Jack White - Entering Heaven's Gate

by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 8 / 9 / 2022

Label: Third Man Records
Format: CD

intro

Versatile second album in three months from ex-White Stripes frontman Jack White

Detroit-born (and Nashville-based) singer/guitarist Jack White, now 47, must be one of the most prolific people in music. He played a surprise set at Glastonbury in June and is currently on his ‘Supply Chain Issues’ tour. Plus he has launched ‘Entering Heaven Alive’, his second album in three months following April's hard-rocking ‘Fear Of The Dawn’. The latest album was initially touted as a quieter, acoustic counterpart to its immediate predecessor but the reality is a little more nuanced than that. There are some lovely, folky moments on the new release, with ballad ‘All Along The Way’ harking back to the acoustic numbers from ‘White Blood Cells’, the 2001 breakthrough album by Jack's former band, The White Stripes. But there is a range of styles on the album. There's bossa nova on ‘A Madman From Manhattan’ and a nice revival of The White Stripes' sepia-tinted blues style on ‘I've Got You Surrounded (With My Love)’. ‘Taking Me Back (Gently)’ skilfully reinvents a single from ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ as hot-club jazz, whilst ‘Love Is Selfish’ - “it's always trying to mess up all my plans” - could be about the amicable end to Jack's eight-year marriage to British model Karen Elson. There are also musings on mortality on the brilliant single ‘If I Die Tomorrow’. Jack White shows great versatility on this new album as well as a fondness for old-fashioned sounds...... ‘Entering Heaven Alive’ could easily have been produced in the synth-free 1960s or 1970s. He also demonstrates his skill as a lyricist and his resourcefulness is impressive, too.

Track Listing:-

1 A Tip From You To Me
2 All Along The Way
3 Help Me Along
4 Love Is Selfish
5 I've Got You Surrounded (With My Love)
6 Queen Of The Bees
7 A Tree On Fire From Within
8 If I Die Tomorrow
9 Please God, Don't Tell Anyone
10 A Madman From Manhattan
11 Taking Me Back (Gently)

Band Links:-

https://jackwhiteiii.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jackwhite
https://twitter.com/thirdmanrecords

Label Links:-

http://thirdmanrecords.com/
https://twitter.com/thirdmanrecords
https://www.facebook.com/ThirdManRecords
https://instagram.com/thirdmanrecordsofficial/
https://plus.google.com/+ThirdManRecordsNashville/about
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialTMR