Entering Heaven Alive is White’s first effort based entirely around the Americana sound he’s flirted with for decades, and let’s hope it’s his only album like this.
Less than four months ago, Jack White released his fourth solo album Fear of the Dawn, which reintroduced us to the hard-rockin’ guitar-shredding side of the singer-songwriter. It contained a few of the experimental flairs of his messy 2018 album Boarding House Reach, but was generally more cohesive, and induced fewer reaches for the “skip” button. While he was writing the songs that became Fear of the Dawn, White created enough material to give us an entire second album, Entering Heaven Alive.
White announced Entering Heaven Alive and Fear of the Dawn at the same time, but clarified that they’re “two entirely different albums” that are “each defined by different inspirations, different themes [and] different moods.” Prior to its release, we just knew that Entering Heaven Alive would contrast the heavy Fear of the Dawn with a calmer sound rooted in folk and country, and that basically sums it up. Entering Heaven Alive is White’s first effort based entirely around the Americana sound he’s flirted with for decades, and let’s hope it’s his only album like this.
If “decades” seems like a stretch, recall that plenty of early White Stripes tracks such as “I’m Bound to Pack It Up” from 2000’s De Stijl or “We Are Going to be Friends” from 2001’s White Blood Cells were basically folk songs. On Entering Heaven Alive, “Love Is Selfish” recalls this younger simplicity by featuring only White with an acoustic guitar (plus the most subtle of drumming) throughout. This is the most barebones track on the album, and all other tracks are quite a bit more expansive in their instrumentation. “A Tip From You To Me,” “A Tree on Fire From Within,” and “Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone” all incorporate a significant amount of piano, which White has used heavily before on the White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan and his first two solo releases. “If I Die Tomorrow” has the country-esque tone of his work with the Raconteurs, while the lyrics of “A Madman From Manhattan” have their storytelling prowess. Basically, you can hear echoes of White’s past projects all over Entering Heaven Alive. This is understandable, and all of these songs are fine, but it leaves us with the impression of “we’ve heard this before.”
Instead, the most gripping parts of Entering Heaven Alive come when it breaks the mold of these previously-tested styles, giving listeners something entirely new. “Queen of the Bees” is not exactly my favorite track on the album, but admittedly does stand out for having a peculiar vaudeville melody complete with backing marimbas. In Beatles terms, it’s the “Honey Pie” of the album. “All Along the Way” starts and ends with a simple acoustic guitar melody, but there’s a dub-influenced electric guitar and organ section hidden in its middle that really captures your attention. “I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)” sounds nothing like the rest of Entering Heaven Alive, but is arguably the album’s climax. It’s got a fair amount of electric guitar, an unpredictable piano part, and gets really psychedelic halfway through. It honestly could have been on Fear of the Dawn, but instead injects some welcome panache into this album.
Although White did say that Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive are “entirely different albums,” they do function as companion pieces. Both include the track “Taking Me Back,” albeit with completely different interpretations. The version on Fear of the Dawn opened that album with a jolt of electric guitars, while the version on Entering Heaven Alive – retitled “Taking Me Back (Gently)” – closes the album in what sounds like an old west saloon. Acoustic guitar, piano, and fiddle are all given their time to shine on the track, and it couldn’t be more dissimilar from its fully-electronic counterpart. As an added quirk, the feedback sounds that close this track (and the album) are the same ones that open Fear of the Dawn.
Whenever artists release companion albums, it’s naturally going to elicit comparisons between the two of them: see Foals’ Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 and Part 2. As Jack White’s 2022 releases go, Fear of the Dawn is the more compelling choice. Its tracks are all varied enough to stand apart from one another, yet flow together nicely as the album waxes and wanes in intensity. Entering Heaven Alive shows off its styles well enough, but comes off more like a compilation of “Jack White goes folk,” where similar-sounding tracks can be played in any order. Finally, to be blunt, who would choose acoustic Jack White over electric Jack White? White can do both styles with a level of skill few other musicians can muster, but his best efforts have always been a happy medium of the two.
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