“Nothing in this world is free,” Jack White declares on the opening track of his surprise-released sixth solo album – branded as “No Name” on the disc and at least for our purposes now. Call it hubris or humor, mischievousness or muso conceit. White’s Third Man Records “released” the 13-track set on July 19 in an unmarked white sleeve, by slipping the vinyl set – yes, for free – into the bags of customers at its retail outlets in Nashville and White’s hometown of Detroit. An online post encouraged lucky recipients to “Rip It” and share the music with the rest of the world. No details, not even song titles, were revealed. (When contacted about the project, one company exec told UCR, “Not really sure what you’re talking about, but would be a great day to go and buy a record in the [Detroit] Cass corridor.”)
Coming off White’s ambitious couplet of albums in 2022 – Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive - “No Name” is a louder affair than the acoustic-based latter and somewhat more raw than the former, a record loaded with the kind of ferocious rock ‘n’ roll White’s fans do pine for. Its energy is unflagging, its dynamics explosive and, in spots, sophisticated and surprising.
His roots and influences – blues, garage rock, psychedelia, Led Zeppelin - are on its proverbial sleeve, recalling much of 2012’s Blunderbuss and its 2014 follow-up Lazaretto and, in spots, the White Stripes. The fusillade propels the beatnik street poetics of White’s lyrics (“Another holy roller trollin’ / So tell me how to stop this fool”), straddling the carnal and the philosophical; on Side One, Track 5 he even steps to the pulpit to declare, in an Eminem-flavored cadence, “God spoke to me / Said listen to me / I anoint you with the power that’ll get ’em all moving.” And on Side 2, Track 4 he tosses out sly quips such as “I’m back seat drivin’ when you’re driving me crazy / But I can’t drive a stick” and “I’m on a mission baby / I’m like a missionary / Put me in that position and I’ll make you miss me again.”
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“No Name” comes out of the gate with slinky blues-rock, ebbing and flowing with a big stomp (we’re betting on regular bassist Dominic Davis and drummer Daru Jones as the rhythm section, but White’s not saying) and tricky tempo shifts, with some keyboard colors popping up as the song goes along. White bellows – and invokes God again – over the heavy riffs and meaty grooves of Side One, Track Two, while Side One, Track Six and Side Two, Track Three are blazing punk assaults, the former with one of the album’s hottest guitar solos, while Side Two, Track Four has a smooth but galloping jam feel that steps apart from the rest of the album’s sonic histrionics.
Side Two’s opener marries AC/DC‘s “Highway to Hell” and the Rolling Stones‘ “Honky Tonk Women” into more chordal nirvana, and Side One, Track Five builds off a riff drawn from the ice and snow of Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.” Side One, Track Three makes use of clever vocal echo patterns, as does Side Two, Track Four, one of “No Name”‘s change-ups with its twangy roots feel and White’s cinematic slide guitar lines. The album closer, meanwhile, bookends its trippy, Zep-sourced Eastern-flavored vibe with the sounds of barking puppies. The surprising nature of “No Name” makes the ride exciting, but so does what’s in its (literal) grooves. We don’t know much about it, but it doesn’t take much to recognize this is White firing full-throttle and giving us the kind of album that’s made him arguably rock’s greatest 21st-century hero.
Jack White Albums Ranked
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff