Jack White: Entering Heaven Alive (Third Man) ★★★★☆
It can be hard to keep up with Jack White. He is an artist who bears comparison to Neil Young and Prince, near-volcanic fonts of creativity from whom extraordinary music seems to pour out ceaselessly. In the 21 years since he first raised his head above the cultural parapet in 1999, White has released 17 albums solo or with original duo The White Stripes and side bands The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
He also runs his own archival label, Third Man, where he regularly mints one-off singles (pressed at his own dedicated vinyl plant) and has written and produced for an eclectic array of artists including Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson, and been involved in assorted collaborations with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Beck, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan and Insane Clown Posse. Dedicated fans could spend their lives feasting on his output. For the less committed, the question becomes which of his many albums are worth focusing on.
Entering Heaven Alive is White’s second release this year, following three months behind the hard-rocking and experimentally bold Fear of the Dawn. The two albums were originally conceived as one wildly eclectic double, Jack White’s own take on The Beatles’ sprawling White album (apparently the first album he ever bought on vinyl as a teenager, and still an all-time favourite). But White couldn’t find a way to sequence all his disparate musical threads, likening it to putting a Miles Davis record in the middle of an Iron Maiden one, with results that were “jarring” rather than “flowing”. He elected to split them instead.
Indeed, the albums could not be less alike. Fear of the Dawn was a noisy, challenging progression of the White Stripes frenetic rock attack, whilst Entering Heaven Alive represents something new in White’s canon, a wordy, acoustic-flavoured, Seventies-style singer-songwriter set. As such, it may not be his most compelling record, but it could prove his most accessible.
Although on the gentler end of White’s wide musical spectrum, this collection of philosophical, melodic songs is not as stripped back as it might first appear. Indeed, the more bucolic aspects of The Beatles would be a fair reference. White’s intricately picked or lustily strummed acoustic guitars are born aloft on spacious arrangements often featuring striking piano hooks. Eruptions of organ and drums stir a Zeppelinesque drama to All Along the Way, whilst the influence of Page and Plant remains tangible amidst the dubby groove of I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love), a voodoo blues with a crustily distorting electric solo.
The jazzy swing of Queen of the Bees and chirpy Help Me Along interpret roots music with the baroque pop stylings of early Bowie and Rolling Stones. There’s a Dylan-ish streak to the twisting guitar ruminations of Love Is Selfish and steady rolling Tree on Fire from Within, whilst White spins down alleys of flippant wordplay on the delightful Madman from Manhattan, coasting on a burbling, jazzy, funky bass and dazzling piano, which sounds like Bill Withers and Gil Scott-Heron at a beatnik poetry slam.
Lyrics throughout are infused with romantic positivity, presumably reflecting White’s state of mind leading up to his onstage proposal and marriage to fellow musician Olivia Jean during a concert at Detroit Masonic Temple earlier this year. Entering Heaven Alive may not be his most ground-breaking album and won’t entirely satisfy those who come for the great White guitar wail. But this master musician really sounds like he’s enjoying himself with results that are pretty heavenly. Neil McCormick
