JACK WHITE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Jack White's Third Man Records are among the best in the business in turning people onto vinyl records and countering the model presented by streaming giants. Perhaps it's partly down to the White Stripes legend's early years as a restorer of vintage furniture, but whichever product appears with his Third Man brand on it has the look and feel of real craftsmanship, with a meticulous and stylish eye for detail. This new one-sided etched 7" - who needs b-sides? - is a real gem to have in anyone's collection as it oozes with Jack White's punk rock spirit and makes a real case for affordable single production. This loud, banging instrumental track originally came out on streaming services only in 2017 and was White's first track in three years at the time. White is at his viscerally entertaining best when he's at his heaviest, with the distortion cranked. And the signals emanating from his amp here sound like an indie-rock banging of the war drum, making for a fun yet furious two-and-a-half minutes.

Review: Jack White's sixth solo album, No Name, arrives as a delightful surprise, offering a raw and invigorating return to his roots. Released with minimal fanfare and initially devoid of track titles, this album shows off White's playful and enigmatic nature. Fans of all stripes will find something to love here: diehard collectors get a rare gem for their collections, while those simply drawn to White's music can dive into 13 new tracks, now officially titled and available on vinyl. Produced at Third Man Records Studios in Nashville, No Name strips away the grandiosity of White's recent experiments, embracing a raw, unpolished sound that harks back to his White Stripes days. The album's blues-infused rock, with its razor-sharp riffs and primal drumming, feels more alive and immediate than his recent work. Songs like 'Bless Yourself' channel the heavy, bruising power of early Shellac and Led Zeppelin, while 'Terminal Archenemy Endling' blends heavy rock with spiritual uplift. White's lyrics are sharp and biting, delivering both humor and intensity. Tracks like 'Archbishop Harold Holmes' and 'What's the Rumpus?' showcase his ability to balance the sublime and the ridiculous, with catchy hooks and incisive commentary. Leaner and more focused than he's been in years, No Name is a thrilling reminder of White's genius and overall, an enjoyable rock album to listen to.

Review: Jack White is most famously the founding member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather but is also an accomplished solo artist. His fifth studio album, Entering Heaven Alive, is another one that sticks to his signature approach to making music, and that is in DIY fashion in his own Third Man Studio throughout 2021. It comes almost alongside his other new album Fear of The Dawn and neither of them had much backstory. This one is said to simply draw from "different inspirations, different themes, different moods."

Review: Let's face it, Jack White has never really stood still, with the stream of solo projects put out since The White Stripes days proof of just how relentless his creative spark is. However, as many have pointed out in reviews of Fear of the Dawn, there's not been that much of a stylistic shift since his joint venture with Meg. As such prepare to be blown away with this latest effort. Although we're not going to say whether that's in a good or bad way.

To call the tracks here obscure is nothing short of horribly reductive. A strange, at time obnoxious and jarring fusion of blues, theatrical rock, prog, and plain weird, it's nothing if not consistently unexpected, and wholly unique. Often huge in sound, but then occasionally minimalistic, it's the noise made by a man who has always threatened to throw the kitchen sink at fans, and has finally found the muscle to do it.

Review: Limited to just 2000 copies, Jack White's newest solo album 'Fear Of The Dawn' comes in a distinctive blue and white sleeve, making this move away from the White Stripes' native red and white colouration clear. Prefaced by the buzzing lead single 'Taking Me Back', we're stoked for the promised energy of this LP, which is the first of two albums slated to hit the shelves in 2022. This LP comes in either single black, 'astro' blue, or 'glow' white versions, as well as CD for the digi-heads.

Review: Boarding House Reach is the third solo album from Jack White, a man who really should need no introduction by now. Where 2014's 'Lazaretto' was a cohesive and indulgent gothic collage of country, soul, Americana and rock, 'Boarding House Reach' sees White ambitiously add layers of hip-hop, experimental and electronic influences. Twists and turns come thick and fast, from the fuzzy organ soul of 'Why Walk A Dog?', the poetic preacherman monologue of 'Abulia and Akrasia', the jittery and crunchy hip-hop 'Ice Station Zebra' to the stunningly laid-bare folk and wrought piano chords of closing track 'Humoresque'. This breadth of sounds makes the album compelling and unpredictable from start to finish, and a fascinating addition to Jack White's juggernaut of a discography.

Review: Jack White has firmly established himself as many things-rock renaissance man and paragon of analogue recording amongst them, but strangest of all in the evolution of this mercurial figure is the way he's consistently challenged himself, and essentially only made wayward and compromising records as his twisted path has continued. Case in point is Lazaretto; perhaps his most eclectic and eccentric work to date, yet also his most focused, personal and euphoric in tone. A glorious trawl through a plethora of styles and moods and replacing the riff-worship of The White Stripes with enough freakish ideas to fill five albums this is proof positive that Jack White's muse is at its most potent when at its wildest.