The Raconteurs: (CD Review)

The Raconteurs are Jack White of the White Stripes, Brendan Benson, and Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence from the Greenhornes. They formed in 2005 and released their debut album in the spring of 2006 "Broken Boy Soldiers." All 10 songs from this album were co-written by White and Benson a clear breakaway from their previous work where Jack White was the sole creative force behind the White Stripes and Brendan Benson's solo career.

Comparison to the White Stripes

Most of the people interested in this album have probably previously been fans of the White Stripes (as I have.) this is going to bring a natural comparison of the two bands. The Raconteurs have a much more fleshed out sound than the White Stripes as one would expect with four members rather than two and with a more technically skilled drummer in place of Meg White. For people with a fetish for the White Stripes stripped down sound this may be a negative for people who were getting a bit tired of those limitations being placed on Jack White's strong song writing and guitar playing skills this is a huge positive. I place myself more in the latter category and I think I've been enjoying this album more than any Stripes album to date.

The Album - "Broken Boy Soldiers"

There are synthesizers in many of the songs and there's a psychedelic pop feeling to the album in both instrumentation and structure. Both Jack White and Brendan Benson sing lead vocals. There are lots of harmonies throughout the album and their voices complement each others nicely. The album is only 33 minutes long.

Influences

The big influences on this album seem to be from late 60s and early 70s acts. The Beatles and Led Zeppelin are two in particular that jump out to me. The short album length seems to me to be an influence of albums from the 60s time period. The Beatles Revolver for instance is only 35 minutes long and is considered by many rock critics to be the greatest album of all time.

Track by Track

1.Steady As She Goes - The first single from this album is a good herky jerky pop rock track. The rhythm to this song is the big selling point. For those of you who have heard this song and haven't been intrigued to hear the rest of the album I must say I think it's not one of the better songs on the album. I wasn't that intrigued by it at first either but it has grown on me quite a bit and I like it a lot now. Especially starting at about 2:30 in when the vocal interplay and squiggly guitar lines create a very interesting atmosphere.

2.Hands - One of my favorites. Huge guitars. What I hear a lot of with this album are some of the great guitar riffing that we are used to hearing on the White Stripes records but here it seems to be more dynamic to me. Obviously a lot more interplay and the production is much more interesting here than on the Stripes recordings. The last minute of this song pushes things up a bit. I really love the song structures on this album. They are smart and tight. They take you to different places and build up but without taking a lot of time to get there.

3.Broken Boy Soldier - The title track. Has a sort of galloping feeling. Medieval? This song reminds me of Led Zeppelin although not in any specific way. Favorite moment of this song comes with the big synthesizer (or heavily effected guitar) and it's interplay with the guitars in the last minute of the song. Once again the Raconteurs find a way for the song to end at its peak.

4.Intimate Secretary - Possibly my favorite song on the album. The intro with synths and acoustic guitars reminds me of The Who in a way but once it gets started it goes in another direction. The vocal distortion in this song reminds me of Genesis or Yes. Definitely two bands one is not reminded of while listening to the White Stripes. While this is a very classic sounding sound it still sounds quite fresh to me these days.

5.Together - One of the quieter ballads on the album. Brendan Benson on lead vocals. Really nice is how this song blends Benson's soft lead vocal with a distorted White vocal spread left/right as the backing vocal.

6.Level - A favorite of mine. This song just has a great sound to it. The main riff is spooky. The guitar solo is awesome. Just over two minutes of rock. This is great stuff if I were to have someone listen to just one track it might be this one.

7.Store Bought Bones - This one might be as cool as the last. What's really great about this album is how it's just track after track of really inventive songs that each have their own personality yet they all fit in together too. I find the chorus to this song stuck in my head more than any other song on the album. Another one that's just over two minutes long. So much you can do in 2 and a half minutes. A great lesson to try and relearn.

8.Yellow Sun - Possibly the most quirky and upbeat song on the album. Seems to be very Beatles influenced. Best part of the song is the cool section with the keys and the lyrics of "You're making me hungry, but what's really funny is it's not sunny anymore" which reminds me a lot of the Beach Boys during the Smile era.

9.Call It A Day - If I had to choose three favorites from this album it'd be this song, Level, and Intimate Secretary. Benson sings lead on this track and there's a really great interplay between the soft gentle sounds going on here with the walking bass and the soft vocals and then you get these great bursts of vocal harmony which creates this call and response tension. The most emotionally effecting song on the album in my opinion.

10.Blue Veins - The first 30 seconds of the song are backwards. This song is spooky and bluesy. It's a song that has grown on me a lot as I hear the album and has now become a favorite. This is probably the song that in some ways reminds me most of the White Stripes but it's still a lot more fleshed out than any Stripes song. This song also reminds me a lot of Let Me Roll It from Paul McCartney's Band on the Run.

Overall

Broken Boy Soldiers is a very strong album from start to finish without a weak track to it's discredit. It's looking like a sure bet to make my top ten album list for 2006. Some will complain of it's 33 minute run time but I love it's brevity. It's nice to want more when I'm done with an album rather than being sick of it (which I usually am when by the time I'm done listening to one of the many 70 minute albums of the CD era.)

I've often listened to this album back to back. It's getting better with every listen and I highly recommend it!