Album Review: Jack White, Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016

This is a collection of 26 songs spanning 18 years of Jack White’s career, comprising album tracks, B-sides, remixes, alternate versions and previously unreleased material. Putting to the test that old adage about a song only being good if it can be played on an acoustic guitar, White for the most part comes up trumps.

Anyone who has followed his trajectory from the White Stripes through the Raconteurs, and up to his recent solo albums, will have many of these songs already. Untangled, washed and freshly starched it may be – but this is old rope nonetheless.

Presented in chronological order and featuring the previously unreleased ‘City Lights’, the tracks on CD1 are all culled from the White Stripes catalogue. CD2, meanwhile, is comprised of Raconteurs and solo output, and opens with a genuine curio in ‘Love Is The Truth’, which was originally recorded for a Coca Cola commercial.

Incorporating a variety of 20th century musical styles including folk, bluegrass, country and cajun, White strives constantly for a dusty, down-home, front-porch authenticity. From the plaintive ‘You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket’ to the playful ‘Well It’s True That We Love One Another’, a duet with Holly Golightly, the singer keens and howls convincingly. The emphasis is always on a direct simplicity, never straying far from the tried and tested verse-chorus-verse formula.

Arguably it’s the sort of compilation a fan with a couple of hours to spare might make – but buying this will save them the trouble.

Album is out now!