Rock and roll fans at The Truth in Nashville got a real treat last Saturday night. They were there to see Jack White and Bully, but they got a little extra. After playing an 18-song main set mixing White Stripes songs, White solos, and one tip of the cap to Loretta Lynn, White brought out some friends for an encore.
Brendan Benson and Jack Lawrence took the stage with guitar and bass in hand. Drummer Patrick Keeler was already there, as he routinely tours with White’s solo band. Together, White, Benson, Lawrence, and Keeler are the Raconteurs.
If that name means nothing to you, don’t feel too bad. They haven’t played together in seven years. And their 2019 album release came after an eleven-year hiatus.
Fans hope a Raconteurs reunion means more new music is on the way
The Raconteurs, which formed as a side project for both White and Benson, have only released three albums. Their first two – Broken Boy Soldiers (2006) and Consolers of the Lonely (2007) hit the top ten in both the US and UK. They were nominated for a few Grammys and claimed one statuette.
Help Us Stranger came out eleven years later and landed at Number 1 on the Billboard charts. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the Raconteurs.
I wasn’t at The Truth. I can’t give you a firsthand account. The people I know who were there confirm it was pretty special, and a couple of videos floating around online seem to bear that out.
White and Benson played five of their old songs. “Easy as She Goes” (their debut single), “Hands,” “Level,” and “Broken Boy Soldier” are from their first album. They closed with “Carolina Drama,” an intense, bluesy melodrama from Consolers of the Lonely.
OK – now you have the back story. Here’s the part that remains unknown.
Does this reunion signal a fourth album is in the works? All we know now is that Broken Boy Soldier is getting a reissue in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The album sounds intriguing. As a fan of the band – and especially that first album – I may buy it. Three vinyl discs with a lot of live recordings, outtakes, and demos – the holy trinity of reissues.
It’s all well and good. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be putting this out there for fans who may want it.
I’m just saying … I mean, wouldn’t we all really just prefer new music from the Raconteurs?
I won’t go into the details of “edition” culture. You can spend two seconds searching online and get plenty of think pieces about the 21st-century avalanche of reissues. Taylor Swift has figured out a very profitable way to monetize remixes, though I personally have never felt the need to buy one.
I just don’t like it. The overwhelming majority of material released in this manner - be it a reissue or a remix - isn’t very good. But artists will sneak one essential track onto an otherwise mediocre disc to make it a requirement for fans.
This exactly mirrors the earliest days of rock and roll, when albums were merely a secondary sales stream for singles. Two hits and filler, and labels could get fans to shell out additional cash.
The cycle from those early days to album-oriented rock and then back to singles culture became something of a streaming necessity. Again, I’ll leave it to others to debate the pros (few) and cons (many).
I’ll just repeat: I want new music from the Raconteurs. I don’t want one previously vaulted single released with a messy live B-side. I want an entire album of mostly original material. White and Benson usually serve up an interesting cover or two. No objection there.
Now, there is reason for hope if you are the hopeful type. Back in 2018, the Raconteurs reissued Consolers of the Lonely for its tenth anniversary. It was a fairly standard project, containing two new songs to go along with the 14 from the original release.
A year later, Help Us Stranger arrived. It was one of the best rock and roll albums of 2019. So maybe the reunion at The Truths and the Broken Boy Soldier reissue are harbingers of something new.
It’s hard to be too critical of Jack White. The man puts out plenty of music. Between solo work, the White Stripes, and various side projects (including the Raconteurs), I count 19 albums since 1999. That’s a remarkable pace in this day and age.
The cool thing about the Raconteurs is that it is genuinely a collab with Benson. White voice is clear throughout, but so is Benson’s, and it does create a sound that is a bit different from what you may expect from Jack White.
Look – I’m old. I don’t like director’s cuts of movies that add 42 new seconds. I don’t care much for reissues of classic albums. (Remixes are a different beast. I may think there are too many of them as well, but at least I accept the rationale.)
So I may or may not buy Broken Boy Soldier XX. (That’s the anniversary edition name.) But if Jack and Brendan want to put a brand-new album out there, I promise I’m buying that one and then catching whatever tour they stage in support.
I’ll even buy a tee shirt.
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