Album Review: The Raconteurs – Help Us Stranger (Third Man)

A mere 11 years after their previous album, The Raconteurs reconvene to bring us their third long player, Help Us Stranger.

Yes, Jack White, Brendan Benson, Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence managed to all get themselves together at Third Man Studios in Nashville long enough to whip up these dozen new tracks.

The reunion was a success, as they are now on a worldwide tour, having visited New Zealand just a couple of months ago. The six new songs I heard at The Powerstation gave an indication that this was going to be an album full of good-time rockers, and that’s mostly what we have here.

Bored And Razed kicks things off with a typical crunchy guitar riff, some big crashing chords and Jack White’s familiar strangled voice, singing about “rolling a juke joint box in the corner”.  Brendan Benson chimes in on the chorus about a girl who is “California born and raised” with “plastic features and a perfect face”.

The tune encapsulates what The Raconteurs are all about perfectly…White’s off-kilter rock and roll traditionalism balanced by Benson’s love of melody, all anchored by a good dose of cynicism.

Help Me Stranger…the quasi-title track…follows with both Jack and Brendan singing in tandem. It’s another straight-ahead, unpretentious rocker, this one with a killer fuzz guitar solo.

But it’s not rockers from beginning to end.

Only Child is a moody little number…”Only child, sensitive soul, you see beauty in everything without ever being told. And it features, of all things, a synth solo.

Likewise, Shine The Light On Me, is a slower song, featuring piano and sounding more like something that might be found on a Jack White solo album.

I should point out that all twelve songs, save for the cover of Donovan’s Hey Gyp, were written either by the entire band or White and Benson.

This feels very much like a group effort, with all four musicians in the same room playing together.

At the same time, it is also very well crafted. You can hear the effort that has gone into the arrangements and the recording.

This wasn’t just thrown together to give the band something to promote on tour.

It’s also a lot of fun to listen to.

Check out Sunday Driver or Now That You’re Gone or Live A Lie…they all burst with energy…and if I had it on in my car, you can bet it would be loud.

While Jack White is no stranger to Zeppelin-style guitar riffs…and there are a number of them here…it’s the album’s final track, Thoughts And Prayers, that most recalls Page and friends. But it’s not a bone-crunching riff-fest, but rather a more pastoral version of the band, reflected here, namely the song Thank You, from Led Zeppelin II.

Overall, Help Us Stranger is a good, solid collection of strong guitar-based rock and roll songs, played and sung by musicians who sound like they are having a fine ‘ol time.

Marty Duda