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Rating:
In the sweltering summer of 2005, in a Nashville penthouse, friends Jack White and Brendan Benson compose a song together.
Jack White is already a consecrated superstar: "Elephant," the White Stripes' masterpiece, came out two years ago, and the subsequent "Get Behind Me Satan" certified the fame of the Detroit duo. Benson, on the other hand, is a singer-songwriter from Royal Oak, already with three studio albums to his name. From that improvised session is born the masterpiece "Steady, As She Goes," an incredible track that would become the crowning jewel of the first album by the Raconteurs, a band put together by the impromptu duo along with the rhythm section of the Greenhornes.
After two albums and as many Grammy nominations, the band goes on indefinite hiatus until this year, when the release of this third work dubbed "Help Us Stranger" arrives, and it seems nothing has changed since then (eleven years have passed since the second album "Consoler Of The Lonely").
The Raconteurs remain the vehicle through which White channels and organizes his overflowing and unpredictable talent (completely exploded last year in the wonderfully chaotic "Boarding House Reach"), and the blend with Benson's songwriting talent creates a lethal and irresistible mix. The Raconteurs' music is timeless classic rock, which only the class of the two performers prevents from becoming an obvious seventies-style revival.
"Help Us Stranger" is an amazing album: eleven new tracks and a cover (the second single "Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)," a remake of a song by Donovan) that draw heavily from the great passions of White and Benson, in an irresistible blend that includes roaring guitars ("Bored And Razed," "Sunday Driver," "Live A Lie" - almost grunge - and the incredible "What's Yours Is Mine") alongside acoustic delicacies where Brendan Benson's touch is certainly more pronounced ("Help Me Stranger," "Only Child," "Thoughts And Prayers"). There is (of course) also the blues, but well dosed and distributed along the (compact) tracklist of the album.
A great album that reconciles with tradition and offers one of the most successful collaborations in the last twenty years of American rock.
Best track: "What's Yours Is Mine"
Tracklist
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