11. Blunderbuss / Jack White

Though Jack White is no longer lording over a record with wrecking-ball riffs (see Elephant or Icky Thump), Blunderbuss is a strong first album as a nominal solo artist.  Instead of blasting away at the blues idiom with anthemic aplomb, White sits down lower in the grooves, a flotsam of old-rock guitars, pianos, and drums delivering a compellingly strange batch of songs.  But do not worry too much, as there are still moments of uncanny guitarness in the midst of rag-tag, blues doo-wop mish-mash.

White is razor sharp as a songwriter, and his songs on Blunderbuss are as direct as he has ever been.  He is contradictory, mysterious, and magnetic.  His bemused, almost maniacal lyrical and vocal approach emphasizes the serious emotional baggage he unloads.  He rages at his independent and elusive woman, then he places her on a pedestal for being just that.  He rips out his heart for love, then he wants to take it back and lock it away in the deep.  On "Hypocritical Kiss," he chides incredulously:  "And who the hell's impressed by you? / I want the names of the people / That we know that are falling for this."  He never gets a straight answer, despite his constant hounding.

As Jack White the solo artist, he is free to run down any rabbit holes, get entangled in any thicket.  The White Stripes' overwhelming canon may serve as a counterpoint rather than a burden.  On Blunderbuss, he plays Brer Rabbit with a fierce musical curiosity, and the chase is at once thrilling and befuddling.