Jack White – vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (1–4, 8–11), percussion (1, 2, 6, 7), drums (2, 7, 8, 10), electric guitar (tracks 2, 5, 8), bass guitar (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8), ukele bass (track 2), Hammond organ (track 2), vibraphone (track 3), Wurlitzer piano (track 3), additional perscussion (tracks 3, 5), Chamberlin drum machine (track 5), Mellotron M4000D (track 6), Hammond Solovox (track 6), piano (track 7), analog Mellotron (track 8), Septavox synthesizer (track 8)
| Session musiciansBen Swank – drums (tracks 1, 9)Dominic Davis – bass guitar (tracks 1, 5, 9), upright bass (tracks 6, 11)Mark Watrous – piano (track 1), additional keys (track 3), Wurlitzer piano (track 9)Olivia Jean – Tic-Tac bass guitar (track 2), electric guitar (track 2), live percussion (track 3), shakers (track 11)Patrick Keeler – drums (3, 6, 11)Fats Kaplin – violin (tracks 3, 11), viola (track 3), strings (track 3)Dean Fertita – Wurlitzer piano solo (track 3)Cory Younts – live piano (track 3), piano (track 11)Quincy McCrary – piano (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10)Pokey LaFarge – acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 11)Daru Jones – drums (track 5)Dan Mancini – acoustic guitar (track 6)Jack Lawrence – bass guitar (track 10) |
Tracks:
| 1. | “A Tip from You to Me” | 2:42 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | “All Along the Way” | 3:52 |
| 3. | “Help Me Along” | 4:46 |
| 4. | “Love Is Selfish” | 2:52 |
| 5. | “I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)” | 4:24 |
| 6. | “Queen of the Bees” | 2:30 |
| 7. | “A Tree on Fire from Within” | 2:59 |
| 8. | “If I Die Tomorrow” | 2:59 |
| 9. | “Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone” | 4:00 |
| 10. | “A Madman from Manhattan” | 4:26 |
| 11. | “Taking Me Back (Gently)” | 4:36 |
The Jack White Canon
- Blunderbuss (2012)
- Lazaretto (2014)
- Boarding House Reach (2018)
- Fear of the Dawn (2022)
- Entering Heaven Alive (2022)
Jack White’s solo works all have a wide selection of acoustic/electric guitars intertwined with synths and even vibraphone. He has the gift of a musician who seems to have dropped into our nascent pop/rock times to deliver music that existed a long time ago. A balladeer of sorts who brings the alta dimensions of music into our mainstream conscious.
Texture and Ambient Layers
A longing for love takes on new passages with bars of music the listener can pour over again and again.
Here are some of the hi-lights on an album loaded with them:
“Help Me Along” has a bittersweet message to deliver with synth and drum swells that shift constantly. Adventurous tune.
“I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)” is a damn good light wavy rock/jazz hybrid with light piano keys and bass punctuated by wah-wah effects and drums.
“Queen Of The Bees” is a love tune with a shuffle style that is sublime. This could have been a Beatles tune.
“A Tree On Fire From Within” has wonderful cymbal punctuations backed with piano, bass, and electric guitar. It chugs along with lyrics of wanting friendships. Again this layering works so well you will hit repeat right away. It’s one of several Dylanesque numbers sprinkled throughout the album.
This record is folksy filled with moods of despair and hope.
Fear Of The Dawn
In November 2021, White revealed that he would release two solo albums in 2022: Fear of the Dawn, which will feature White’s traditional rock sound, and Entering Heaven Alive, a folk album released on July 22.
The Musicians:
- Q-Tip – vocals (track 4), handclaps (track 4)
- Olivia Jean – electric guitar (track 4), acoustic rhythm guitar (track 4)
- Daru Jones – drums (tracks 5, 9–11)
- Dominic Davis – bass guitar (tracks 5, 10, 11)
- Quincy McCrary – Wurlitzer electronic piano (tracks 5, 10), Hammond B3 organ (track 6), synthesizer (track 9), harmony vocals (track 9)
- Scarlett White – bass guitar (track 6)
- Mark Watrous – Juno synthesizer (track 7), synthesizer (track 11)
- Bone Dust Mancini – 1975 Harley-Davidson Ironhead (track 8)
- Jack Lawrence – bass guitar (track 9)
- Duane Denison – rhythm guitar (track 11), guitar solo (track 11)
The Tracks:
| 1. | “Taking Me Back” | 3:59 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | “Fear of the Dawn” | 2:02 | |
| 3. | “The White Raven” | 2:43 | |
| 4. | “Hi-De-Ho” (featuring Q-Tip) | WhiteKamaal FareedCab CallowayBuster HardingJack Palmer | 3:56 |
| 5. | “Eosophobia” | 3:41 | |
| 6. | “Into the Twilight” | WhiteJohn Dizzy GillespieFrank PaparelliJon HendricksJay GraydonAlan Paul | 4:41 |
| 7. | “Dusk” | 0:30 | |
| 8. | “What’s the Trick?” | 3:34 | |
| 9. | “That Was Then (This Is Now)” | 3:10 | |
| 10. | “Eosophobia (Reprise)” | 3:12 | |
| 11. | “Morning, Noon and Night” | 4:45 | |
| 12. | “Shedding My Velvet” | 3:41 | |
| Total length: | 39:54 |
Sample credits
- “Hi-De-Ho” contains a sample of “Hi De Ho Man” by Cab Calloway, written by Cab Calloway, Buster Harding and Jack Palmer.
- “Into the Twilight” contains a sample of William S. Burroughs from the track “Origin and Theory of the Tape Cut-Ups” originally released on the album Break Through in Grey Room, produced by James Grauerholz and Bill Rich.
- “Into the Twilight” contains a sample of “Another Night in Tunisia” performed by The Manhattan Transfer, written by John Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli and Jon Hendricks.
- “Into the Twilight” contains a sample of “Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone” performed by The Manhattan Transfer, music written by Jay Graydon and Alan Paul, lyrics by Alan Paul.
Hi-lights:
“Taking Me Back” bursts out of the gate with swirling fiddle and piano with an overlay of nimble acoustic guitar. A jaunty song that could be played in a old west saloon.
“Fear Of The Dawn” comes next with fuzz buster sound and Jack White’s angry vocals. Interludes of drums and kick ass synth. Only on a mix like this would synth sound heavy. Not an easy feat. Excellent electric soloing here.
“Hi-De-Ho” as the title implies features a sample of Cab Calloway recalling the purity of sound from once upon a call and response tune. Superb vocals here.
“Eosophobia” means Fear of the Dawn so this is a clever way to word this title track without using the actual title. Haunting piano, guitar, and synths with great repeating riffs. The lyrics plead to escape dawn. Apologetic for the repitition of words. But how else to express this emotion?
“Into The Twilight” feature Manhattan Transfer samples that work against a backdrop of swinging riffs and beats. Dizzy Gillespie and William S. Burroughs are sampled too. A great stew. A feast for the ears.
2 Studio Albums in the Same Year
Both albums on Third Man Records.
Evan's Gate 
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