Jack White
Lazaretto
The impact that Jack White is having on modern music is undeniable. From the ashes of the White Stripes, the man has managed to build a veritable empire with Third Man records and has sent out his tentacles aimed at every corner of the music beast, corporate or not. Whatever your take on him may be, the man knows how to give people what they want, and it seems to come naturally to him.
We are very glad to be doing a series of Third Man releases here on Ground Control’s Vinyl Vlog and we wanted to start with an absolute beast of a release and that’s Jack White’s Lazaretto. Not being content with being a publishing mogul, White has remained quite active in the music world by continuing to produce and contribute to other bands and still focusing on his own musical projects. His influences range far and wide and nowhere more obvious in his latest full length Lazaretto (we’re willing to consider his newest Acoustic session as a stand-out). Chock-full of styles and instruments, this album is a tribute to modern music in many ways as it’s heavily rock, heavily blues, heavily country, rock ‘n’ roll, baroque, and classical. You can be sure that all sorts of sounds are going to come your way with Lazaretto, and it’s hard not to appreciate an album that can cast such a wide net of flavors.
Now to talk about the Ultra Edition of this record. Where to even begin? This release’s record houses such a wide range of goodies. You get the uncompressed Lazaretto in its entirety with a different mix from the LP, 2 vinyl-only hidden tracks hidden in the center labels, these tracks play at different speeds (making this LP playable at three speeds), backward playing tracks, different starts to songs depending on where you drop the needle, a matted finish on the b-side, and a hologram etched into A-side. Absolutely amazing how White has pushed the boundaries of what you can do with vinyl.
The word vital gets thrown around a lot these days, but the Lazaretto record is truly vital in any vinyl aficionado’s library. It’s not just ahead of its time, but might just stand as the most unique piece of vinyl ever released. Highly recommended.
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