Lazaretto (album)

Lazaretto
Studio album by Jack White
Released June 10, 2014[1]
Recorded 2012 – 2014
Genre
Length 39:13
Label
Producer Jack White
Jack White chronology

Blunderbuss
(2012)		 Lazaretto
(2014)
Singles from Lazaretto
  1. "High Ball Stepper"
    Released: April 1, 2014 (promotional)
  2. "Lazaretto"
    Released: April 19, 2014
  3. "Just One Drink"
    Released: June 9, 2014[2]
  4. "Would You Fight for My Love?"
    Released: August 26, 2014[3]
  5. "Alone in My Home"
    Released: September 29, 2014[4]
  6. "That Black Bat Licorice"
    Released: February 17, 2015[5]

Lazaretto is the second studio album by Jack White. It was released on June 10, 2014, through White's own label Third Man Records in association with XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The limited-edition "Ultra" LP features hidden songs, secret grooves and holograms that materialize when the record is being played. Lazaretto was partly inspired by a collection of short stories, poems, and plays White wrote when he was 19 years old and rediscovered years later in his attic. Lazaretto debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 138,000 copies in its first week.[6]

Background

Sessions for the album began in 2012 during gaps in touring for White's Blunderbuss album.[7] White told Rolling Stone in a February 2013 interview that he was working on "20 to 25 tracks." He explained of the new material, "it's definitely not one sound. It's definitely several. Like you heard in Blunderbuss, there're many styles there. I don't pick my style and then write a song. I just write whatever comes out of me, and whatever style it is what it is, and it becomes something later."[8] He hinted during a January 2014 chat session with fans on the Third Man Records message board that he was almost done with the record. "I'm producing two albums this month, and finishing them," White wrote. "One of them is mine."[9]

The Vault, Third Man's exclusive fan club subscription service, released a limited-edition version of the album on blue-and-white vinyl. It was packaged with a 40-page hardcover book, a fold-out poster, a National Archives photo that appears throughout the album art, and a 7-inch featuring demo versions of two songs recorded in Mexico, "Alone in My Home" and "Entitlement", the finished versions of which appear on the album.[10][11][12] The "Ultra LP" version contains hidden tracks that are pressed into the vinyl underneath the inner label on each side of the record, a song ("Just One Drink") that has two different intros depending on where the needle is dropped, continuous drones, and holograms that appear on the record's surface when it's being played.[13]

Songs

Songs on the album were inspired, in part, by short stories and plays written by White when he was 19 years old.[14] He found the writings in his attic and reworked them into new lyrics. ""Some of it's garbage, and I sort of laughed while I was reading it," he explained to Rolling Stone. "I was going to throw away a bunch of it, but I was just coming up with new styles of attacking songwriting for the album."[7] In April, a video of the instrumental song "High Ball Stepper" was released as a teaser for the album.[15] "Lazaretto", the title track, was confirmed as the album's first single.[16][17] White explained the song's meaning to NPR: "This was a rhyme about the braggadocio of some hip-hop lyrics — the bragging about oneself in hip-hop music. The character who's singing this song is bragging about himself, but he's actually bragging about real things he's actually accomplished and real things that he actually does, not imaginary things or things he would like to do."[18] The song "Just One Drink" premiered in May.[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 80/100[20]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [21]
Alternative Press [22]
Exclaim! 7/10[23]
The Guardian [24]
NME 7/10[25]
The Oakland Press [26]
Pitchfork 7.1/10[27]
Rolling Stone [28]
USA Today [29]
The Daily Telegraph [30]

Lazaretto was acclaimed by contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 46 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[20] Pitchfork Media's Stephen M. Deusner remarked: "Lazaretto makes all of his other projects sound a bit scrawny by comparison. It’s the densest, fullest, craziest, and most indulgent that White has sounded".[27] Phil Hebblethwaite of NME described it as "a varied album that lacks any monster riffs like the ones White used to write for The White Stripes, but includes enough intrigue, originality and plain weirdness to delight and, in some places, appal."[25] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote: "On the surface, Lazaretto seems to be the work of someone who's furiously angry at everything from "children today" [...] to God", but because the album "possesses both a sense of humour" and "a sense of perspective", that makes the album "a rather more complicated business than it first appears."[24]

Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times described the album as "lyrically and musically challenging and filled with many fresh avenues of exploration, even as it nods to key tones and ideas from throughout the history of pre-rap American music."[31] Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press called it "more jubilant, unbridled and manic" than Blunderbuss, and that "Lazaretto finds him simultaneously unbridled as a player, yet meticulous as both mad scientist and personal diarist."[22] At USA Today, Jerry Shriver found the release to be "highly-charged, wonderfully weird and typically eclectic treasure chest of tunes that rank with his best."[29] David Fricke of Rolling Stone noted how White's craftsmanship on the album comes "with a decisive attention to contour, color scheme and cagey, durable detail."[28] At The Oakland Press, Gary Graff illustrated how White "is, characteristically, more of a shape-shifter, engaging in gleeful sonic alchemy throughout its 11 tracks as he stirs together a dizzying array of influences, from garagey psychedelia to earthy Americana."[26]

Chart performance

Lazaretto debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 138,000 copies in its first week. The vinyl LP sold 40,000 copies, which set the record for the most vinyl sales in one week for an album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Pearl Jam's Vitalogy, which sold 34,000 vinyl LPs in its first week in 1994, previously held the record. Vinyl LP sales of "Lazaretto" during week one nearly matched the number of CDs sold, at 28.9 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Downloads were 41.1 percent of total first week sales.[6] With 87,000 vinyl copies shifted throughout the year, it was not only the year's top-selling vinyl LP in the US, but also the top-selling vinyl LP for any calendar year since SoundScan started tracking sales.[32] As of December 2014, Lazaretto has sold 325,000 copies in the United States.[32]

Accolades

At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album. The track "Lazaretto" was nominated for Best Rock Song and won Best Rock Performance.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jack White, except "Three Women", based on the song "Three Women Blues" by Blind Willie McTell. 

No. Title Length
1. "Three Women"   3:57
2. "Lazaretto"   3:39
3. "Temporary Ground"   3:13
4. "Would You Fight for My Love?"   4:09
5. "High Ball Stepper"   3:52
6. "Just One Drink"   2:37
7. "Alone in My Home"   3:27
8. "Entitlement"   4:06
9. "That Black Bat Licorice"   3:50
10. "I Think I Found the Culprit"   3:49
11. "Want and Able"   2:34

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Lazaretto liner notes.[33]

Additional musicians
  • Ruby Amanfu – shaker (track 10), tambourine (track 5), backing vocals (tracks 4, 5, 6, 9, 10)
  • Carla Azar – drums (tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 10), timpani (track 4)
  • Maggie Björklund – acoustic guitar (track 6), pedal steel guitar (tracks 3, 5, 10)
  • Ben Blackwell – drums (tracks 7, 8)
  • Timbre Cierpke – harp (tracks 7, 8, 9, 10)
  • Bryne Davies – upright bass (tracks 4, 9)
  • Dominic Davis – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 7), bass VI (track 7), upright bass (track 9)
  • Dean Fertita – electric guitar (track 4)
  • Olivia Jean – African drum (track 4), backing vocals (track 9)
  • Daru Jones – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4)
  • Fats Kaplin – fiddle (tracks 2, 4, 9), mandolin (tracks 7, 9), pedal steel guitar (tracks 1, 8)
  • Patrick Keeler – drums (track 9)
  • Ikey Owens – B3 Organ (tracks 1, 4), keyboards (track 1), Moog Synthesizer (track 2), piano (tracks 7, 8), Rhodes (track 4)
  • Catherine Popper – bass guitar (tracks 3, 5, 6, 10)
  • Lillie Mae Rische – fiddle (tracks 3, 5, 6, 10), mandolin (track 10), backing vocals (tracks 3, 7)
  • Brooke Waggoner – B3 Organ (tracks 4, 9), clavinet (track 9), Moog Synthesizer (track 4), piano (tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 10)
  • Cory Younts – harmonica (track 1), Korg Synthesizer (track 2), mandolin (tracks 1, 8), piano (track 4), shaker (track 7), backing vocals (tracks 1, 7, 8)
Technical personnel
  • Jack White - layout, design, mixing, production, composition
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Joshua V. Smith – assistant, engineering, mixing, backing vocals (track 6)
  • Lars Fox – editing
  • Mindy Watts – assistant
  • Blind Willie McTell – composer
  • F.C. Gundlach – back cover photo
  • Lewis Hine – back cover, images
  • Mary Ellen Matthews – photography
  • Jo McCaughey – photography
  • Ian Montone – management
  • Ryon Nishimori – design, layout
  • Vance Powell – engineering
  • Nathanio Strimpopulos – design, layout
  • Trent Thibodeaux – design, layout
  • Elfred Tseng – images

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[34] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[35] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[36] 12
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[38] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[39] 5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[40] 13
French Albums (SNEP)[41] 9
German Albums (Official Top 100)[42] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[43] 28
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[44] 2
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[45] 5
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[46] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[50] 4
US Billboard 200[51] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[52] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[53] 1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[54] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[55] 68
Canadian Albums(Billboard)[56] 47
US Alternative Albums (Billboard)[57] 7
US Billboard 200[58] 55
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[59] 8

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[60] Gold 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Silver 60,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hogan, Marc (April 1, 2014). "Jack White Unveils June Album 'Lazaretto' With 'High Ball Stepper'". Spin. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ "New single". Third Man Records. Archived from the original on February 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Caulfield, Keith (June 18, 2014). "Jack White's 'Lazaretto' Debuts at No. 1, Sets Vinyl Sales Record". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Jack White Reveals Everything You Need to Know About 'Lazaretto'". Rolling Stone. February 22, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ Doyle, Patrick (February 26, 2013). "Q&A: Jack White on New Dead Weather and Solo Tracks, Radio City Walk-off". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ McGovern, Kyle (January 6, 2014). "Jack White Is Close to Finishing a New Album". Spin. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ Martens, Todd (April 1, 2014). "Listen: Jack White returns with 'High Ball Stepper'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  11. ↑ Blistein, Jon (April 1, 2014). "Jack White Releases New Song for Upcoming Album 'Lazaretto'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Jack White to release new solo album 'Lazaretto' in June – listen". NME. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Jack White's new "ultra LP" has bells, whistles, secret tracks, monster riffs". The Washington Post. June 9, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  14. ↑ Feeney, Nolan; Lansky, Sam (June 16, 2014). "The Culture". Time. 183 (23):47
  15. ↑ Locker, Melissa (April 1, 2014). "Jack White Announces New Album Lazaretto, Out June 10". Time. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Jack White Announces New Album 'Lazaretto'". Billboard. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  17. ↑ Montgomery, James (April 1, 2014). "Jack White Rises Again With 'Lazaretto'". MTV. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ Boilen, Bob (May 20, 2014). "Jack White's 'Lazaretto': The All Songs Interview". NPR. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  19. ↑ "'Lazaretto' Premiere: Hear Jack White's Driving Blues 'Just One Drink'". Rolling Stone. May 16, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Metacritic. "Critic Reviews for Lazaretto". CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  21. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Lazaretto – Jack White". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Pettigrew, Jason (June 3, 2014). "Reviews: Jack White – 'Lazaretto'". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  23. ↑ Sylvester, Daniel (June 6, 2014). "Reviews: Pop& Rock: Jack White – 'Lazaretto'". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Petridis, Alexis (June 5, 2014). "Jack White: Lazaretto review – crushing riffs and grumpy fulminations". The Guardian. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Hebblethwaite, Phil (June 6, 2014). "Reviews: Jack White – Lazaretto". NME. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Graff, Gary (June 6, 2014). "The Listening Room: Jack White, Chrissie Hynde, more new releases". The Oakland Press. 21st Century Media. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Deusner, Stephen (June 9, 2014). "Jack White: 'Lazaretto'". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Fricke, David (June 10, 2014). "Jack White 'Lazaretto' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Shriver, Jerry (June 9, 2014). "Jack White works his eclectic magic on 'Lazaretto'". USA Today. Gannett Company. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  30. ↑ Hall, James (June 11, 2014). "Lazaretto". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  31. ↑ Roberts, Randall (June 11, 2014). "Jack White's 'Lazaretto' taps Nashville for songs' wellspring". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Caulfield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Vinyl Album Sales Hit Historic High in 2014, Again". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Lazaretto - Jack White - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  34. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Jack White Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Jack White. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". SNEP - France. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 24 (dal 09-06-2014 al 15-06-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  44. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  45. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  47. ↑ "2014-06-21 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Jack White – Lazaretto". Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  50. ↑ "2014-06-21 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  51. ↑ "Jack White Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Jack White. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  52. ↑ "Jack White Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Jack White. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  53. ↑ "Jack White Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Jack White. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  54. ↑ "Jack White Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Jack White. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  55. ↑ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  56. ↑ "Top Canadian Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  57. ↑ "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2015. (subscription required)
  58. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  59. ↑ "Top Rock Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard.
  60. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Jack White – Lazaretto". Music Canada.
  61. ↑ "British album certifications – Jack White – Lazaretto". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Lazaretto in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links