
Jack White is one of the most ferocious and driven rockers of the last decade or so. Hailing from Detroit,Michigan, he brought his signature amplified blues to a generation yearning for something ruckus.
Over his 10 odd years, White has been a part of countless blues slinging ensembles, this article will detail some of the finest work to come out of this powerhouse's noggin':
10. The White Stripes - Self Titled
Kicking off our list is also what kicked of Whites venture into the music industry, The Whites stripes debut album is simply explosive , this is the very definition of what made the white stripes the sensation that they were. In its brand spanking new red and white outfit, garage rock, punk and the blues never looked so good. One can hear the angst in jack whites voice as he wails above his roaring guitar licks and megs thunderclap drumming. This Album was what gave the Garage rock revival of the 2000's Something to live up to..raw and uncensored with a southern fried bite of the blues.
9. The raconteurs - broken boy soldiers
Still knee deep in the white stripes, Jack White stunned fans by releasing an album with someone other than his big sister meg, Broken Boy soldiers was the debut LP by his new side project comprising of Brendon Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler. All members hailing from other successful acts, the band was dubbed a supergroup. The raconteurs was a slick concoction of garage rock with pop elements , with just enough Jack White poison to keep the die hard fans happy. The dirty guitar and catchy lyrics of "Steady as she goes" became the building block on top of which the raconteurs built their sound.
8. Jack White - Blunderbuss
Ever creative ,Jack White, way after the white stripes had played their last arena, releases a solo album. In his own words half way through making this effort he stopped and said "hey, I guess I'm making a solo record"..what resulted was nothing short of the jack white brilliance : a subtle play of light and shade between monstrous bluesrock tracks like "Sixteen Saltines" and the more softer classical blues sounds of tracks like "I'm shakin'". It is jack whites ever growing creativity that earns this album its place on this list.
7. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Jack kicks his signature guitar in favor of experimentation in the form of pianos, organs and even a marimba. Get Behind me satan is what happends when u give a mad man artistic freedom...its a silk saturated mix of madness and rock n roll, this album spawned one of jacks most recognized and catchy guitar riffs "blue orchid" a banger of a track that alone puts the kick in kickass.
6. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonley
2007 saw the release of The Raconteurs 2nd album, the sound they crafted in "Broken Boy Soldiers" proved stead fast and strong... The lead single " Salute ur Solution" was everything "steady as she goes" was with a thicker cut of rock n roll and a hell of a lotta more attitude...the album as a whole follows suit...it was no longer garage rock it was garage rock n roll.
5. The White Stripes - De stijl
Slap bang in the middle of the list, and following the trend of seconds is the white stripes self proclaimed "art" album as the name suggests. It was the follow up to their debut only chronologically ..this was in all meaning of the word, a successor, their debut was raw and filled with angst ,but de stijl was all that and then some, it had narrative and it had "the style" an artistic take on blues punk music that would follow the band throughout their entire discography
4.The White Stripes - White blood cells
There is a reason that this album was the one that put the stripes on the map, both commercially and artistically, although they pop their music down for this album...it takes nothing away from the bands artistry. This album was at the forefront of the garage rock revival ...it as well as the stroke's "is this it"...were such monumental albums that they stirred a musical movement..but when the strokes where busy creating indie rock, the stripes where busy winning Grammy's and bringing the blues to a whole new audience. "fell in love with a girl" was a prime example of what made garage rock so popular during the revival: fast, dirty and unappologetic...cheeky and catchy lyrics accompanied by raw guitar and a manacing assault by meg on the cymbals.
3. The Dead weather - Horehound/sea of cowards
The white stripes, the raconteurs, the kills, the greenhorns, queens of the stone age and discount had a love child and it was the viscous blues driven mama bear of a band known as the dead weather and instead on an album their entire arsenal belongs in the 3rd spot....never before has blues been this dirty , this dark and this experimental...Jack White takes a step away from the mic and pedal board but not out of the spotlight...its hard to ignore what can easily be described as some of the best drumming ever heard...its the heaviness of it all...there is literally nothing soft or classical about it. Its and assault from the first track of "horehound"; "hang you up from the heavens" to the last track of "sea of cowards", "old mary". Jack white in an interview debunked the claim that this band was a supergroup but instead refers to it as "A group of old friends, who came together to write new music"...u either hate or u love this sound...but ur never left in the grey zone and your' re always forced into a reaction .you're a Texas rump being tossed into a shark tank, its up to you weather you like the bite or not. That's why this band brings us into our top 3.
2. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
This was the last ever studio effort of what was then the 10 year run of the white stripes...if u have ever heard the title track "icky thump" you will know that the stripes went out not with a sizzle but with a very loud bang. The entire record is just enormous, its one of those rare beasts still worthy of being called rock n roll. The zeppelin, light and shade influence is clear ...when a mellow track wraps up and you're feeling like a wine spritzer at sunset, it slaps you in the face and reminds you who is boss. "300 mph torrential blues","little cream soda"," catch hell blues" and "rag n bone" are just some of the highlights of this monolith album, earning it the runner up position on this list.
1. The White Stripes - Elephant
And wrapping up the list is what was probably THE most quintessential album of the garage rock revival, as much as words like huge, monolithic and enormous have been tossed around in this list, elephant is definitely the perfect way to describe this album, is large, powerful and stomps on you right in the gut with all its fury. Even if you've never heard of the stripes you almost have defiantly heard the now classic rock n roll guitar riff of "seven nation army" being wailed outta the beer drenched wind pipes of pomies at footy games. In an interview, white said " Nothing is more beautiful than when people embrace a melody and allow it to enter the pantheon of folk music. As a songwriter it is something impossible to plan. Especially in modern
times. I love that most people who are
chanting it have no idea where it came from. That's folk music". And if the lead single was anything to go by the rest of the Grammy award winning elephant is just as potent. A perfect blend of all the elements that made the white stripes what they were :punk, blues, garage and folk. But hey, u don't have to take my word for it, just listen to seven nation army and you will know. This is the peak of the jack white genius that inspired this list. The last great rocker of our time.
Please leave any comments or suggestions for further articles below, as long as their is good music I will be inspired to write about it, so feel free.
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