Consolers Of The Lonely : The Raconteurs : Review : Rolling Stone

What separates the blues greats from the legends? A good story. And Jack White knows how to tell one. (Did you hear the one about the guitarist who married his sister?) It's no coincidence that his side band is called the Raconteurs: "When you call yourself a musician," the White Stripes leader said when he teamed up with singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler in 2005, "you join that family of storytellers."

He's found the right clan. Consolers of the Lonely comes together like a blissfully stoned conversation between White and Benson about their favorite bands: Led Zeppelin, the Who, Badfinger. Each of them riffs off the other, trading verses and guitar leads on a host of compelling stories: a classic Western (the Ennio Morricone sendup "The Switch and the Spur"), a feel-good biblical allegory (the folk hymn "These Stones Will Shout"), a revenge saga (the slow-burning epic "Carolina Drama"). White channels Benson when he coos harmonies on the piano-led "Pull This Blanket Off." Benson channels White when he growls on the gritty, garage-inspired "Salute Your Solution." And their styles merge completely on "Consolers of the Lonely," which doles out every possible exclamation point: explosive guitars, abrupt tempo changes, a floorboard-rumbling rhythm section and a climax where the whole band starts laughing. That song's title (and the album's) comes from an inscription on a post office building in Washington, D.C.: "Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarger of the common life." If that's a mailman's job — to connect people — then that's what these songs are aiming to do too.

This two-party system of songwriting didn't work as well on Broken Boy Soldiers. In order not to overshadow Benson, White almost rendered himself anonymous, abandoning his three-chord limit and letting himself get caught up in Benson's warm, layered melodies. As a result, the Raconteurs became the first side project in history that actually sounded less arty than the main band. But Consolers of the Lonely makes room for White's big personality. That's a good thing, because for all of Benson's strengths (bright guitar melodies, great taste in bandmates), personality is not one of them. The raw guitar ache of "Five on the Five" and the mariachi horns of "The Switch and the Spur" compete with the best of Icky Thump, even though Benson sings the "The Switch." The swaggering soul of "Many Shades of Black" is pure Benson, but White's vocals add the edge it needs to keep you from comparing it to Aerosmith's "Crazy." Sometimes it's hard to tell where White's vocals end and Benson's begin. They sound more like an old married couple than Jack and Meg do.

Benson shares White's obsession with freedom and control. No less than three songs — "Hold Up," "The Switch and the Spur" and "Attention" — mention prison or being under lock and key, and the First Amendment even pops up on "These Stones Will Shout" and the country-folk ditty "Old Enough." (On the latter, Benson warns, "You don't speak, so I have to guess you're not free" — you hear that, Meg?) Strange, because musically they're running wild. Guitars jerk from stripped-down intros to busting riots, choruses swell with arena-rock bombast, and White's there yelping happily the whole way through.

That freedom is not always satisfying: Overall, Consolers feels less like a project and more like a jam session. But it's fun to watch White make things up as he goes along. On the album highlight, "Carolina Drama," he sings a Dylanesque legend of a boy named Billy, who has a vendetta against his mom's boyfriend. The music builds from an ominous campfire song to a swirl of strings and ghostly la-la-las as White leads everything to its bloody conclusion: Billy kills the boyfriend with a milk bottle. But nothing is resolved — we finish with a mess of unexplained details (who is that milkman who delivered the bottle?).

Don't bother complaining — White warns you at the beginning that he's not going to wrap anything up. "I'm not sure that there's a point to the story/But I'm going to tell it again," he sings. "So many other people try to tell the tale/Not one of them knows the end." Guess the point of the story is the telling.

MELISSA MAERZ

(Posted: Apr 17, 2008)

News and Reviews

How to Play This Album

Click the play button.
Register or enter your username and password.
Let the music play!

No commitment.
It's FREE.

Track List

Play All

Your Turn

Give us your review of Consolers Of The Lonely

Review 1 of 12

3of 5 Stars

So much is in the packaging and PR of today's bands. You can be hip and cool if your face is pasty white enough and you don't act like you are having fun. The songs on this album are good. A strong rock CD. Is Jack White a guitar virtuoso? No. Not even in the top 50, although I am sure RS has a list somewhere that says different. He likes effects and pinching notes. Whoop. As a song writer he is much better. Nothing fancy, just good hooks and over the top lyrical phrasing...voila a rock song. Such a fine line between posing and being a media darling. End result, this is a very good articulate classic rock album. I just wish bands would give a stage show to match the hype. It's a crime for "serious" rock bands to enjoy putting on a show. If it had been done by a group of pretty boys with perfect hair and straight teeth, RS would have panned it, and all the folks calling Jack White a genius would have to find another "I hate my dad" rocker to worship. Image is everything, you just have to pretend it is not.

Jun 22, 2008 13:25:20

Review 2 of 12

4of 5 Stars

Jack White and friends are back with another jam-packed album, and it is packed full of jams! Yes barely 2 years after the release of Broken Boy Soldiers they give us fourteen full length tracks with nary a runt in the bunch. Their second album brings back the rock born on BBS and they appear to be more confident, shedding the pop-hooks that made Steady as She Goes such a mainstream hit.

While the first two songs could have come right off of a White Stripes album, Songs like ‘Old Enough’ and ‘Top Yourself’ demonstrate how a slide guitars and violins fit into a rock album really exemplifying the groups ability to bring country elements together with White’s rock sensibilities in a way that doesn’t sound overdone or out of place.

While the third cut is a bit slower in pace, you have to get pretty deep into the album for ‘Many Shades of Black’ which is a bit of a crooner. That said, the horns bring in a depth not found on many of the bare-bones tracks by this minimalist quartet. Even a throwback to the Doors phrase “Take it as it comes” kicks off in the chorus, as the victim of the song pleas to get out of the roller coaster that he’s been riding on lamenting that “Everybody sees, and everyone agrees, that you and I are wrong, and it’s been that way too long.”

Not a gang to stay blue too long, the very next track is one of the fastest rockers on the album. The song, ‘Five on the Five’, brings a bit more grunge than most of the material found here, and it’s followed by another straight out rocker ‘Attention’ which will make you forget that 5 minutes ago you were crying the blues.

Overall, it’s a great taste of neuvo-vintage rock that seems to find JW steadily in control as usual, but with so many songs, there’s plenty of spotlight for the other main man, Brendan Benson to share. This album is equally good as their first, which is a major achievement for any band.

-thanks for reading!-
Sorry you wont get my interpretation of Carolina Drama :)

May 28, 2008 20:51:30

Review 3 of 12

5of 5 Stars

amazing album
saw them last week @ stubbs in austin.....totally blown away by their performance
this album is different than broken boy soldiers cuz its more rock and i love that about the raconteurs
they are so creative in the way that they are able to be in two bands at once
can not wait until the next record b/c it will be awesome

May 9, 2008 15:25:19

Review 4 of 12

4of 5 Stars

I love this album. Jack White is amazing on it. So much more so than on Broken Boy Soldier. As for my interpretation of "Carolina Drama", I believe the preacher is Billy's daddy and the one giving the money. The milkman is little brother's daddy.

Apr 25, 2008 16:26:56

Review 5 of 12

5of 5 Stars

Rolling Stone wouldnt know good music if I wipped it our of my pants and slapped you across the face with it. The CD is amazing, lots of different influneces, and just general good song writing here.

Then again this is the magaizine that trashed Zepplin. Four decades with your head up you ass, now thats an accomplishment.

Apr 11, 2008 08:54:20

Review 6 of 12

Not Rated

Great album. Just wanted to offer my thoughts on Carolina: The milkman is the boy's real father. The mom opens up the cupboard and gives the boy an envelope full of money... given to her by the milkman to give to his kids if anything ever happened to him...

Just a thought.

Apr 10, 2008 15:18:59

Review 7 of 12

4of 5 Stars

gotta say first of all, you guys do a better job reviewing than anyone else including pitchfork. HOWEVER, i have to disagree with this review! come on this is one of the best of the year so far and even though i love them this is better than magnetic fields and drive by truckers, yet you gave those four star reviews! i think this should get 4 stars man! that last song is one of the best, maybe my favorite song this year! Jack White is brilliant and i think we have another icky thump review again and i wont be surprised if this ranks higher in the best of 2008 than many many four star reviews! Anyways, i love you guys but i disagree.

Apr 1, 2008 22:32:48

Review 8 of 12

5of 5 Stars

I see a lot of Icky Thump and Get Behind Me Satan in it. What that means to me is this album is more Jack White than Brendan Benson, whereas the first one I think Brendan had more input. The best songs imo are tracks #11-14. Rich Kid Blues is amazing and Carolina Drama might be Jack's best vocal ever. This band is equal to The White Stripes in every way which makes this the first time I can think of were the "side project" is as good as the original. Imo this album is light years better than their first, and their first was real good. Absolutely brilliant work, and also with how wise Jack is as a business man and how this was released two weeks after being done. That move will set a standard for all artists to follow so they will quit getting ripped off my piraters of music online. Buy the album support the artist. Sooner or later Jack will teach you that if you are not already honest.

Mar 30, 2008 16:48:59

Previous Next