Thursday, May 17, 2012

Jack White - Blunderbuss



It has been no secret that Jack White enjoys showing his deep passion for love a different kind of way. Rather than love notes and romance decorated in flowers he chooses to turn his explanation of love on its side and inside out while beating it with a baseball bat and cutting it into itty bitty pieces.

Blunderbuss is a collection of lyrics discussing the wounds a woman has inflicted on him. White has a way with violent imagery to describe the metaphoric pain he has towards a relationship. In “Missing Pieces” he wakes up to missing hands and no legs, later losing an ear because she is gone and took pieces of him with her.  In the first single “Love Interruption” he discusses his passion for love even at its most wicked with | I want love to grab my fingers gently | Slam them in a doorway | Put my face into the ground. |

The songs are original but in some way strangely familiar with wavery blues shredded with metal guitar and slamming piano keys. A trip through this album seems short as it is just under 40 minutes, but begs for permanent repeat.  You will sing these unorthodox love songs in your sleep and desire for more the next day.

I have tried to escape Jack White for many years; in fact I could have been content never enjoying or appreciating his work.  Even after long discussions with others trying to convince me otherwise, I just did not get it. I made it 10+ years without even so much a listen to a White Stripes, Raconteurs, or The Dead Weather album let alone even listening to “Seven Nation Army” in its entirety. Maybe it is the familiarity of the album sound, perhaps it was his Saturday Night Live performance or the album is just that good. But I guess it was inevitable and with one record he has changed my mind…damn Blunderbuss.

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