Jack White has accomplished more in fifteen years than most musicians will ever dream of.
When Jack and drummer Meg White formed The White Stripes in Detroit back in 1997, future world tours and platinum record sales would have been an unrealistic expectation. As a minimalist blues duo, the band focused on achieving maximum volume through the simplest of equipment, often eschewing the sterile predictability of digital recording devices in order to use analog equipment decades old. For the span of their career, the band's stage set-up consisted of a no-frills drum kit and a lone amp with guitar. This deceptive presentation allowed the prodigiously talented Jack to stretch out on guitar; material from the band's early days consisted of a wide range of music from Led Zeppelin and Dolly Parton covers to original tunes of Jack's creation.
As the garage-rock revival of the early 2000's took hold of the music industry, The White Stripes began to gain national attention, due to their infectious single "Fell In Love With A Girl" and its innovative video. Within a few years, hype had become reality as the band exploded with the throbbing pulse of "Seven Nation Army", a crossover hit which catapulted the band up international sales charts. The band would come to dominate rock radio airplay in the 2000's, before breaking up following a string of commercial and critical acclaim.
Since then, White has firmly established himself as one of leading voices in rock today, whether proudly blasting out blues-based rock with The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather or producing country music legend Loretta Lynn's comeback record Van Lear Rose.
But it is White's most recent release, Blunderbuss which is his most impressive recording thus far. All sides of his personality as a songwriter are on display on the record; the throwback riffs of "Sixteen Saltines" stand as proud as the tender duet "Love Interruption", performed with singer Ruby Amanfu. White is indeed a remarkable guitar player, but his fretboard pyrotechnics are largely kept in check in the interest of song structure on Blunderbuss. The result is some of the catchiest, most appealing rock music being created today, with a fair bit less of the feedback squalls which turned away potential White Stripes fans.
The response to Blunderbuss has been near-unanimous praise, whether from the notoriously critical reviewers at Pitchfork or the always looming billboard charts, where the record first appeared at number one. The credit is much deserved for one of the most innovative and hard-working musicians around today.
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