Jack White is a man who clearly loves his music. Obviously, all musicians love their trade, but Jack White seems to take that love up to an obsession. Not only does he have his original and very successful band, The White Stripes, he also has his side projects, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. And I must say he takes up a sufficient amount of storage space on my personal iPod.

All three bands arguably have very different and unique sounds, within the rock and alternative rock genre. In this article, the main focus is the second album from the Raconteurs, named ’Consolers of the Lonely’.

The first album from the Raconteurs; Broken Boy Soldiers, had some decent tracks, with the title track and Steady As She Goes being the outstanding songs on that album. However, it was not overly impressive, with the latter half of the album becoming rather flat and lifeless. It was nowhere near as good as some of the albums released by the White Stripes.

With the release of the second Raconteurs album, you could say that the public wasn’t expecting all that much. However, what we were given is one of music’s true masterpieces. From the opening track; Consolers of the Lonely to the brilliant Rich Kid Blues near the end, we are gifted with a fantastic alternative rock album. Jack White’s raw vocals combined with Brendan Benson’s more mainstream sound create a unique and powerful sound.

There is no lull in the middle section like you can find in many other albums. If anything the pace is picked up through that section before calming down at the end again. There are some really great rock tracks in this album such as Old Enough and The Switch and the Spur. You Don’t Understand Me and Many Shades of Black provide the more emotional moments and are great tracks in their own right.

Whilst a third album is looking increasingly unlikely because of the other projects each of the members have right now, there is always the possibility that they might come back to the Raconteurs at some point and, if the second album is a sign of what could come on the third album, I’m sure I’m not the only one hoping for a reunion.