The co-leader of The Raconteurs proves that he's the most retro influence in that group with this solo release. My Old, Familiar Friend is littered with pop elements straight from your 1970s A.M. radio. Whereas the Racs seems to take these pieces and fuse them with Jack's modern indie-rock brilliance, Brendan here stays all pop all the time.
It actually seems a little too specifically derivative at times. While all originals, "Eyes On The Horizon" for example, sounds like it was lifted off a Todd Rundgren album. "Gonowhere" sounds so much like Wings, that I think that he might be stealing a riff from Band On The Run.
The opening track, "A Whole Lot Better" employs an Attractions-like organ, but moves along on its own, and I can totally get behind the manic-mind-love tune lyrics. The similarly new wavey "Poised And Ready" should get your hipster party jumping.
The only modern sounding track is "Don't Wanna Talk". Unfortunately, it sounds like Brendan's version of an uptempo Shania Twain song. The only rocker of the bunch is the closer, "Borrow". So- overall, the album plays up the pop too much and has little to offer the average rock fan. If this is your bag, by all means, Have A Nice Day. (2.5 of 5 stars)
Being a big Jack White fan, I had to check out this new release. I admire his versatility and in the end, his songwriting skills. As Jack is taking more of a backseat on this release, focusing primarily on drums, I expect to like it proportionately.
First of all, I must make an up-front admission, as I am somewhat of a musical sexist. Eh- let's be honest, I'm an all-around sexist. But when it comes to chick singers, I just don't connect as well. If I'm trying to find something to connect to, sometimes chicks take away my ability to relate and I feel like I'm just another person watching. I dunno, but there's my disclaimer.
This album is definitely more of a jam than the tight songs of recent White Stripes or the harmony laced Raconteurs. It's deeper, swampier. The opener, "60 Feet Tall" and the instrumental, "3 Birds" even sounds like they're still trying to figure out the structure while playing it.
Jack is approaching the drums like he often approaches the guitar. With riffs. The beat that introduces "Hang You from the Heavens" is as awesome as the "The Rover" that inspired it. See below.
Oddly, being a Jack White fan, "I Cut Like A Buffalo", the one song that he wrote alone and sang is probably my least favorite.
As proven in the past, Jack loves his Dylan. This time, covering one of my favorites, "New Pony". DW jams it in their darker rock style, but those of us familiar with Dylan's street preacher swagger original will find this one a bit inferior.
In the end, the band cranks the Orange amplifiers, stomps the fuzz box and does a good job bringing a barn in Nashville to a dark bar in Detroit. My prejudice absolutely got the best of me, in the sense that while Alison's vocals are sometimes sexy, it rarely matches the dark passion that the fellas seem to be wanting to project. And the lyrics are too disjointed and vague to play a hand in keeping us grabbed. (3/5 stars)
