TMR Creative Collective

A series of thoughtful yet brief essays on the work of Jack White, one album at a time. These pieces are designed to highlight the dynamic path of this artist. Combined with active listening, they will bring you to a better understanding of the genius of Jack White.

By Rick Warner

Series One

Foundational Albums

Album 1: The White Stripes

The first album, released in June 1999 is the obvious “Genesis” piece. The first time we see the WS/Detroit two piece rawness expressed.

I won’t comment on every time for I feel that not all discovery needs guidance.

EVERYTHING on this record is essential. Every song. Every note. Every yelp. Learn it. Become fluent. This is the basis of the language.

You can clearly hear and feel something special percolating and the signature sound of White Stripes is permanently etched on the mind of the listener.

His guitar work is passionately naive and raw. His use of the rake behind the bridge on a few tunes is like a child discovering how a toy works.

Again, this is a record that must be learned as it is the foundation of this process. This is lo fi DIY perfection and little did we know that it would be the launching pad for one of rock’s most gifted artists.

Pay CLOSE attn to:

The Big Three Killed my Baby Histrionic rant against the auto industry). A wailing diatribe filled with angst over modern machines and the destruction of the planet. As a product of Detroit, this was a brave move. His fearlessness is shown EARLY.

Sugar Never Tasted so Good gentle acoustic brilliance

Cannon features a punishing Sabbath inspired riff and to this day a staple of his live show
Astro A jumping good time and the closest thing to a party song on the album

Screwdriver the quintessential WS song according to JW’s nephew and band historian, Ben Blackwell

Do nuanced quiet number that is pure soul

Broken Bricks furious guitar work

And most importantly:
I Fought Piranhas This is a moody and spooky coda that takes the listener on burning ride on the slide guitar and features imagery and sounds beyond this young artist’s experience at the time. (He was 24). Piranhas is seldom performed live but is easily the most frantic and unpredictable piece of the entire setlist. Piranhas is the equivalent of Adam and Eve in the Garden and caps the the Genesis comparison.
Stunning. Check out this performance of The White Stripes in 1999

Album 2: De Stijl

A remarkable progression from the raw, lo fi first effort. There is more production and polish. This is easily discerned with one listen/comparison.

JW’s songwriting clearly moves up a couple notches, too. Lyrically, structurally and emotionally.

As usual, they are all “essential” but the key tracks that help to see the big picture of the WS architecture:

Little Bird JW’s coming out party on the slide guitar. Listen to the rock n roll pour out of this tone. Hear his urgency. Hear between the lines.

Death Letter A brutal and visceral piece live. No longer performed in his modern era with RARE exception. This was laid to rest in a shallow grave in the dusty hills of the White Stripes blues soaked death grounds once he and Meg split. Once a ripping and fierce staple of the WS live show, JW left it behind like the body of a lover who becomes too much to carry as he runs from the demon chasing him.

I truly believe this is the one in which Jack White becomes “Jack White”, the seventh son, disciple of the blues and Divine Instrument.

Please break here and spend some time with the below:

If properly prepared and fully ready, this clip will move you so be ready.

So completely thrilling and beautiful in its execution, this represents everything that rock and roll was meant to be, has been and ever will be in one moment.

Sister Do You Know My Name? Further development of what will become one of his trademark sounds, the Kay hollow body guitar with the slide.

Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise Quietly, one of his most brilliant songs.

Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me Multi layered attack of a simple question. You’ll hear the piano fit perfectly.

Jumble Jumble & Let’s Build a Home

These two go together and you’ll see why down the road when we get to the “John Peel Live Sessions” record. Rather docile on this record, this pairing will FUCKING ELECTRIFY YOU on the Peel record.

This record says to the world: There are new sounds within. These are our sounds. They are no else’s.

An appetizer for a streak of sonic brilliance that cannot be understated.

Album 3: White Blood Cells

The third album from this increasingly intriguing and sonically original duo has a bit of experimentation mixed with brutally hitting riffs and sing-a-long acoustic good times. Some of which would go on to be “hits”. JW’s song writing and structure complexity begins to grow as his guitar work while remaining fairly simple, begins to “say” more.

Again, I will not always describe all the tracks in this process. I will highlight the ones I feel require a bit more focus but they are all essential to understand the context of where they fit and how they compliment each other. Song to song context and album to album context is important in understanding the timeline and the artist as a whole.

If your volume is cranked (it is), then the opening feedback squeal of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground will alert you to the fury that is to come. One of JW’s signature riffs and usually played early in his live shows (crowd response is typically manic) this song oscillates from light to dark in brilliant and punishing fashion. DIstortion soaked bridge and intense vocal delivery makes this a perfect opener. Meg’s drumming as always is perfection to JW’s antics. See The White Stripes perform Dead Leaves here in their performance at the Detroit Institute of Art :

Hotel Yorba named after a real place in Detroit is one of the songs that has made the Stripes famous. Appealing to almost everyone for the laid back romanticism, it is a masterpiece of acoustic songwriting even if the hard core heavy sounds fan groans when they hear it.

Fell in Love with a Girl is another pop piece that really got the attention of the public when it was released. Basically the song that put them on the map. JW’s vocal tone is highly stylized and the chorus “ahhhs” are almost impossible to not sing along with. When played live, he usually turns it into a slow, menacing dirge. Here in LP form, we call it perfect pop music.

The next one is proof that simplicity rules. “Expecting” features an almost comically simple chord structure but combined with high volume and JW’s high pitched vocals, turns into a ripping burner of a tune that does not disappoint. This is rock n roll Detroit style.

The Union Forever is a strange and diverse piece. Heavy on spoken word and hysterical pleading, the structure is heavy. Room filling. Attention commanding. A statement.

We’re Going to be Friends is the companion piece to “Hotel Yorba”. An acoustic crowd favorite in the live shows. One of the very few WS songs ever to be licensed for outside use. (The masterpiece film-Napolean Dynamite) JW’s awareness of the power of simplicity is featured here to grand audience building effect.

After a three run of songs capped with the highly noisy and experimental Aluminum we land on I Can’t Wait. Meg’s relentless pounding paves the way for JW’s somber Nirvana influenced picking. Then we pick up the pace, the oh yea yea yeas and then into a loud power chord finish. Truly one that high volume compliments.

A song that feels like falling in love and loneliness are the same thing, I Can Learn is a sad little tune that has JW’s vocals leading the way in feel. Hard to categorize. A songwriter experimenting with songwriting.

This Protector concludes this third effort with simple piano brilliance. Deceptively mature, this tune’s basic piano and vocals gives a glimpse of what is to come from this artist. With his heart open and on full display, his vulnerability becomes a strength and we are wondering where else can this artist go?

Stay tuned for the next series installment…