Consolers of the Lonely

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Consolers of the Lonely
Consolers of the Lonely cover
Studio album by The Raconteurs
Released March 25, 2008
Recorded February 2008 Blackbird Recording Studio D, Nashville TN
Genre Alternative rock, Blues rock
Length 55:30
Label Third Man Records/
Warner Bros. Records
Producer Jack White III and Brendan Benson
Professional reviews
The Raconteurs chronology
Broken Boy Soldiers
(2006)		 Consolers of the Lonely
(2008)

Consolers of the Lonely is the second album of The Raconteurs. It was released on March 25, 2008 on Warner Bros. Records in most parts of the world, and a day earlier on XL Recordings in the UK.[1]

The band did no promotion before the album's release, and its existence was only confirmed a week before. Even so, the record was accidentally leaked by iTunes, and some fans managed to purchase the album early.[2] It is available on all formats including CD, vinyl, and MP3. A video for the first single from the album, "Salute Your Solution" was released on the same day.

Contents

[edit] Background

The band premiered "Five on the Five" during their last tour.[citation needed]

Consolers of the Lonely consists of recordings undertaken in February 2008, which means the sessions that the band did in March 2007 before the Icky Thump tour weren't used.[citation needed] The title of the record comes from the inscription in the side of a Washington, D.C. post office written by Charles William Eliot,[3] which reads in full:

Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarger of the common life.[4]

[edit] Release

According to the band, the album was finished during the first week in March and was released less than three weeks later.[5] For a band of their stature, the release of Consolers of the Lonely with no promotion was highly unorthodox. Music critics and commentators largely saw it as a way to eschew critics and deal directly with fans.[6] The Observer called it "one of the most exciting musical events of 2008."[7] Despite the already rapid release time and efforts to secure the date, the record was briefly available for purchase on iTunes Friday, March 21.[8]

[edit] Response

[edit] Critical

Critique of Consolers of the Lonely was largely positive; much of it centered on the chaotic sound and diverse nature of the album as well as its reminecense to albums by Led Zeppelin and The Who.[9][4] According to The Toronto Star, "White's bent Americana and Benson's British invasion-isms yields wonderfully unpredictable results".[10] The Observer called the album "lively" and said it "finds [the Raconteurs] luxuriating in fancy stuff with kid-in-a-sweetshop enthusiasm. Minimalism is out, bombast is in; the detail, is, as ever, lip-smacking."[7] Commenting on the band's chemistry and freeness, Rolling Stone said the album is "a blissfully stoned conversation between White and Benson about their favorite bands: Led Zeppelin, the Who, Badfinger," though it added, "that freedom is not always satisfying."[4]Austin-American Statesmen said "it's a weirdly overblown and curiously dull album," and complained about its production.[11] The New York Times echoed those statements about the "chaos" of the album, but concluded that "that desperation only makes the crunch of the music more euphoric."[9] The Guardian found that on Consolers of the Lonely, the Raconteurs "establish a firm, emotionally charged identity of their own" and called the effort "flawed but ragged glory."[12] All Music Guide concluded that the album is a "lop-sided, bottom-loaded album that's better and richer than their debut."[13]

[edit] Commercial

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The album debuted at #7 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 42,000 copies in its first week.[14] It debuted at #8 on the UK Album Chart, #4 on the Canadian Album Chart, and #50 on the Australian ARIA chart on the 7th of April, 2008 based on digital downloads. However, the CD was released on the 5th of April, thus allowing the album the next week to ascend 32 places to reach its peak position thus far of #18 due to physical sales.

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Brendan Benson and Jack White III except where noted.

  1. "Consoler of the Lonely" - 3:25
  2. "Salute Your Solution" - 3:00
  3. "You Don't Understand Me" - 4:53
  4. "Old Enough" - 3:57
  5. "The Switch and the Spur" - 4:25
  6. "Hold Up" - 3:26
  7. "Top Yourself" - 4:25
  8. "Many Shades of Black" - 4:24
  9. "Five on the Five" - 3:33
  10. "Attention" - 3:40
  11. "Pull This Blanket Off" - 1:59
  12. "Rich Kid Blues" (Terry Reid) - 4:34
  13. "These Stones Will Shout" - 3:54
  14. "Carolina Drama" - 5:55

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Musicians

[edit] The Raconteurs

[edit] Additional

[edit] Production

[edit] References

  1. ^ "XL Recordings / 'Consolers of the Lonely' To Be Released March 25th". XL Recordings. Retrieved on March 25, 2008.
  2. ^ Did iTunes Leak Raconteurs Album Early?. Spin Magazine Online. Retrieved on March 25, 2008.
  3. ^ No byline (March 18, 2008), "Raconteurs: Who are the 'Consolers Of The Lonely'?" NME.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-02
  4. ^ a b c Maerz, Melissa (April 17, 2008), Consolers Of The Lonely RollingStone.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-02
  5. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (18 March 2008), "Raconteurs Album Being Rushed To Market Next Week". Billboard
  6. ^ No byline (19 March 2008), "Raconteurs' critical escape". Press Association - Premier Showbiz
  7. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (30 March 2008), "Review: Critics: Releases: CD OF THE WEEK: The Raconteurs want to tell you a story: The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely". The Observer. :20
  8. ^ Harding, Cortney (21 March 2008), "Raconteurs Album Hits iTunes". Billboard.biz
  9. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (03-24-2008), "Miserable Exuberance From a Yin And Yang". New York Times. :6
  10. ^ Rayner, Ben (25 March 2008), "CD pick of the week" The Toronto Star. :L08
  11. ^ No byline (30 March 2008), "No need to rush for Raconteurs' follow-up". Austin American-Statesman. :J13
  12. ^ Simpson, Dave (28 March 2008), "Film & Music: Rock & pop reviews: The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely". The Guardian. :10
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (undated), Review AllMusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-02
  14. ^ Katie Hasty, "Day26 Upends Danity Kane To Debut At No. 1", Billboard.com, April 2, 2008.


v • d • e
The Raconteurs
Jack White · Brendan Benson · Jack Lawrence · Patrick Keeler
Albums
Broken Boy Soldiers · Consolers of the Lonely
Singles
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