OLD BUT NEW AGAIN The hardest part about trying to describe an album you have already read multiple reviews of is not repeating what you have already read. The Raconteurs have received so much press due to the membership of Jack White that it feels like you know their debut album before you even listen to it. You have probably read reviews with descriptions such as “righteous” and “clever”. Those descriptions are certainly true here. Many reviews have stated that White, Brendan Benson, and the rhythm section have concocted a mixture of styles from the 1970s. While it is true you hear echoes of Thin Lizzy, Zepplin (“Store Bought Bones”), Foghat, and even a little early Black Sabbath (the title track, “Broken Boy Soldier”), I think this album pays more tribute to the Beatles than anyone else. The first track, “Steady , As She Goes” is as tightly crafted as anything the Fab Four recorded in the Rubber Soul/Revolver days; and if you don’t find yourself tapping your foot, then you may be rhythmically challenged. The second track, “Hands” sounds like the Beatles if Lennon and McCartney had grown up listening to Kurt Cobain (that’s a good thing, by the way). “Intimate Secretary” could have come from Sgt. Pepper and “Together” sounds as if someone found an unused demo from Let It Be and turned it over to the Raconteurs to finish. Now this may sound like I am taking something away from the band, but I’m not. It is almost impossible to record anything in rock/pop music and not have it influenced by the Beatles. The comparison is made easier here due to the format of two guitars, bass, drum as well as two vocalists who play off each other well. It sounds as though these guys have been working together for years instead of being a new band. Somehow, they manage to make these familiar sounds seem fresh. Credit the rhythm section of Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler for keeping everything grounded while the guitars and vocals sometimes soar above the songs themselves. The only song that seems a misstep is the closing track, “Blue Veins”. Someone explain to me this current trend of having albums end on downbeat somber notes. Every so often, someone has to record an album of solid, unpretentious, non-gimmicky songs that reminds us why rock music is the worldwide force it is. If you are looking for that album, then the Raconteurs have it ready for you.