Jack White’s G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs: Old School Blues Rock Isn’t Dead

From the early days of the White Stripes, Jack White’s mission statement is to fly the flag of guitar rock. He and Meg made guitar driven blues rock with their pioneering lo-fi sound cool in the early 2000s. It sounded like they were recording rock songs with a tape recorder from Radio Shack. Even though this changed music in the 2000s, we heard this sound before in bands like Urge Overkill and blues masters like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and of course B.B. King. After the White Stripes broke up, Jack would float around on different projects and started Third Man Records. This seemed to rejuvenate his love of rock and he was the rock evangelist brining his guitar far and wide to heal the masses….he even brought rock guitar and organ to Beyoncé.

Now he is back with a straight blues rock record with his latest release Frozen Charlotte. The opening track lets you know what you’re in for. It kicks off with some of the deepest crunch and blues organ you ever heard. Percussion is kicking and then the music stops to clear room for White’s raw blues guitar solo to tear the song apart…complete with an echo effect that sounds like he’s recording in a church. The music itself is very traditional rock. You have your classic 4/4 on the floor with gaps for guitar solos, bass solos and a drum solo….which I thought was extinct. In a lot of ways, this track is like when a deep sea fisherman catches Coelacanth after you thought it has been extinct for like 35,000 years. You didn’t think music was made like this anymore until this magical track appeared from the depths.

Jack’s vocal and themes are what you expect. He is at his most emotional, raw and powerful in this track. He is part Muddy Waters and part traveling evangelist. For someone whose vocal is so soaked in rock, it is very soulful. His quick staccato verses follow religious and spiritual themes, which is similar to his work with the White Stripes. However, the power is not in the lyrics, but is in White’s vocal delivery and unbridled rock power. You feel like he is recording this entire track at Sun Records in one sweaty whiskey filled take. Just such a great vocal.

This is a modern rock album to end all rock albums. Even though the album itself is throwing back to rock and blues of the 50’s and late 60s, it has a freshness about it. I think it is White’s vocal commitment and musical honesty that continues to make such a traditional structure seem new each time you hear it. I mean, he brought these same aesthetics to Lemonade and helped make it Beyoncé’s best record. This track for all the traditional rock fans out there and really for everyone who loves music.

Listen to G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs