Fans of The Raconteurs have been waiting 10+ years for the band’s next album, and the recently released “Help Us Stranger” was so worth the wait.
The first single, “Help Me Stranger,” hit #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 the week it came out.
The band’s front man, creative mastermind Jack White, infuses “Help Me Stranger” with a 60’s rock sound: fuzz guitar and elements of the melody have a Yardbirds “Heart Full Of Soul” feel to it.
The lyrics are smart and artful:
There’s a motivation about you
That moves me when we’re apart
It agitates my affection
And it wants to break my heart
Help me, stranger
Help me get it off my mind
Get me back on my feet
Brother, can you spare the time?
Enhancing the 60s vibe, one of the album’s cuts is a cover of Donovan’s “Hey Gyp” (1965).
Originally from Detroit, The Raconteurs now live in Nashville; their music is described as alternative rock, garage rock, blues rock, indie rock.
Not surprisingly, it’s the Adult Alternative, and, to a slighter lesser extent, Alternative, audiences that are embracing “Help Me Stranger.”