Consolers of the Lonely
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Free Music Notes for Consolers of the Lonely
Free Music Review: SONICALLY CHALLENGING, BUT IN THE BEST WAY...
Hit: 5 Stars
Without reservation, I think COTL will be among the best reviewed albums of the year, and appear on many top ten lists....
JWIII, BB, LJ, and PK are back with a vengeance performing their sophomore effort.For all those 'agent provocateurs' who thought the band's strategy of a quick release without preview, hype, fanfare to the media et al was an attempt to circumvent the sophomore jinx, y'all are so wrong.Every review I've read since release date puts this album among the best of the year - and it's only March!!!
Consolers of the Lonely is everything that Broken Boy Soldiers wasn't:A ballsy, brash, in your face collection of tunes encompassing different genres and tempos,while taking chances that pay off handsomely. The Teurs have really amped up the energy level as well.While BBS was often criticized for being slightly anemic and tentative, which was only reinforced by how the songs, when performed live sounded far superior (check out the video shoot for 'Level' in that NY warehouse session and I'm sure you'll agree), COTL just kills and thrills, start to finish...
This album is, however, challenging to the listener. A good 4-5 listens beginning to end with quality headphones are needed to even form a cursory opinion about this album.Vocals, piano, screaming guitar riffs, bass, drums fly at you in all directions. It takes those few listens to start to really figure everything out....
Early favorites include:
Title Track - Infectious and a straight forward rocker
Old Enough - BB, if you weren't a 'Teur, you'd be a hell of a jingle
writer
The Switch and the Spur - This tune, with it's well placed, yet devastating horns, would be right at home during the opening credits of a Sergio Leone western, or perhaps a Tarantino 'Someone done me wrong and I aims to fix it' flick
These Stones Will Shout - JWIII perfection....
Buy this album, as it will provide endless hours of listening enjoyment.Albeit challenging ones.....
Free Music Review: JACK OUT WHITE STRIPES HIMSELF
Hit: 5 Stars
The Raconteurs 1st effort was a fun, quality pop record and yielded one big hit. With Consolers of the Lonely, the band goes to a whole new level. There is not a single throwaway on the whole disc and the first track just might be the most smokin single of the year -- this is a truly great record and like most White Stripes discs, it bobs and weaves around many different styles from hard rockers to pop to more folksy stuff -- it all works well -- no surprise given who the heart of the band is. In certain ways (I can't believe I'm writing this), this disc may be in fact more balanced and an overall more well rounded recording than several of the White Stripes CDs (which are all damn close to flawless in my opinion). This Racs disc is very much a homage to great 70s rock with clear influences showing -- Zep, Queen, Stones. I should be shot for a) putting any band in the same sentence as Zep and b) for writing the next statement, but Consolers of the Lonely could qualify as a minor Zep success (listen to it -- you'll see what I mean). I just saw them live at Terminal 5 in NYC last Sunday night (June 1st) and they rocked. It was refreshing to see a band not simply play through the songs on their album note for note. They turned many songs inside out with fusion-like segueways. Always great to hear the material live hit much harder than the recorded stuff. Jack is a commanding presence, but this is very much a group effort and Brendan Benson's classic rock vocals also carried the day. The whole band is seriously tight. Special treat was a 10 minute tripped-out version of "Steady As She Goes". Kudos to these guys. Catch 'em on this tour in smallish venues, because the next time around, I can all but bet that the shows won't be so intimate. Fairly amazing Mr. White -- you've successfully been the centerpiece of two killer co-existent rock bands in the same decade....Buy the CD, see them live. Now.Free Music Review: Jamming with Jack and the boys!
Hit: 5 Stars
"Consolers of the lonely" is the sophomore album by White Stripes' Jack White's side group Raconteurs, and while I prefer "Broken boy soldiers" (with its crawling title track and the awesome "Steady as she goes") this is just as good as a whole. As is the case with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs are experimental and the album is musically diverse, you can tell they had a great time recording it.
The sound this time around is crunchier and more fractured, though the mood is mellow, with just a few rockers like lead-off single "Salute your solution" and the title track "Consoler of the lonely", the latter with jagged guitars, tempo shifts from upbeat verses to a sombre chorus and a squealing guitar outro.
"You don't understand me" is a lovely piano-sprinkled ballad with lovely harmonies. "The switch and the spur" has dramatic darting horns and a faint Ska feel. It wouldn't go amiss on the soundtrack to some Western movie.
"Many shades of black" is a retro sounding horn sprinkled pop ballad. The rocker "Five on the five" has a squealing horn/guitar intro, a chugging riff in the verses, squealing vocals, and a punk feel. "Top yourself" is a nice ballad with bursts of guitar for a chorus.
"Carolina drama" is a Western-style ballad with storytelling lyrics about some bloke named Billy, and lovely ethereal vocal breaks. Simply outstanding! "Pull this blanket off" is a slow piano/guitar ballad with an almost hymnal feel, while the similar Blues-tinged "Rich kid blues" eventually picks up speed.
I've loved everything Jack White has done since I fell in love with "White blood cells", and he's been pretty busy the last four years, releasing a White Stripes or Raconteurs album every other year. If you love your rock edgy and experimental, this should be right up your alley.
Free Music Review: A more full palette of sound for the mainstream band
Hit: 5 Stars
When I say mainstream, I don't mean streamlined, because this is anything but that. This album has many elements that are surprising for those accustomed to the bluesy and power pop elements of the two main songwriters. The tracks are filled with diverse genre bending all without sounding alternative, or even commercial, and I have to give them credit for that. This album is a definite step up from Broken Boy Soldiers which was clearly an overly simplified introduction to the dabbling sensibilities each songwriter brought to the table, on this album the entire band feels adequately showcased throughout and they stretch out. Perhaps they were going outside their comfort zone, or maybe they would be comfortable doing this already and just decided to let us in on it. However you crack it the egg is mighty tasty if you eat it and impressive if you let it hatch and grow. Honestly, I think it was gutsy for the Racs to let loose on their love of classic boogie, southern, and all other forms of popular rock they crank out here. No one is creating music of this quality and verve on the scene right. This music is alive as opposed to being studied even when they're doing a cover (rich kid blues). It certainly has its groundings in familiar sounds, but it's a great way to inject so much more energy into it. I find it inspirational to say it's ok to be popular just don't make carbon copies and rob people thinking they were buying a new album. While not the best album in the world it holds its own on every song, and nearly every song is a piece unto itself. That is a feat and if this sounds interesting to you, then I encourage you to get this album.Free Music Review: See You There
Hit: 5 Stars
After seeing The Raconteurs live in Dallas, Texas back in the summer of 2006, one thought ran through my mind: "These guys are much better live than they are on the album." Don't get me wrong; I really liked Broken Boy Soldiers. But the band really came alive in concert - the energy levels were higher; the music was sharper; the melodies clearer; and the experience was just more fun. If only they could translate that live experience to the studio...
With Consolers of the Lonely, the guys have done just that. From start to finish, the album exhibits a higher energy, sharper (often ferocious) tunes, and excellent melodies. Even an initial listen reveals that the guys had more fun recording their sophomore album than perhaps their debut. If you thought Broken Boy Soldiers was more co-singer Brendan Benson's show (not only in vocal duties, but all around feel), be warned - this album is The Jack White Show. Of course, singing duties are, for the most part, evenly divided between the two frontmen. But where Brendan brought out the pop sensibilities of his counterpart on Broken Boy Soldiers, Jack brings out the RAWK from his partner. And the results are astounding.
My heart will always lie with blues-rock of The White Stripes, but with Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs prove that they can produce a fun album that rocks just as much as the Stripes and, at the same time, sings as well as any Brendan Benson solo albums.
The Raconteurs return to Dallas in two weeks. I'll be there. You should, too.