In 2013, Tyler, The Creator, gave an interview to Hot 97 about his trip to the Grammys that year. When discussing the highlights, he talked about shaking while being approached by the multi-faceted Jack White. “I saw Jack White and took a photo with him… He had the best performance of the night.” The point of this tidbit is to emphasize the reach White has achieved throughout his career. Whether you’re discussing his garage rock revival with The White Stripes or his forward-thinking approach to running his Third Man Records label, White has been reinventing how music is released and created. He moves as an enigma and thrives on his mystique, which is why his solo discography is so crucial to understanding the many moving parts of White’s creative process. Through his five solo releases, you see different sides of White as he delves into more vulnerable and personal songwriting.
The crown jewel of his solo work, and possibly one of the strongest albums White has ever had a hand in, is 2014’s Lazaretto. Released on June 10, 2014,the 11-track outing is filled with slight hints about the man behind the noise. In a way, Lazaretto feels like a blueprint for White’s musical DNA. Everything from blues-inspired rock to psychedelic-freak folk is represented in this tracklist. It wouldn’t be a Jack White release without a slew of hidden tracks and vinyl exclusives. White’s second solo effort has a Marvel Comics-style universe around it, with secret tracks hidden under the stickers on the vinyl pressing and demos exclusively released to subscribed members of his Third Man Records label. There are a lot of layers to unpack for just one album, but sending fans on a hunt for every hidden gem is part of the magic of White’s music.
Recording for the album began in 2012, only a year after The White Stripes disbanded for good. White’s ambitions couldn’t be held down for too long, let alone to one style. In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, which can now only be read with a subscription, White revealed the inspiration behind the album. The story goes that White found a box of old writings from when he was a teenager. These short stories and plays would be reworked into the lyrics heard on the record. This explains the heavy emotions employed on Lazaretto. White explores loneliness and self-worth as his gothic vocal tones deliver poetic honesty. He set these words to his varying and passionate love for classic American music. “Alone In My Home” sounds like a classic bluesy folk tune, while the title track is more akin to busy industrial rock than anything White had released before.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and landed right in the hearts of critics. The highly praised release earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album, and the title track was nominated for Best Rock Song and took home the award for Best Rock Song at the 57th annual award show. Any vinyl fan would agree that the pressing of this LP should have won an award as well. The surreal amount of hidden gems on the vinyl version is nothing short of a testament to White’s all-encompassing approach to releasing music. When spun in the right light, holographic angels can be seen dancing around the center sticker of the record. “Alone At My Home” has two different intros, one electric and the other acoustic, depending on where you drop the needle. “Alone in My Home” has an extended intro, and “Entitlement” has a demo version on the Third Man Record Vault limited edition bonus 7’. Vault members were also treated to an exclusive blue and white vinyl pressing that included a 40-page filled with exclusives.
Every Jack White fan has their favorite era or album from the artist, but on a commercial and critical level, Lazaretto is undeniably one of his strongest outings. Ten years after its initial release, White’s sophomore solo effort is still a refreshing and captivating effort from an artist who finds solace in his unpredictability. Lazaretto is the center of a revolving universe filled with varying influences, secret tracks, and White’s restless creativity.
