Jack White
Entering Heaven Alive
THIRD MAN
The acoustic and lovestruck Entering Heaven Alive is Jack White’s second album in less than four months. It follows the news of the former The White Stripes guitar man proposing to and then marrying Olivia Jean, his longtime girlfriend and Black Belles singer-songwriter, during his hometown show at the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Whereas Fear of the Dawn was a manic rock and blues odyssey that danced across ideas in each track with little regard for melodicism, this new heartfelt album leans into the songwriter’s softer side, oftentimes overshadowed by his blistering electric guitar solos.
White Stripes’ standout acoustic numbers such as “We’re Going to Be Friends” and “I’m Bound to Pack It Up” serve as a general framework for what to expect here. The final track of Entering Heaven Alive leads back into Fear of Dawn’s “Take Me Back,” an electrified version of the sister album’s gentle closer. Each album isn’t quite a complete thought without the other holding its end of the bargain—which makes sense, since they were both recorded at the same time. Overall, White’s self-editing is a little suspect this year since both albums could have been combined into one strong release that vaults over 2018’s Boarding House Reach.
Entering Heaven Alive sometimes reminds us that White is still a master of the electric guitar (“I’ve Got You Surrounded (with My Love)”) and studio wizardry (“If I Die Tomorrow”), but often he’s stuck in a meandering and acoustic mood here, as heard on “Love Is Selfish,” “Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone,” and “A Tip From You to Me.” He can drop a track on us that’s a flirty jaunt (“Queen of the Bees”) in one minute and then shift back to being a madcap rocker (“A Madman from Manhattan”). It just doesn’t come together in the end. Entering Heaven Alive has more rough frameworks than fully upholstered pieces of songcraft.
