The Steel Guitar Forum

Actually, bad news for those of you who don't like her new album/direction.

<B>Jack White Plans Two More Albums With Loretta Lynn
(LAUNCH, 05/12/2004 2:00 PM)
By LAUNCH Radio Networks</B>
White Stripes frontman Jack White will work with country legend Loretta Lynn on two more albums, according to NME.com. White produced Lynn's new album, Van Lear Rose, in addition to singing and playing on the record. Lynn said, "It's not a gimmick. I've got two more in mind, and Jack and I are going to do 'em together. When I'm on the road, I say to my fans: 'How many of you know The White Stripes?' And they applaud. Country people know him."

For his part, White doesn't think that fans of the White Stripes are confused by his work with a country artist. "As they grow older, they realize that all music dates back to the blues, and all music, whether it's punk or New Wave or rock and roll or whatever it is, it's all leading back to the blues," White says. "And country is just another aspect of that. It's just another Southern take on that folk style, just as important and just as valid."

Lynn also said that she and White will head out on the road together in the future with a band called the Do Whaters, who played on the Van Lear Rose disc.

The White Stripes and Lynn met after Lynn's daughter, Patsy, discovered that the duo had dedicated their 2001 album, White Blood Cells, to her mother.

After finally listening to the entire Van Lear Rose album, I've come to some conclusions. First, while not a big White Stripes fan, I applaud Jack for his appreciation and support of Loretta's career. She deserves it and had the guts to step out of the tired old box she was in for years, and try something radically different. Obviously, it worked and I'm happy to see her find a new audience. Second, I am still dissappointed by the production. Yes, it's way better than ANYTHING that Nashville is putting out these days, but to my ear Loretta's voice does not work well within the mix of garage guitars and overly loud snare. While I'm glad to hear no trace of the modern Nashville sound, a less heavy-handed mix of roots country instrumentation, something along the lines of the "O Brother" music, would be the perfect setting for her diamond voice. I suppose there had to be a certain amount of the Stripes' sound included, for their fans to latch onto this, and hopefully, now that the ice has been broken, maybe the next CD can provide a more suitable context in which she can really shine. Maybe by then Jack White will have enhanced his education of country music to understand that it is not the blues, and approach it from a more knowledgable perspective.

In spite of my personal opinion about the production, I can't argue with the smashing success of this project, and have to congratulate Loretta and Jack (like they would care)! [Edited for spelling]<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tim Whitlock on 13 May 2004 at 11:18 AM.]</p></FONT>

Looks like Johnny Cash had the right idea in his later years and Loretta does too!

Somebody tell Jack White that the blues came from West Africans, and country music came from Scotch-Irish. They have heavily influenced each other, but are not the same. Elvis and those Sun guys put the two together and made rock'n'roll. Maybe that's what Jack is thinking about. Or maybe the problem with this CD is that Jack thought he was getting Aretha.

<SMALL>Somebody tell Jack White that the blues came from West Africans, and country music came from Scotch-Irish.</SMALL>

Thats right! There's no blues in country music it's Scotch-Irish music.
Just listen to the "Father of Country Music", Jimmie O'Rodgers doing all those great songs like "Muleskinner hornpipe" or the "TB Jig".<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Alvin Blaine on 13 May 2004 at 11:20 AM.]</p></FONT>

Well, yeah, Jimmy Rogers wrote stuff that was dang near straight blues. But then he was from Mississippi. People in Mississippi have always had trouble keeping the two straight, and just mixed them all up. That's how Elvis came up with rock'n'roll. Mississippi Fred McDowell (who was from Tennessee) said "The blues ain't nothin' but a reel." And B.B. King (a real Mississippi guy) said he started bending strings to sound like a steel guitar. Being from Mississippi myself, I have always had trouble keeping my country and blues separate. So now I play in one coutry/rockabilly band, and one blues band. Sometimes I forget which one I'm playing in, and they give me dirty looks - the kind some people are giving Jack and Loretta. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by David Doggett on 13 May 2004 at 11:40 AM.]</p></FONT>

Just a great album.....No terrible Garth Brooks production, just good songs and a rockin (or whatever you want to call it) band. 2 more albums? I buy them!

It's no revelation that country and blues are related. One was the poor white man's music and the other the poor black man's, and both forms have borrowed from each other over the years. Basically they are two sides of the same coin. That notwithstanding, we do use two words to distinguish between these types of music. I disagree with Jack White's statement that "country music is just another aspect [of the blues]", but I like that he's learning some musical history, unlike most of his peers.

Very cool production. I've played some gigs with Dave Sneedy the steel guitar guy from Detroit. He's kind of a minimal player, but it works, and it's great to see a local steel guy get on a big name/release CD.

Drew

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