Blunderbuss

A remember there being buzz for this album back when it was released as the first Jack White solo album. Other than that, it’s not too remarkable. Even then I thought it was just fine. You do not have to listen to this before you die and it does not deserve a place on this list. There are three good songs. I most like the drum and bass line that opens “freedom at 21.” “hip, poor boy“ and “shaken” are nice songs too, but none of them compares to the work Mr. White did with white stripes or any of his other side bands.

This is my first time listening to solo Jack White and it's great and it's more White Stripesy music, but it made me realise how important Meg White was for him. It's missing that little piece that made the White Stripes so good. Still great music since Jack White is so talented.

Typical 2010s noises

The start was pretty unexceptional riff-rock but things picked up with nuggets like the acoustic 'Love Interruption' and 'Blunderbuss', respectively featuring a lovely clarinet and string arrangement. Plus 'Hypocritical Kiss' has a pleasant easy going country vibe. On the whole, it's an interesting, if rather inconsistent, listen.

A weirdly perfect album, not in that it has any big major stand out tracks, but that every track is perfect in an understated way. I've listened to it at least 4 times in the last 24 hours and it hasn't got old yet. Perfectly understated in that every time I listen to a song I hear another layer of complexity to either his writing, composition or both. I feel like I could (and should) do a track by track on this but highlights include the fat riffage on Sixteen Saltines, the masochistically beautiful poetry of Love Interruption and the Dave Brubeckness of Take Me with You When You Go which is easily my favourite track on the album - don't get me started on the fricken tone he puts out in that shred break halfway through, with a deliciously caustic harmony over the top of it. It's a genius closing track. Definitely one for the vinyl collection.

Outstanding. I've never heard this album before yesterday. It really blew me away. It will get repeated listening from me. Road trip music for sure.

This album has all the elements that I usually like best in music. Blues-rock combo. There’s just something a little bit too controlled about it. Lack of passion holds it back from a perfect score for me.

Great album, honestly don't think there's a bad song on, I don't love all of them, but the overall quality is undeniable, with Jack White's particular sensibilities easily heard all the way through.

Very cool. Nice piano parts too.

Easy 5. Great album, easygoing and groovy.

So fantastically surprising! I was so ready for this album to be an awful like pop-punk tweens era album but it was such a beautiful and engaging album full of fun tracks with really amazing production. I loved the production, the biggest issue is some of the superficial lyrics and maybe cringy vocals but I can’t deny I really enjoyed the album.

I absolutely wore this one out when it came out. It was probably one of the last CDs I bought before (sadly I think) streaming services changed the economics of consuming music. In my opinion, time has shown this record is as good as any of the White Stripes albums, which is saying a lot given they made at least two masterpieces in White Blood Cells and Elephant. It’s a masterclass in modern rock and roll. Sixteen Saltines is a banger. Love Interruption is an angry ballad, followed immediately by the lovely ballad title track. Tons of variety, great weird guitar licks, great weird lyrics, great weird vocals.

Album 425 of 1001 Jack White - Blunderbuss Rating : 5 / 5 Awesome album! I enjoy most anything Jack White puts out...be it White Stripes, Raconteurs, solo or any of his other projects. This one does not disappoint. Great tunes, all the way through. This is probably my 3rd time to hear the whole album. I have a feeling it could find a place in my all time favorites.

I really like Jack White, but I'm not sure I ever listened to an entire album front to back. I was missing out. This is an impressive debut album where he builds on the new(ish) sound of the White Stripes but also solidifies himself as a solo talent, visionary, and perfectionist. It's really, really good.

If you don't have this on so loud that it is actively giving you tinnitus then you didn't have the volume up high enough.

The beginning of his Blue Period. Every bit as exciting as what he was doing creatively with The White Stripes.

J’ai vraiment aime ca je vais reecoute assure ent, du bon rock blues 5

Eh, this definitely didn't need to be on the list - there's three White Stripes albums already, and this is doing the exact same thing less well. Fave track - uhhhhhhh, I remember looking at the track name for "I'm Shakin'" so let's say that one. Nothing really jumped out at me on either listen though....

Favourite tracks: I'm shakin; blunderbuss; freedom at 21; sixteen saltines

I like the instrumental part, but the singing is still, not my personally taste. Some songs are nice, like I'm shakin'

Album no. 900. My time in this realm is coming to an end. The final stretch is here. I actually really liked this, despite never caring much (at all) about The White Stripes. Turns out the remedy to his curse of only being able to write one song was having to go solo. Lot of variety on this one.

Played Minecraft for the first time today, and the surprises didn't end there! By Love Interrupted the was sounding like how I expected going in and stayed more that vein, but still a fun and interesting listen. But the opening tracks really broke me in with a start! Bright guitar and unique songwriting. It seems I agree with spotify consensus based on play count, because Sixteen Saltines is DEFINITELY my favourite

Sixteen Saltines Freedom At 21 Love Interruption Blunderbuss I'm Shakin'

Definitely one of the best albums I have listened to since starting this daily project. Strong alternative album rooted in blues. Some great songs on this album. Jack White makes his guitar sound like it is from another planet. Great album

really cool instrumentation, if the lyrics were even a little bit better this would be a 5, but they’re just not particularly good

No doubt about it, Jack White is one talented musician. His vocals are impeccable and guitar play is just as good. However, this kind of Alt Rock just isn’t for me. I mean it’s very early 2010s sounding but still - just a repetitive and generic sound overall. The slower songs stand out a little more than the typical upbeat alt rock songs. Maybe I’ll check out some more of Jack White cause I see his name everywhere even today (2025) but this record wasn’t my favorite. Favorites: Love Interruption, Blunderbuss, Hypothetical Kiss

It's not bad. It just doesn't bring anything new to the table. Maybe new to him, but not to the world. And I don't like his voice. Favorite songs: take me with you when you go.

I wanted to comment that every blues rock project by Jack White is so appealing to my ears, and Blunderbuss is no different. I could see this being classified as one of his best works, along with Elephant or White Blood Cells, and i completely understand why. Altogether, this could easily be mistaken for an incel album, and i understand that too, because it is so dramatic at times that a superficial interpretation could change opinions about him and lead his listeners into believing something that he isn't. Despite all of that, i could say the first half feels pretentious, and somehow, this pretentiousness works well in some tracks, but this is weared thin later on as he decides to show some piano chords and nonsense lyrics that doesn't live up to what the earlier tracks established. This left me sad because Jack White was experiencing shifts with other musicians in the studio at the time, which gave him more freedom than he ever had with TWS. So, what can i say about the second half?

Meh. You know how fruit is good, then someone distills the flavour or and just mixes it with sugar and makes soft drink, and the essence is there but it's missing all of the awesome stuff that makes it good and healthy. It's kinda like that. It's ok. But I'm not drinking it anymore now I'm a grown up.

t’s a Jack White record and with due respect to fans of his, there wasn’t much by way of unexpected surprise on this record. It sounds like a Jack White record: some high energy rock, some bluesy and/or country-ish acoustic numbers, some cool guitar effects and some blistering solos. The heavy use of piano was a nice addition here, but not totally total out of character. I like him just fine, but mostly in small doses: a song here and there, but in an album setting like this, it all kind of starts burring together after a while. His staccato vocal delivery starts to wear thin, making songs that would otherwise probably be engaging feel monotonous.

It’s tough for me to say that Jack White really needs his solo album on a list that already includes multiple White Stripes albums. Still, this is a diverse and interesting set of styles. It’s quite enjoyable.

Actually liked it more than I thought

Would I listen to it again: yes Is it a no-skip album: no Do I like it: yes

no me gustó tanto. Mis favoritas fueron im shakin, trash tounge talker y take me with you when you go. El album no es mi estilo pero fue interesante

Some people have a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap. I must make the gene that makes Jack White’s voice sound like nails on a chalkboard.

Was quite boring, not a big fan, some okay songs and riffs but not for me. Don't like his voice either.

This album is the very definition of writing songs for the sake of writing them, without really believing in them or living them. The themes are so generic and the songs so predictable that you have the impression that they have already been recorded before (probably by The Rolling Stones or by Led Zeppelin, who had already ripped off songs before). Blunderbuss is the third stage of rotten generic white blues rock thrash.

Love this album, and just saw him a week ago.

p934. 2012. 5 stars. Fabulous white blues/rock. Not a weak track on this.

This is a great album but hard for me to understand why he broke away from Meg for this, especially since the album feels like a follow up to Icky Thump. Still a great compilation just a weird departure but should be in your playlist

This was an excellent listen and I loved everything about it. Jack White doesn't seem to have a single "sound", but he does it all -- odd time signatures, 4/4, even a 3/4 tune or two. His instrumentation was varied and the performances (vocal and instrumental) were all perfect. It was recorded impeccably and the writing shows depth and sophistication while also being super down-to-earth and easy to listen to. I was humming along the entire time and I listened to it twice in its entirety because I loved it so much. Five stars.

Great music! A unique style with great guitar and piano work, subtle gospel influence and interesting compositipns. Loved it

Absolutely great. Loved the sound, interesting mix of rock and beatles-type music. Some really groovy songs. Didn’t like white stripes album but this was a pleasant surprise

Missing pieces, Blunderbuss, Hypocritical kiss. Really unique tunes. Thoroughly enjoyed. The background piano elevated the experience. The instrumentals were top notch.

Relatable album well written.

Jeg behøver ikke at lytte til dagens album, den sidder allerede så langt under huden som en 5er kan.

Jack White leger sig rundt i alle de forskellige ærke amerikanske genre.

This guy never runs out of creative juice squeezed from the great American songbooks. Future editions could probably replace this one with “No Name” but still A masterclass in emotional range and sonic invention.

I listened to this while driving my daughter to her boyfriend’s apartment. It was pretty good.

I really enjoyed this album.

Bangers all. Love Interruption 🙌🏻

I liked this one so much. I listened to it multiple times and recommended it to other people.

"Sixteen saltines" alone pulls the score to 5. I am writing this only 2 songs in and have 0 doubts that the whole album will deliver. Everything Jack does is up to a really high standart and i love seeing this one on the list.

I'm glad he's still making music. 5 stars

The torch bearer of rock and blues proves that there's life in a genre that's 70 years old.

This has nothing to do with how I felt about the album, but while I was listening to it and taking notes, I was watching a looping video heavily tinted blue of a record spinning. It just felt wrong not to have that in my peripheral vision while I had this thing on. After all, they related to two of things I've always liked about Jack White: the consistent as hell color motifs in his works, and his passion for vinyl records. As someone who's long had an interest in branding and physical media, of course he's been someone I've had in mind for a while now. So then why is this only the first time I've listened to his actual music? Well, his **solo** music, to be clear. Of course I've heard The White Stripes before; who hasn't? At this point it can't be easy to avoid hearing "Seven Nation Army". And in fact, my familiarity with The White Stripes might be why I've taken so long to scoop Jack's work under his own name. I couldn't imagine what he could offer me that I couldn't get or didn't already have from the Stripes. Frankly, judging a book by its color scheme, I'd always assumed Jack's solo work was... Like, "serious," y'know? That there wouldn't be any fun "Ball And Biscuit" shenanigans here, but instead moody, serious, indie-ish music. That's just always how stuff like BOARDING HOUSE REACH came across to me. But that album came out **many** years after this one did. Let's focus on this one: what does it sound like? OK, so, the goal of The White Stripes, to me at least, was to bring rock and blues back to its roots. And I mean, it's absolute primitive, bare-minimum roots: a guitar, drums, and a voice. There'd be some augmentation sometimes, like maybe a piano here and there, but for the most part it was just those three instruments, no more, no less. That was their appeal; that they were so stripped back, raw and **loud**. I mean, heck, the band's whole sound was built around Meg White's basic drumming style — and I mean "basic" as the biggest compliment I can. That sound carries over to this album (or at least it's first three tracks), but it's way more evolved. There's more instruments in the mix, and the drumming is a bit more complex. If the whole album sounded like this, I would've quite liked it. True, it wouldn't hit as hard as some of the best Stripes tracks do, but at least it would've proved to me that Jack White didn't stray **too far** into "serious music" — at least not to start with. However, the whole album doesn't sound like that. Starting with the title track, there's a country/folk influence that starts seeping in and only gets stronger as the album goes on. And it's some good-ass country/folk influence, too. Like, the pedal steel on the title track and "On And On And On" are **so damn good**. Honestly, following track 4 I heard only one more true dip into blues music, and that was with the cover of "I'm Shakin'". Funny enough, it was also the first track where I openly thought "This doesn't sound like White Stripes with extras" — thank the guitar bounce for that. But if there's anything that got me goin' wild on this album, it's the **piano**. The piano on this thing is, like... Incredible. Just plain incredible. Like, seriously, looking at my notes, most of them are just me pointing out how much I liked the piano — especially on "Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy". Paired together with that mandolin, it, ah, just might be my favorite song on the album. Which, y'know, that's **saying something** given how much I was dazzled by the keys on "On And On And On". Seriously, it is not **not** a battle for my favorite song on here, I swear. Also, also, 'coz I don't know where else to fit this in, I like how much "I Guess I Should Go To Sleep" sounds like it should be playing in an old saloon. That's just fun, y'know? Once again, this Randomizer has gotten me to kick myself in the butt for not checking out someone's work sooner. And it's especially bad here because despite basing way too much of my preconceptions on how one album cover looked, I had no excuse — and let's not act like what I just said is one, either. In fact, while I was writing this review I went and listened to Spotify's samples of BOARDING HOUSE REACH and, yeah, no, I'd love this, too. I'm tellin' yah, aesthetics can do way too much for my opinions sometimes, goodness... So, yeah, that's a big ol' 5 from me. It's good-ass evolved Stripes blues, it's good-ass folk n' country rock... I have very little to complain about here. **And** it gets me to listen to ELEPHANT, and that ain't never a bad thing, lemme tell you. (Honestly, some part of me would've found it funny to give this thing a 3 just for the bit, but I ain't gonna lie about my feelings just to be funny, so...)

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. Perhaps a bit of hypocrisy from me to dock Faith No More for being a little too close to the Peppers, and for me to bump this up when this “Jack White” guy is clearly ripping off the White Stripes, but when you’ve got it, you’ve got it, and this album, despite how closely it toes the line to being a vaguely misogynistic set of tracks, manages to tightrope its way into having it. In all seriousness, it is at a 4.5 for that very reason – the instrumentation, vocal work, and general production would put this at a flat 5 for me, because it really is enough of a departure from the more “glamorous” rock stylings of the White Stripes (probably partially Meg’s finishing touch to Jack’s sensibilities) to a more cutdown, vaguely country / ragtime-y feel that takes a bit more inspiration from the 60s & 70s to create a more distinct, yet familiar sound. Similar enough that you could just call this a White Stripes album, but with enough of Jack’s own voice to really make this feel like a solo album. The issue with not giving this a flat 5 then, is of course Jack’s own voice – the lyricism on these tracks really do tow a fine line for me; never into full blown pre-19th Amendment sexism or anything, but just right on that edge of subtle, vague gaslighting & blame with a hint of reasonable doubt. It does feel like Jack is blaming a lot of the seemingly biographical incidents on this album on women in general; even if Meg is never mentioned, this being his first solo album after the disbandment of the White Stripes leaves a bit of room to point in that direction. It doesn’t help that he got divorced the year after this dropped. However, I might just be projecting my own interpretation onto these tracks, and I can’t imagine Jack White is actually like that at all – at worst, this album just hasn’t aged very well lyrically in an era where women’s empowerment is more encouraged & vague swipes like this come across as petty with a lack of real self-reflection. Musically, the album is a delight to listen to, and its quality is kind of undeniable (ESPECIALLY the piano work). It is a damn good record, and I do think it’s worth bumping it up to a 5 – there really isn’t a bad track here, and the wide variety of styles plus the energy he brings to each track makes it a really enjoyable 42 minutes. I had a lot of fun with it at least, & it's probably no less than a 4.

Awesome!

Chill album.

hell yeaa. meglepetesekkel teli album, fun. én mondjuk az éneket máshogy effektezném.

Kedvenc/Favourite: I'm Shakin' Tetszett, mennyire változatos volt. Nagyon élvezhető, tele ötletekkel, történetekkel, nagyon kis groovy. Jó értelemben movie soundtrack vibeok. I liked how diverse it was. Very enjoyable, full of ideas, stories, very groovy. Movie soundtrack vibes in a good way.

5 - an album were everything is great. There’s not any singular song that blows you away but as a whole it’s a fantastic album

Solid songwriting, full of fun jams. Got behind on this list cause I wasn't done listening to this album.

Now, not my favourite record from Jack White, but as the only one on this list from him I'll allow myself to inflate the rating a bit. At the end of the year I always find myself surprised that I've listened to more Jack White than I thought, and majority of his project sound like a perfectly controlled noise. Multiple instruments, uncommon structures, working out great in the end. Even if I question if the guy doesn't have a bit of an ego, he's pretty good at what he does, he does unconventional things and they all work out. Even this album feels like it has great pacing, even if all the songs are pretty different.

Loved this album. Started in the car and was unsure at first, but mowed the lawn and really focused in on the second listen and fully bought in. Great album, very good reminiscent songwriting reminding me of magic Beatles moments. Catchy hooks and riffs. All over great album, will come back to this again

This is Jack White in his top form - diverse songs, solid production, and great performances. This might be the best album he was ever involved with, and I can't believe how many of these tracks I recognized. It's really refreshing to hear a record with jazz/blues/rock influence that isn't just ripping off existing artists. It feels like Jack brings his own flavor to everything, and it makes the record that much better as a whole. It's white boy blues, but done right. However, my only complaint is that some of the tracks towards the end leave something to be desired, tending to grow stale after a bit. 9/10

I like it!!! 4.5 rounded up

slaps, would be an awesome vinyl

One my fav artist and album

Bangers all the way through

Jes todella siistiä että tää levy on generaattorissa! Löysin tän ehkä vasta siinä kohtaa kun White julkasi kakkos-soolo Lazaretton, joka kolisi lujaa. Siitä sit kun rupes kuuntelee tätä ekaa niin suli kyllä ihan koko meikäläinen. Helvetin hieno moderni rokkilevy joka on saamarin eheä ja kaikella tavalla mun mielestä tasapainossa. Ei täytebiisejä, eikä oikeestaan sinkutkaan nouse sellaisiksi koko levyä latistaviksi. Upea upea levy. Mukavaa myös kuunnella levy sillai että sen vaan nappaa hyllystä ja iskee sorviin suoratoiston sijaan. 5/5

Excellent. Love the white stripes. Love jack white

Not the best album by Jack White but I just couldn’t give it a 4 star - I’d say 4 1/2 stars if that was allowed.

Loved it. I actually think it is better than the White Stripes.

Jack White is a modern hero of Rock and Roll. This album is no different to the rest of his work. Travelling across, rock, blues, country and binding it all together to make masterpieces.

Hero

This is a little hyperbolic but Jack White stands out to me in a pretty singular way as an artist who is able to take direct inspiration from old black blues artists but in a way that feels more like respect than exploitation. And I think he's got a pretty great take on the concept of "cool" -- somehow it doesn't seem like an ego thing. Like he seems more like a theater kid to me than a douche bag. Authenticity also comes through in how he handled so much of the writing and production. Can't help but feel grateful to his contribution to rock and roll. I guess I don't have much to say about this album specifically, other than pretty much every track kicks mondo ass.

9/10 Jack White to jest mistrz. Charakterystyczny wokal i wrażliwość. Charyzma. Vibe wczesnych 10'. Soczyste riffy, żonglerka instrumentami i mocne teksty. Można słuchać w kółko.

I started to make notes about specific songs, but really I just loved the whole album. It was unique and different and great.

Yes! This is the best I've heard from this artist. This rocks! Loved the instrumentation. Mostly bass, guitar, drums & piano. Simple but every song is different. Creative. Pretty solid album. Great playing.

This is super rockin...I dig his music style. It took a minute to appreciate and then got better and better with each listen. I'm Shakin' is a party! Apparently that's a cover. Love all the piano in the album. Adds a unique touch to all the rock and roll. Fun lyrics too. Great stuff!

Fantastic fucking album, Jack White is a National treasure. We should erect monuments to his status as an artist.

I have not heard this album yet. It's definitely much more musically broad than the White Stripes. I enjoyed it and will listen to it again in the future.

Jack White's career is extensive and diverse: from his start with the White Stripes, work with the Raconteurs, work with the Dead Weather, then his solo albums, and then his work as a producer. His is one of the most extensive and impactful careers in modern music - and he is still a fairly young man. Blunderbuss is White's debut solo album, and it is as interesting and varied as White's career. White makes blues based, alt rock, with elements of folk, country, and hints of jazz. These are rich, varied, textured songs, with the range of sounds and styles that Jack White incorporates. The result is incredible - a set of successful, expressive, beautiful musical experiments.

Great album! A little more unique than the Jack White albums.

Classic Jack White, can’t believe this one is 12 years old! Still sounds incredible! I’ve always been inspired by White’s brilliant songwriting and wild guitar experimentation which this album perfectly highlights. Another easy 5 for me.

Love this. Musically very strong, lyrically brilliant in places (Missing Pieces, Blunderbuss, On and On and On)..

Loved this! Not sure how it’s passed me by for over a decade.

In my opinion, the best album Jack White has released to date. Everything comes together, and it's a clear departure from his other projects while keeping that trademark Jack-O charm. His playing is far from flashy, but there's no need when the songs sound as sincere as on Blunderbuss. And the lyrics are equal parts hilarious and brutal: 'You're the boy that talks but says nothin' A big game to the ones that you think will believe you, But you don't know how to read The look on my face when it says, "yeah I've read that book too" And who the hell's impressed by you? I want names of the people that we know that are fallin' for this You would sell your own mother out And then betray your dead brother with another hypocritical kiss' Oof.

5 stars. Great album.

Fantastic album. I love Jack White, he's such a great guitarist and I think he really pushes the genre. It's always that basic blues but I love that he's still doing it and making it interesting and new. Some bangers on this album. I once played Love Interruption at an open mic at uni. I listened to this album so much when it came, BANGER

Just listen to the last song to realize there are no cheap throwaways on this album. Clever and interesting throughout. 4.5

Arrancamos noviembre con éste álbum que hace tiempo no escuchaba. Jack White me parece uno de los tipos más creativos y prolíficos de su generación. Es una máquina de producir música excelente en cada uno de sus proyectos y su faceta solista no es la excepción. Éste trabajo está lleno de temazos, imposibles de diseccionar en unidades. Tienen que apreciarse como una obra completa de un tipo militante de la producción analógica y no de un volver a las bases sino de revalorizarlas. Hasta el lunes.

Love the white stripes and Jack White. This album is other banger from him.

Really enjoyed this

I'll have 1 Jack White album with the lot please. Every song is so very different. I love the heavy contrast transition from Weep Themselves To Sleep to I'm Shakin'. I loved this album as a whole far more than it's individual tracks, which alone are good, but so much more as an album.

Great album not a bad track

No private spotify session used on this one, I have listened to it many times before. I like it, White's guitar work is a lot of fun and this album rocks in general.

An instant classic as I added 10 songs right off the bat to my playlist....

Loved this album since it came out! Fun and upbeat.