Plunderin' The Past

Pirates are sticklers for tradition. Consider the pirate code (more guidelines); the general hankering after treasure; the inherent wisdom of keeping a loaded parrot about your person at all times. And given Jack White' s admirably piratical leanings (the raconteurs? Steady as she goes? It's almost crying out for a "thar, me hearties" at the end) with his new band, you'd expect the past to be referenced with a hearty disregard of landlubbers in general. And you 'd be right.

Broken Boy Soldiers is easily the most referential, retrospective album I've heard in a good while. Not that this is as much of a problem as you might imagine: it's still a really good listen. But every time 'Steady As She Goes' comes on the radio, I keep thinking it's some Pixies track that I can't place, with that big ol' Lovering-esque drumbeat and thwomping bass. When I listen to the album and Hands starts, I keep wondering whether this time it'll turn out to be the cover of Baba O'Riley it so clearly want's to be.

The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes
Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
This song could have been like a Pixies on 45 tribute song, so many and varied are the references. Still, given that the Pixies are just ace, it's not really a problem. This is the slightly more chilled version of the surfy Doolittle classic, recorded while on tour in Scotland. Of late, the band have been playing both versions live.

The Raconteurs - Hands
The Who - Baba O'Riley
It's the riff mostly - I can't get it out of my head that it's really, really similar. Check out also the very Beatles-esque vocal harmonies courtesy of Mssrs White and Benson. Tasty fish.

Buy buy buy!
Raconteurs
The Who
Pixies