The Raconteurs - "Consoler of the Lonely" & "Carolina Drama" (2008)

The Raconteurs are a musical supergroup of sorts comprising Jack White of the White Stripes, solo artist Brendan Benson and two members of the band the Greenhornes. Their first album Broken Boy Soldiers was released in 2006 to some critical acclaim. The first single “Steady As She Goes” saw significant airplay on radio and TV, but my favorite track was probably “Level,” guitar driven song with great back and forth vocals by both White and Benson. The band just released their second album Consolers of the Lonely. The coolest part about this release is that the band only announced its existence a week before it came out. Usually there is a several months long marketing campaign building up the release of an album. Advance copies are given to radio and journalists and more often than not the album gets out on the web before the release date. The Raconteurs circumvented that by not giving anyone the chance to get before hand, and there was no long wait. When you think about it, it’s kind of arbitrary to have to wait three months to hear a record on the release date when it’s already mastered and ready to go. I have to say I like the way this album release was handled. Now to the music. Consolers of the Lonely is a much more raucous effort than Broken Boy Soldiers. The one-two punch of the title track and first single “Salute Your Solution” right out of the gate is enough to have anyone hooked on the amazing guitar skills of the band. This is just pure rock and roll. While Benson lends his vocals to much of the album, it is quite clear that most of the music is White’s handiwork. There are some slower moments like the bluesy “Top Yourself” and there’s some Latin influence on the horn parts of “The Switch and the Spur.” The album weaves its way through thirteen great tracks that culminate in the amazing closer “Carolina Drama.” This song is quite comparable to “The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia” with it’s tale of murder and deceit in the South. It’s a perfect closer to a great record. I equally love “Consoler of the Lonely” and “Carolina Drama” so it was hard to choose which one to feature, so I give you both of them. Here is the first track and the last track from Consolers of the Lonely. Now you should go check out the whole thing.

The Raconteurs - "Consoler of the Lonely"


The Raconteurs - "Carolina Drama"