Released 6/10/2014
7/7 Stars
Jack White has been in the news a pretty significant amount since the release of his debut solo album, Blunderbuss, in 2012. Besides the release of a few Dead Weather tracks at the beginning of this year, the news has not really been focused on White's music. The personal attributes of his life, notably his feud with fellow bluesmen The Black Keys, went so far as to drive him to write a full-scale apology letter. All that aside, the man has a pretty decent way to turn everyone's attention away from his private life; releasing the powerhouse solo effort Lazaretto that features a combination of some of White's most intense guitar work ever, along with some of the most stripped-down songs we've ever heard from him.
Using members from both The Buzzards and The Peacocks (White's all-male and all-female live bands), the Third Man Records mastermind kicked out an 11-track monster of an album, featuring incredibly dynamic songs like "Would You Fight For My Love?" The intense guitar work mentioned earlier comes into play early with title track "Lazaretto," and hits hard on pieces throughout the album like the instrumental "High Ball Stepper" and "That Black Bat Licorice." The record is chock-full of the classic Jack White sound, with the gritty and hectic guitar solos roaring over the Nashville blues-infused rhythms. However, this does not mean we are at a loss for the sweeter side of the former White Stripe, with songs like closer "Want and Able" leaning heavily on piano and melodic vocal layers.
Backed by lyrical subjects harvested from works of his short-lived college days, White never misses a beat in proving why he is one of the rock and roll giants of our time, not to mention his solidified place in guitar player history. His versatility as a songwriter shines throughout Lazaretto, with some songs fit for sleeping and others reaching out and shaking you to the most restless part of your brain. No matter your opinion on The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr., or any other modern blues artists, Jack White III proved exactly what he set out to prove. He is the king, and although he isn't always too soft-spoken to avoid stating it, that doesn't mean he's wrong.
