You would have thought that Jack White would have a lot on his plate at the moment. With the White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and several other individual projects, including a duet with Alicia Keyes for the recent Bond film, Quantum of Solace, you’d think he wouldn’t have time for anything else. Surely?
Well you’d be wrong, White returns to us now with The Dead Weather. A ‘supergroup’ of sorts featuring members of The Kills, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raconteurs, and White himself. However, what may surprise many is that White gives up his guitar and singing, for the most part, and takes a back seat, literally, on the drums. I can hear the alarm bells ringing from here.
Not to worry though, what we are given by The Dead Weather’s debut album ‘Horehound’ is something that differs from both White’s previous bands. Taking the bluesy sound of the Stripes, and the raw rock sound from the Raconteurs, White creates something new, but with a feel to it that can attract fans of his earlier work.
White’s decision to revert to the drums may lead to suspicion from some, but the man does very well. A damn sight better than his ex wife/sister Meg. A feat that is probably just as easily done as it is said. But to leave it at that would be grossly unfair on the rest of the band. While White is a very competent drummer, he is backing up what is a very tight, very good band. With ‘Little Jack’ Lawrence of The Raconteurs on bass, and QUOTSA’s Dean Fertita on guitar, piano and synth doing a job that is by no means worse than what White could do himself.
However, where the band get’s one of its main strengths is from the vocals of the beautiful Alison Mosshart, formerly of The Kills. From the husky drawl of ’60 Feet Tall’ and ‘So Far From Your Weapon’ to the Blondie-esque wail of ‘Treat Me Like Your Mother’ and the brilliant cover of Dylan’s ‘New Pony’. She also acts as a perfect compliment to White on the duets of ‘Rocking Horse’ and ‘Will There Be Enough Water?’
It could be very easy for one to look at this band as just another indulgence of Jack White, only made so that he could satisfy a creative branch that he could not reach with his many other projects. It could be easy to only buy this record to complete a ‘Jack White Collection’ and not really listen to it. But The Dead Weather are really so much more than that. They are a great band, and one of equal brilliance to both The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. With such a brilliant live show on top of a great debut album, long may The Dead Weather continue.
