Customer Reviews

Broken Boy Soldiers

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This CD may not change your life. It may not be the greatest thing your ears have ever happened upon. But, it's a lot of fun. And sometimes I think we forget that one of the best things about music is the smile it puts on our faces. I really enjoy listening to this CD. Period. No comparisons needed, no deep, profound thoughts about whether or not it is better, same or worse than anything . . . it's fun. These people make good music. So stop the internal dialogue right there. Remember that it's okay to enjoy yourselves sometimes. Really.

This album clocks in at just under 34 minutes but when the half hour is this good, it's hard to complain.
The versatility that Jack White continues to show year after year is almost mind boggling. From the early White Stripes albums to "Candy Cane Children" to Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" to the music from COLD MOUNTAIN to "Get Behind Me Satan" to The Raconteurs, you just never know what he's going to do next. You can count on two things though: it will not be a copy of what he's done before and it will be quality music.
I believe he's the best composer and best musician in rock music today (and will be tomorrow).
The Raconteurs debut album is 10 infectious tracks that have a timeless quality. Sometimes it sounds as if this album could have been made in 1973, or 1979, or 1982, or 1990, yet it sounds very contemporary too. Instead of fronting the band, Jack's style is incorporated into a group of incredibly talented performers. The last track "Blue Veins" is one of the best songs from any of White's projects.
When there's so much insignificant music being made these days, it's good to know you can put your trust in Jack.

The Raconteurs may not be as eclectic as the White Stripes but with Jack White's fingerprints all over this supergroup consisting of White, singer/songwriter Brendon Benson and two Greenhornes (Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence)comparisons are sure to abound. Benson and White have gone on the record to say that this is Detroit's answer to Nirvana's "Nevermind"; it's at least a couple of solid songs short of that lofty standard but for a debut album it certainly holds it's own.

Allready the group has had a name change forced upon them as there is a jazz band with the same name in Australia so they will be known as the Saboteur's downunder. That aside it has been smooth sailing for the foursome all whom have been doing exactly as they please in their musical ventures and yet managed to mesh together to the extent that you can sense everyone had their say in the way Broken Boy Soldiers sounds.

While all members of The Raconteurs may have been born equal, turns out that some are more equal than others. Because it's the songs that sound most like Jack that really soar: the piano/bass/cymbal heavy Blue Veins, or the astounding Broken Boy Soldiers far outshine the Benson penned jangle of Together or Call it a day.

Steady as she goes will garner a lot of airplay and is reminicent of sixties pop, it's also as catchy as the Bird-flu. This was the song that got the project of the ground when White and Benson got togther to write in Bensons attic.

If you heard Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" album then you will be familar with the Greenhorne's who Jack hired to work on that album, they also had/have the gig opening for the White Stripes.
Patrick Keeler plays like he want's to murder his snare and is a stark contrast to the drum-how-you-feel loseness of Meg that Jack is accustomed too.

In fact Jack sound's (and in publicity snippets he looks) as if he's having a ball and is a lot looser himself than the Jack White of late who broods onstage with the Stripe's. Maybe it's that he has freed himself from the self imposed white and red constraints of the Stripes, maybe it's because he like's hanging out with the boys for a change. He certainly seems to be invigorated and this can only bode well for future albums wether they be Stripes, Raconteurs or Saboteurs.

I never thought much of Jack White and was prepared to write this off as hipster hype, but you just can't deny the pure unadulterated Zeppelinesque rock on this disc. Maybe it helps having a drummer who knows that there's more on the kit than a kick drum? Anyways, I stand corrected. Icky Thump isn't that bad either, now that I think about it.

Supergroup? I don't know about that label. Jack White is pretty well known but the rest I'd barely heard of even though I am a music junkie. While calling the Raconteurs a supergroup may be a bit of a stretch, their debut Broken Boy Soldiers provides the kind of good basic indie rock that many music lovers yearn for.
Clocking in at just over a half-hour long, BBS reminds you of one of the worst aspects of vinyl:brevity. But there are just enough memorable songs here that you won't feel cheated after you listen. My favorite is the slow-rocking Blue Veins but I am also partial to Steady As She Goes, Broken Boy Soldier, Level, and Store Bought Bones.
Few bands play interesting yet straightforward rock and roll these days. The Raconteurs is one that does. If you like bands like Spoon, the Arctic Monkeys, and The Hold Steady then this may be for you.

i love the white stripes, love the greenhornes, and love bredan benson's album "lapalco," however; when i heard about this album involving all three outfits, i, for some reason, was indifferent. was not going to get the thing. call me kooky. but then i saw that mojo magazine (my all-time favorite rock magazine) picked this as the best album of 2006, and "Q" magazine selected it as the 13th best album of the year. so okay, i better get it. and i did. and good thing i did, too. it's a fantastic contemporary rock album. surprisingly, given the history of the stripes and greenhornes, there is little to no blues or garage rock here. just loads of good old rock. "broken boy soldier," is a led zepplinish rocker, "level" and "blue veins" most sound like something from the last white stripes album, while "store bought bones" is a fantastic psychedelia rocker. "yellow sun" sounds like a modern small faces number. "together" is a terrific ballad. "call it a day," is the only mediocre track on the disc. all else is choice material. very glad i came around on purchasing this. now i look forward to more from this same outfit of fine musicians.

Ive been pumped about this release since i first heard Jack White would be teaming with Brenden Benson about a year ago. Upon hearing it i must say im a little dissapointed, not because this is a bad record, but because my expectations were so high. The album is short and sweet, which makes for a smooth enjoyable listen, but for as good as song writers as White and Benson are, this album is lacking. There some bright spots, Broken Boy Solider might be the coolest song White has recorded since White Blood Cells, Steady As She Goes is good too, Intimate Secretary has some cool things going on. There are just too many mediocre songs for such a short album. Hands is an enjoyable listen, but i cant help but think im listening to Radiohead's The Bends (the song not the album) everytime i hear that opening guitar riff. Together is another enjoyable listen, but uses a pretty standard chord progression, which from a song writing perspective, seems like taking the easy way out. The lyrics leave something to be desired as well. Steady As She Goes and Broken Boy Solider are the only songs that are interesting lyrically. Im not one to discredit an album do to unintersting lyrics, I usually look at good lyrics as an added bonus to a good song, but Benson, who is a clever lyricist, seems to have gotten lazy with his songs. Lines like "can we call it a day, now would that be okay" or "Yellow sun is shining in the afternoon" Both just seem like lame ways to start off songs. It'd be one thing to sneack boring lines like that in the middle of the song where they'd go less noticed, but to open songs like that just says to me that he wasnt giving it his all.

If your a die hard Jack White and/or Brendon Benson fan, then you probably already have this one, if your a casual White or Benson fan than i would reccomend having one of your die hard White Stripes fan friends burn it for you.

Intially, I was on the fence. I was never much for Mr. Benson, but I've been a huge White Stripes fan for years. The thought of Jack White with a full band excited me and scared me at the same time.

The result is mixed. Upon my first listen, I wasn't sure what to make of the album when it ended. Today, I also am unsure of what to make of it. It seems inconsistent, but never bad. There are some true standouts (Steady, Hands, Store-Bought Bones) but there's a lot I wouldn't think much of by comparison.

Still, it's a solid release. Definitely not the worst album of 2006

I get mixed feelings listening to this CD, but I'm not sure if it's because I have to shake the crisp, clean sound of Jack White back in The White Stripes and just get used to the rawer, group sound of Raconteurs, or if there really is just something lacking to this disc. Songs like "Hands" and "Steady As She Goes" are quite phenomenal, but overall I get the feeling at times that the members of this group have stepped backwards from their respective progress as Greenehornes and White Stripes and have taken some shelter in trying to sound like a newbie band starting out. The problem is that none of them are newbies, so the expectations are a little higher.

And that is where the confusion comes in, because I normally like the taste of raw and up-and-coming. So why do I expect otherwise from this group?

I will admit that perhaps I just need to get over the history and background of this group and just get into the music. As I said before, a lot of good stuff on here. Maybe I just need to mix these tracks into my iPod so I can just listen to the songs as songs and not the overall sense of an album.

Confession: I do not like the White Stripes. I mean, I like music with some rough edges but there's something just too primitive about the Stripes that leaves me cold. Even so, every now and then you'd get glimpses of things that made it apparent that Jack White was a capable and versatile musician and his work on Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" brought that point home even more.

Which brings us to Jack's newest project, The Raconteurs. Teaming up with fellow Detroiter, pop guy Brendan Benson, White has assembled what amounts to a 2006 version of The Kinks or Small Faces. That is to say what we have here is a pop/rock band with all of the classic ingredients: great songwriting, hooks galore, a solid rhythm section, inventive arrangements and two capable lead vocalists.

To be sure, there are plenty of rough edges and quirky sonic jimcrackery but they are always just one of numerous elements and never distract from the song. Maybe this is Benson's pop sensibilities tempering White's noisy asides or maybe not but the end result is a CD that is interesting and fun to listen to and, really, what else matters?

The opening track "Steady As She Goes" sounds fantastic and refreshing on the radio. A few more bands and releases like this and maybe rock can be revived from its current comatose state.

By the way, the CD is exactly the right length.