The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 03.25.2008

The Raconteurs quickly return with their sophomore album, Consolers of the Lonely, less than a month after finishing it. Can the band pull out another quality release in the vein of Broken Boy Soldiers?

The Band

Jack White-Vocal, Guitar, Synthesizers
Brendan Benson-Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
Jack Lawrence-Bass Guitar
Patrick Keeler-Drums, Percussion


The Track Listing

1. Consolers of the Lonely-3:26
2. Salute Your Solution-3:00
3. You Don’t Understand Me-4:54
4. Old Enough-3:57
5. The Switch and the Spur-4:26
6. Hold Up-3:26
7. Top Yourself-4:25
8. Many Shades of Black-4:25
9. Five on the Five-3:32
10. Attention-3:41
11. Pull This Blanket Off-1:59
12. Rich Kid Blues-4:34
13. These Stones Will Shout-3:53
14. Carolina Drama-5:55





The Review

It’s not everyday that an album literally comes out of thin air in the music industry. After just finishing the album earlier this month, The Raconteurs released a statement last week saying that the album was coming out soon…as in next week. To say that it shocked and surprised people in the industry would be an understatement. With no single, no promotion, or video, the band took a chance and rushed the process to get their album out in less than a month.

It’s an innovative step for The Raconteurs, the rock super group famous for having Jack White of The White Stripes fame involved. It was originally suppose to be a side project for White, at least that was the plan going into the release of Broken Boy Soldiers, the band’s debut album. The Raconteurs got more and more popular and what was once a side project became a full time deal for the four members. In less than two years, the band recorded another album and that’s where we are right now.

Consolers of the Lonely is an album that shows The Raconteurs expanding their sound greatly. While Broken Boy Soldiers was mainly shorter songs with some Middle Eastern and Blues influences here and there, Consolers of the Lonely has the band performing longer songs and adding some bite to their sound. The rock songs are more in the vein of hard rock, with power chords and solos being integral to White and Benson’s playing. The melodic songs use everything from acoustic guitars to a whole horn section.

When the band gets going and turns the volume up, it sounds like a whole different band. “Five on the Five,” which was played live during their tour last year, is the heaviest song that the band has ever done. The riffs fly by and there is a brilliant solo section that has a late 70’s feel to it. The opening title track will surprise fans of the first album expecting more of the same and the next track continues the more upbeat and heavy sound the band is displaying.

It’s not all hard rock though. The band also shows a more melodic side, even invoking memories of Led Zeppelin and other contemporary 70’s bands throughout. “Old Enough” and “Top Yourself” wouldn’t be out of place on Led Zeppelin III, with its heavy use of acoustic guitar, violins, and the organ. The last half of the album uses the acoustic instruments in a more prevalent matter; “These Stones Will Shout” sounding like the band is jamming in a circle with nothing more than a microphone in the middle of them, and “Carolina Drama” being a perfect bluesy ending to the album.

There are some moments where the old Raconteur sound comes out (“Attention” and their cover of Terry Reid’s “Rich Kid Blues”), but the best moments of the album are where the band just lets loose and plays a unique blend of rock and blues with some Southern rock added in for good measure. The only misstep on the album is “Pull This Blanket Off,” which is a short country song that seems a bit rushed to me. I would have like to have seen the song, which features fantastic piano work, evolve into something a bit longer.

The whole band shines throughout Consolers of the Lonely, with Jack White stepping out of the limelight from time to time to let Lawrence leads his way into the next section of the song or for Keeler to play some well-timed and tasteful fills. White and Benson have improved greatly, not only on guitar, but on the vocals, which they both share duties. They both work off each other well and while White does get the majority time, Benson makes sure to get his fair share in.

Listening to Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs sound more focused and the chemistry between the band members is through the roof. Personally, I thought their debut was decent, but nothing special. However, Consolers of the Lonely just grabbed my attention out of nowhere and is one of my favorite albums of this year so far. Fans of the first album may be surprised by what they hear, and some may even not like the new direction the band is going in, but rock fans that don’t mind a bit of the blues in their music will want to pick up Consolers of the Lonely.

The 411: Consolers of the Lonely is the surprise of the year so far. The change in sound from their debut to this album can't be understated. The album rocks harder than the debut and the blues influence comes shining through on most of the tracks. If Broken Boy Soldiers was in the vein of 60's pop, then Consolers of the Lonely is the band wearing their 70's influences on their sleeves. I can't recommend Consolers of the Lonely enough; it has the potential to be in my top ten list at the end of the year.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]