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Formed around the core of old friends Jack White of the White Stripes and fellow Detroit musician Brendan Benson, The Raconteurs’ debut album Broken Boy Soldiers sees White playing apart from his "sister"-muse Meg for the first time in almost a decade. Backed up by a rhythm section of Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler of The Greenhornes, who Jack previously enlisted to play on Loretta Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose, this is a grit-under-the-fingernails rock offering, but with an ear for eclecticism that brings to mind classic rock touchstones from the Beatles’ Revolver to Led Zep’s Physical Graffiti. "Steady As She Goes" is a catchy, robust rock opener that bears resemblance to the Stripes’ choppy garage-rock minimalism, but before long, The Raconteurs are writing their own brief, White and Benson weaving Lennon-McCartney style vocal harmonies on the likes of "Hands" and "Together", or summoning up a clamourous sense of runaway-train doom on the White-sung "Broken Boy Soldier". It’s sturdy and enjoyable, in a familiar sort of way, but the eccentric "Intimate Secretary" ("This ringing in my ears won’t stop/I’ve got a red Japanese teapot") aside, it lacks the offbeat eccentricity and one-of-a-kind chemistry that makes the Stripes unique. --Louis Pattison
From the Label
The Raconteurs are a new band made up of old friends, consisting of Jack Lawrence (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), Brendan Benson (guitars, vocals, keys) and Jack White (guitars, vocals, keys). The seed was sewn in an attic in the middle of a hot summer when friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote a song that truly inspired them. This song was "Steady, As She Goes" and the inspiration led to the creation of a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. While each of these four individuals have had successful careers with their own bands, the culmination of all of their talents is what truly makes The Raconteurs a force to be reckoned with.
The quartet convened at Benson's East Grand Studio to lay down the basic tracks for Broken Boy Soldiers. Work would continue whenever the boys could get together over the next year. The band is now, for its members, all consuming and they now present themselves to be consumed, or at best simply heard.
From the ready-made, radio-friendly quality built into songs like "Steady, As She Goes", to the explosive tenacity of "Store Bought Bones", all the way down to the "hits the cockles of your heart" lullabies that encompass the full length recording, The Raconteurs are more than capable of conquering any genre challenge or tale that they encounter. After all, a raconteur is, by definition, a deft storyteller. And now a new story is unfolding.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After listening to this album straight through twice, I can honestly say that it lives up to the expectations I had after listening to the single and bits and pieces on the radio. It's fantastic, ranging in texture from rough (Hands, Level) through stippled (Yellow Sun) to satin (Together) The Raconterus have definitely not fallen over on this release.
Superb.
Superb.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Wow, we all love the White Stripes and especially Jack White's infectious and ground breaking idea's with music, I am fortunate to have already listened several times to Broken Boy Soldiers. This album truly takes him on another level (those who thought that possible after elephant?) To me the collaboration with already established band members has given Jack an added incentive to push the envelope further. His harmonies with Brendan are wonderful, this isn't just a Jack White showcase though, the influences are throughout from each individual member. Blue Veins being an old fashioned blues basher, Hands a decent late Beatles homeage and Yellow Sun wouldn't go amiss on any classic rock summer compilation. Each song is in a different style which only adds to the exquisite composition of the whole. This is THE album of 2006 and will be appreciated in time as one of the greatest ever recorded pieces of loveliness.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Welcome to the 21st-century's first notable supergroup: The Raconteurs. With members of the White Stripes and the Greenhornes, debut album "Broken Boy Soldiers" has a LOT to live up to.
And it's definitely a satisfying result -- rawer than the Greenhornes, more expansive than the White Stripes. The Raconteurs turn out solid, rough-edged rock'n'roll tunes and 60s-style guitar pop without leaning too much on any style. No grandstanding, not even a frontman. Just solid, unpretentious rock'n'roll.
It starts off with the slow burn and catchy rhythms of "Steady as She Goes," which orders you to "Find yourself a girl and settle down/Live a simple life in a quiet town." But over the blasts of guitar and grinding spurts, Brendan Benson wails, "But no matter what you do/You'll always feel as though you tripped and fell... Steady as she goes, are you steady now?"
The Raconteurs continue the solid guitar rock for a little while, but it's interrupted by the title track. It starts off as a galloping Middle-Eastern track, and soon Jack White is blasting through the song Robert-Plant-style. It's White's turn to shine, but he soon turns the spotlight back on his bandmates.
After that, the band starts to experiment even more: wailing bluesy rock with a lo-fi edge, ponderous bass-rock that seems to be experimenting with itself, claustrophobic whirlwinds, and even a bit of Beatlesy pop with the enchanting "Together." The album winds down gradually to a pensive alt-rock note, and you can almost picture the tired musicians wrapping up the day's work.
"Broken Toy Soldiers" is exactly what it appears to be -- solid, enjoyable rock music, without any gimmicks beyond the musicians themselves. Brendan Benson and his bandmates reaffirm their underrated musical skills, and Jack White proves he's more than a talented guy in a red, white and black outfit.
Just don't listen to "Broken Boy Soldiers" so you can pick out the musical influences. They blend almost seamlessly -- almost because some of the songs lean too heavily one way or another, which makes them stick out of the whole. Not bad, but a little distracting. However, the Raconteurs at their best have a solid, fast-paced, slightly unpolished sound.
The music is absolutely exploding with spare instrumentation: flexible electric guitar that can dance, strum or explode, and some equally intense blasts of murky bass. There's a bit of keyboard adding a surreal edge to songs like "Store Bought Bones." And finally, Patrick Keeler's drums run under every song, keeping them well grounded.
The Raconteurs make a solid debut with "Broken Boy Soldiers," with its unpolished, nimble rock sound. This is what a supergroup should sound like.
And it's definitely a satisfying result -- rawer than the Greenhornes, more expansive than the White Stripes. The Raconteurs turn out solid, rough-edged rock'n'roll tunes and 60s-style guitar pop without leaning too much on any style. No grandstanding, not even a frontman. Just solid, unpretentious rock'n'roll.
It starts off with the slow burn and catchy rhythms of "Steady as She Goes," which orders you to "Find yourself a girl and settle down/Live a simple life in a quiet town." But over the blasts of guitar and grinding spurts, Brendan Benson wails, "But no matter what you do/You'll always feel as though you tripped and fell... Steady as she goes, are you steady now?"
The Raconteurs continue the solid guitar rock for a little while, but it's interrupted by the title track. It starts off as a galloping Middle-Eastern track, and soon Jack White is blasting through the song Robert-Plant-style. It's White's turn to shine, but he soon turns the spotlight back on his bandmates.
After that, the band starts to experiment even more: wailing bluesy rock with a lo-fi edge, ponderous bass-rock that seems to be experimenting with itself, claustrophobic whirlwinds, and even a bit of Beatlesy pop with the enchanting "Together." The album winds down gradually to a pensive alt-rock note, and you can almost picture the tired musicians wrapping up the day's work.
"Broken Toy Soldiers" is exactly what it appears to be -- solid, enjoyable rock music, without any gimmicks beyond the musicians themselves. Brendan Benson and his bandmates reaffirm their underrated musical skills, and Jack White proves he's more than a talented guy in a red, white and black outfit.
Just don't listen to "Broken Boy Soldiers" so you can pick out the musical influences. They blend almost seamlessly -- almost because some of the songs lean too heavily one way or another, which makes them stick out of the whole. Not bad, but a little distracting. However, the Raconteurs at their best have a solid, fast-paced, slightly unpolished sound.
The music is absolutely exploding with spare instrumentation: flexible electric guitar that can dance, strum or explode, and some equally intense blasts of murky bass. There's a bit of keyboard adding a surreal edge to songs like "Store Bought Bones." And finally, Patrick Keeler's drums run under every song, keeping them well grounded.
The Raconteurs make a solid debut with "Broken Boy Soldiers," with its unpolished, nimble rock sound. This is what a supergroup should sound like.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unique and original for it's time, but lacks a certain something...
At first listening to this album I was somewhat unsure of it's appeal. I really like The White Stripes but couldn't really get to grips with it. Read more
Published 23 months ago by A.Lee
Love it
Top album, second one is also very good
standout tracks are 'steady as she goes' and 'yellow sun'
standout tracks are 'steady as she goes' and 'yellow sun'
Published on 26 Jan 2010 by K. Cross
And they're even better live
I first saw The Raconteurs in 2006 in a small venue in Edinburgh more for the chance to see Jack White than the band and didn't even own this album, but was entirely won over by... Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2009 by caitlin
a listening must have
After loving the White strips i thought that i would give the Raconteurs a try, and i'm so glad i did!! Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2009 by C. Haysom
fantastic
This album is amazing. It's not the white stripes so don't compare it to them, just listen and make up your own mind. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2008 by D. Revell
Sure to be classic album
The more I listen to this album, the more derivative it sounds, but the music is so good, who cares? Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2007 by Love Books
Great Fun - No More No Less
The Raconteurs is a side-project; a break from the day job for four established musicians, most notably Jack White. Read more
Published on 20 July 2007 by D. Newton
Heard it all before.
This album has musical shades of the late Beatles, prog rock and '70s Bowie. That should be a great thing, yeah? Not in this case. Read more
Published on 18 July 2007 by bigdrunkpunk
Not a duff track on it.
A lot of people seem to be saying "better than the White Stripes". I'm not really sure about that. It's just less blues-based, less stripped-down and probably as a result, more... Read more
Published on 6 July 2007 by Neil
It doesn't sound broken
The White Stripes with a better drummer reviews are a bit unfair, this is completely different affair from the White Stripes, a more poppy filled out sound that should be judged on... Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2007 by C. Mcsloy
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