Jack White is definitely one of the hardest working men in showbiz. The man is in like three different bands, does solo work, and collaborates with some amazing people. (Loretta Lynn being one of them.) He also guest sang (secretly) on Electric 6's "Danger, High Voltage". He got together with a bunch of other musicians to form The Raconteurs back in 2005.
The album is quite good, and very different from The White Stripes or any of the other bands that are represented. (The group includes members of Blanche, The Greenhornes and solo act Brendan Benson.) Their first album, "Broken Boy Soldiers" was a big hit with "Steady as She Goes". While it's a very good song, it's not my favorite song on the album.
"Blue Veins" is a bit of a throwback sound to the 30s and 40s. It starts off with a sound like the music is being played backwards, which it probably is considering that White loves to experiment. Lots of organ, and a distorted bass and guitar. Then comes a quick motif from a piano, leading to an echo of the opening lines, "Your blue veins." Then a roll in with a ringing guitar. Great stuff.
The song is about one of two things: the singer's love interest that is extremely devoted, and is the only one that gets him, or it's about heroin. I'm going to go with the first discussion, but not entirely letting go of the second. (Heck, the exact thing can be said about the song "There she goes" by The La's.)
During the middle of the song comes a break, with a roll on the piano, and the song suddenly gets played backwards, including the singing. I know this sounds weird, but it really works. Trust me on this one.
I've always been a big fan of Jack White. The White Stripes were just awesome, and I'm even a huge fan of The Dead Weather. He likes experimenting with stuff, and that's good in music. If there wasn't experimentation, we'd still be stuck listening to Pat Boone. (Not that there's anything wrong with Pat's music, it just sucks.) Music wouldn't have the same resonance if it never changed. Think about it. Classical music is considered one huge thing, but if you compare Beethoven with J.S. Bach, it's completely different. There are many of the same things there, but it's completely different. (What most people listen to on Classical Radio is actually from the Romantic era. Beethoven, Berlioz, Schubert, Mendelssohn, etc. Sorry, just showing off my IB Music knowledge. It's been 20 years, and I still got it.)
Anyways, give it a listen. You might fall in love with it.
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