Rock renaissance geezer Jack White is in the news today for producing Dwight Yoakim’s new track. As exciting as that sounds, we doubt it’ll hold a candle to the Detroit man’s own output. To toast the ex-White Stripe’s continued excellence, here are his 20 best tracks, in a million and one guises.
Let’s start off nice and easy with this authentic Appalachian folk ballad from the Jude Law/Nicole Kidman bore-vehicle Cold Mountain. White transcends all that with fiddles, mandolins and an air of beautiful, hopeless melancholy.
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‘De Stijl”s first single cranks in firing metallic sparks of guitar before Meg White taps out a bit of morse code on the drums. After that it’s all AC/DC crunching riffs with harmonica to soften the blow. “How you gonna get the money? Nobody gonna answer the phone“. Real talk.
18 The White Stripes, ‘I Think I Smell A Rat’
You know how Jack White occasionally sports a floppy Zapata ‘tache? Well, ‘I Think I Smell A Rat’ has one embedded in its grooves. There’ll be more spaghetti western later.
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All the ghouls come out to play for this spooky cut from Jack’s second favourite supergroup. Fairground organ wars with blues riffs, horrific sound effects and total gibberish from White.
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White ascends to Prince’s – or Robert Plant’s – vocal register while his depth charge guitar sends us all off to the doc’s with eardrum buzz. Meg, as per, is all over those cymbals.
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“Gasoline’s not measured in metric!” And so we have White flicking the protest button, going in hard against the major car manufacturers, the Big Three. He sounds masterful, commanding, as well he needs to against that lot.
14 The Dead Weather, ‘Blue Blood Blues’
A gruesome riff playing in the deep. It’s all about the rude guitar work, and some bite in White’s voice as weird analog electronics burble around, submerging Alison Mosshart’s input.
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We’re in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly country again with White playing the outgunned suitor as Ennio Morricone’s old players provide the drama, but the man himself comes up with the lyrics.
12 The White Stripes, ‘Jimmy The Exploder’
The first track on the ‘Stripes’ debut album comes on with drums the size of gigantic stalking alien spiders. “Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo,” chants Jack and we are underway.
11 The White Stripes, ‘A Martyr For My Love For You’
White’s tellin’ stories over a flurry of Spanish guitar and a tipple of cymbal. There’s an epic chorus and ravaged riffs in one of the ‘Stripes’ last fully rounded belters.
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The drums are so splashy Meg could’ve snuck in, but the first single from The Raconteurs is all about Jack White and Brendan Benson getting choppy, while Jack’s vocal combines studied cool and full throttle attack. Some trick.
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“I want love to stick a knife inside me and twist it all around” Sounds harsh but elsewhere ‘Love Interruption’ is quite gorgeous, woodwind and Fender Rhodes taking it into Traffic territory while Ruby Amanfu harmonises sweetly.
8 The White Stripes, ‘The Hardest Button To Button’
Controlled aggression, just about. ‘The Hardest Button To Button’ is all menace and slow-build before vein-bulging release. Heartbreakingly though, it tells the story of a kid trying to find his place in the family when there’s a new baby in the house. The big issues.
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White puts his lungs into this one, losing cool, dropping guard, letting go. Erm, etc. It’s a squalling, head-down rocker just to prove he still has this kind of stuff in his armoury even when striking out alone.
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The one that did it. It was a bit disingenuous of The White Stripes to break through with a skiffle number, fooling that beguiled mainstream. Still, there was a familiar ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ feel to it all – and it was bloody ace.
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Possibly the most sarcastic record ever made, as White and Benson extol the dubious virtues of the “simple life”, switching from Grease‘s ‘Summer Nights’ intro to vicious spikes of guitar. All wrapped in deceptively flowery clothing too.
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A buzzing riff staying low – “Every breath that is in your lungs is a tiny little gift to me” – creepy. White puts his blues-born screech to one side and almost croons.
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Nearly as good as the Joss Stone cover, this. Terrible joke but it bears repeating. That’ll do. If ‘Hotel Yorba’ opened the door, ‘Fell In Love With A Girl’ barged right on through, riff off the hook, Meg working overtime to keep up.
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“It’s a fact that I’m the seventh son” just sounds cool whatever it’s meant to signify, but ‘Ball And Biscuit’ – at seven minutes, about as long as Jack lasts in the game – keeps things icy. Until a thrilling guitar solo fires off pyrotechnics in your face. White gets sexy.
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If Jack White has managed to leave one calling card in the cultural firmament it’s obviously this. On your umpteenth listen it’s surprising how subdued ‘Seven Nation Army’ is, but that just makes the whacking great riff all the more immense. And dig the “Wichita” line, man.
Photo: Dean Chalkley/NME