Rob's Co-Album of The Week: Jack White's Blunderbuss

After gaining stardom as a member of The White Stripes, forming The Raconteurs with Brendan Benson and The Dead Weather with The Kills' Alison Mosshart, producing Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, making music with Tom Jones, Danger Mouse and (even though I hate to mention it) Insane Clown Posse, the enigmatic guitar god known as Jack White has finally put out his first solo record, Blunderbuss, and it definitely has been worth the wait. Ranging from White's signature loud as f**k bluesy garage rock, Nashville style folk, Motown soul and 50's rock & roll, Blunderbuss is very complex but contemporary at the same time and who better than White to put out an album like this?

The story of the making of Blunderbuss is actually a very unique and coincidental one. White was getting ready to work on some music with The Wu-Tang Clan's RZA doing the producing and when RZA wasn't available to attend the session, White ended up recording several tracks with a backing band that would become part of his first solo record. If it wasn't for RZA, Blunderbuss would have never happened, I wouldn't have wrote this blog and instead White would have done an epic hip-hop/rock collaboration.

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"Love Interruption" begins sounding a lot like Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" and then White enters in singing about how he wants to conquer love instead of being a slave to it. "Sixteen Saltines" is classic Jack White rock & roll, with earth-shattering riffs and eclectic chords that are guaranteed to blow you away. "Missing Pieces" sounds like its straight from Motown, honoring White's musical roots in Detroit. "I'm Shakin" is groovalicious, featuring a spine-tingling solo from White that will melt your speakers. "Trash Tongue Talker" reminds me of Get Behind Me Satan-era White Stripes, with Jack on piano sounding like he's trying to do his best impression of Ray Charles. "Freedom at 21" sounds like a lost Dead Weather track, with White strumming a mean guitar accented by cool looping beats and driving drums. Every song on Blunderbuss is fantastic so don't just rely on my opinion of a select few, grab a copy and listen in for yourself.

Jack White will be commencing a tour of The United States and Canada starting at Webster Hall in New York City on April 27th and ending with a two-night stay at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 30th & 31st before hitting up Europe for a few weeks. If he's stopping at a venue near you it's a must that you get a ticket and see one of the best musicians out there today. If he's not playing anywhere near you, at least he has a kickass new album out. Hit up your local record store or log on to the internet and grab a copy of Blunderbuss, the new album from Jack White. It's another stroke of greatness by in my opinion, the best guitar player of the past decade.

- Rob Duguay