Jack White Covers Raconteurs Bandmate on New Single
Jack White keeps it in the family on the B-side of his new “Would You Fight for My Love” 7-inch, covering “Parallel,” a track by fellow Dead Weather and Raconteurs member Dean Fertita.
Cut with shimmering pedal steel, twinkling mandolin and White’s own furious guitar playing, this version of “Parallel” fits in with the blown-out roots style the musician put forth on his latest solo LP, Lazaretto. The song continues on this pleasant, familiar course, but takes a sudden left turn towards the end, exploding with a winding, wild synth line that brings a perfect futuristic touch.
That moment is likely a direct homage to Fertita’s original, a harrowing, pleading slow-burner tinged with psychedelic synths and production, but boasting a pristine Nineties alt-rock chorus. The track was co-written with the Raconteurs’ Brendan Benson and appeared on Fertita’s 2009 self-titled LP as “Hello=Fire.”
As Consequence of Sound points out, Fertita is currently on the road with White as well. The musician — who also plays in Queens of the Stone Age — was tapped to man the piano and keyboards after the sudden passing of Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, who died of a heart attack in October while the band was touring in Mexico.
Despite the tragic loss, White returned to the road at the beginning of November for a swing through Europe. His only remaining tour dates (other than sets at next spring’s Lollapalooza’s in Chile, Argentina and Brazil) are gigs at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on January 28th, and at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 30th.