IN REVIEW: Jack White - "Lazaretto"

Get Behind Me Satan is arguably The White Stripes' most interesting and divisive album; after years of a screeching plastic guitar, drums and vocals being basically the only instruments allowed on record as the Stripes built their indie empire, Jack White blew it all up in 2005. All manner of added instrumentation was brought in, from pianos to horn sections to violins. It was thrilling to hear the music being pushed into unfamiliar (and sometimes uncomfortable) places, but one also had the sense that something had explicitly and irrevocably changed; we'd never have it the same way again. Sure enough, after one more (admittedly, amazing) album, The White Stripes called it a day, and Jack went on to his various side projects, following every musical whim with The Dead Weather before releasing the formidable solo debut Blunderbuss a couple years back.

The reason I mention Get Behind Me Satan is because I get a similar feeling listening to Lazaretto, White's second solo album. Now, anyone who's read a tabloid in the last year or so likely knows that something's changed in White's life, and it's not altogether surprising that he's not in the best of spirits here. His gentlemanly demeanor gives way to bitterness occasionally and, while it's not a deal breaker by any stretch, it's certainly a little odd by times.

As for the music, it has the same "anything goes" attitude of Get Behind Me Satan; much of the album inherits an off-kilter country vibe thanks to the heavy use of various stringed acoustic instruments. Also of note are the backing vocals of Ruby Amanfu, who practically co-stars on many tracks; her performances help to punctuate the various moods Jack goes through on the album. She pretty much steals Temporary Ground from under Jack's nose, bursting through the sparse acoustic backdrop and making her voice the song's most important instrument. She shines whenever she appears, but here she's at her absolute best.

If I have to pick a dominant feeling for Lazaretto, it's found in the sinister strut of the title track and a few others throughout the album. Opening track Three Women is almost laughable, with its skronking organs and White spitting rhymes about his trio of ladies (not to mention the "lawdy lord" refrain), but it's so brash and confident in its moves you can't help but admire it. It's not the kind of calculated risk Jack usually takes; you could tell me it's the direct result of somebody involved throwing up their hands and saying "fuck it", and I wouldn't be inclined to argue. The Robert Johnson by way of Rage Against The Machine groundwork of the opening two tracks carries over into instrumental High Ball Stepper, a sweaty exercise that spits, squeals and groans its way through a very odd journey that really is recommended with good headphones.

There are other especially groovy moments that don't feel quite so mean; The Black Bat Licorice is a late-album highlight, Jack maintaining his strut while the most funky mandolin and organ combo ever played propels the track. Its climax isn't in the form of a stereotypical Jack White screeching guitar solo but rather a violin solo; it's a telling revelation that White trusts violins, mandolins and organs to handle his big rock moments. When Lazaretto balances its energy with its musical identity, as it does at the start of the album's B side, the results can be altogether thrilling. Just One Drink is a sort of Honky Tonk Women for the 21st century and, though it won't usurp The Rolling Stones anytime soon, it's a fantastic use of the instrumentation. It's followed by Alone In My Home, a song that would have fit right in on Get Behind Me Satan but packs a more potent hook than anything on that album.

Unfortunately, not everything works as well; Would You Fight For My Love begins with a chest-thumping tribal beat before the near orchestral arrangement arrives with the promise of something truly epic. However, when the song starts in earnest, it's a much more simple song that doesn't really go to enough interesting places at best and sounds like something Jack might have written for Adele at worst. Entitlement is a little too bitter lyrically for such a gentle song, as Jack scolds a spoiled world, lamenting those taking what they don't deserve over a fairly standard country waltz. And the last couple of tracks get lost in the shuffle; with so many detours and distractions on this record, I Think I Found The Culprit and Want And Able are good enough tunes. But they sound like afterthoughts, decent enough ideas that don't get the chance to be spruced up to the same extent as the others (especially Want And Able, which just kind of floats by for its two and a half minutes before unceremoniously bringing itself, and the album, to an abrupt end).

Your enjoyment of Lazaretto will only be so great as your patience for White's stylistic shifts stands up, as the album sort of plays like three disparate EPs on shuffle. It could probably benefit by a few tweaks in the sequence, but that's hardly a reason to get upset. And, I must not forget to commend White on the sound of this record. Like Blunderbuss, Lazaretto isn't compromised by excessive compression in its mastering, and the music sounds great with its full dynamic range, to the point where I was easily able to give this album five spins while writing this review and not becoming fatigued. I lament loud masters so often, it's refreshing to hear an album that's mastered properly as they're few and far between these days.

In summary, there's a lot going on here, and you'd be ill advised to judge Lazaretto too quickly. That said, after repeat listens, lots of things started jumping out at me, some good and some not so much. It's not a very consistent record, but it is wildly interesting. If nothing else, it will be fun to see how others' opinions on it take shape over time, as I feel they'll be as varied as White's musical palette.

June 10, 2014 • Third Man/Columbia

Highlights Three Women • Lazaretto • That Black Bat Licorice