Consolers of the Lonely

Consolers of the Lonely
Studio album by
The Raconteurs
ReleasedMarch 25, 2008
RecordedApril 2007, February 2008
StudioBlackbird (Berry Hill, Tennessee)
Genre
Length55:30
Label
Producer
The Raconteurs chronology
Broken Boy Soldiers
(2006) 		Consolers of the Lonely
(2008) 		Help Us Stranger
(2019)
Singles from Consolers Of The Lonely
  1. "Salute Your Solution"
    Released: March 25, 2008
  2. "Many Shades of Black"
    Released: August 25, 2008
  3. "Old Enough"
    Released: October 21, 2008
  4. "Consoler of the Lonely"
    Released: 2008

Consolers of the Lonely is the second studio album by American rock band The Raconteurs. It was released on March 25, 2008, on Warner Bros. Records in most parts of the world, and a day earlier on XL Recordings in the UK.[5]

The band did no promotion before the album's release, and its existence was only confirmed a week before. Even so, the record was accidentally leaked by iTunes, and some fans managed to purchase the album early.[6] It is available on CD, vinyl, and MP3. A video for the first single from the album, "Salute Your Solution" was released on the same day. The album earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Background

The band premiered "Five on the Five" during their last tour.[7] The title of the record comes from the inscription in the side of a Washington, D.C. post office written by Charles William Eliot,[8] which reads in full:

Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarger of the common life.[9]

Album cover

The stage portrayed on the cover of the album depicts three signs for Tennessee, Michigan, and Ohio. These signs refer to the fact that the band members currently reside in Tennessee, but Brendan Benson and Jack White are originally from Michigan, while Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence are originally from Ohio. After being folded out the scene then depicts the band on stage with a woman exiting from a door in the back. It also has a sign that says "The Raconteurs" and another that says the album's title. Once opened up, it is noticed that the stage is empty and the bass drum in the back says "Sanitary Workers Band".

Release

According to the band, the album was finished during the first week in March and was released less than three weeks later.[10] For a band of their stature, the release of Consolers of the Lonely with no promotion was highly unorthodox. Music critics and commentators largely saw it as a way to eschew critics and deal directly with fans.[11] The Observer called it "one of the most exciting musical events of 2008."[12] Despite the already rapid release time and efforts to secure the date, the record was briefly available for purchase on iTunes Friday, March 21.[13]

A bluegrass version of "Old Enough" featuring Ricky Skaggs on mandolin and Ashley Monroe on vocals was recorded during a special live studio session. This version was nominated for the Country Music Association Award for Musical Event of the Year.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubB−[15]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Independent[18]
NME7/10[19]
Pitchfork7.4/10[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin[22]
Uncut[23]

Critique of Consolers of the Lonely was mostly positive; much of it centered on the chaotic sound and diverse nature of the album as well as its resemblance to albums by Led Zeppelin and The Who.[9][24] According to The Toronto Star, "White's bent Americana and Benson's British invasion-isms yields wonderfully unpredictable results".[25] Kitty Empire of The Observer called the album "lively" and said it "finds [the Raconteurs] luxuriating in fancy stuff with kid-in-a-sweetshop enthusiasm. Minimalism is out, bombast is in; the detail, is, as ever, lip-smacking."[12] Commenting on the band's chemistry and freeness, Rolling Stone said the album is "a blissfully stoned conversation between White and Benson about their favorite bands: Led Zeppelin, the Who, Badfinger", though it added, "that freedom is not always satisfying."[9] Austin-American Statesmen said "it's a weirdly overblown and curiously dull album," and complained about its production.[26] The New York Times echoed those statements about the "chaos" of the album, but concluded that "that desperation only makes the crunch of the music more euphoric."[24] The Guardian found that on Consolers of the Lonely, the Raconteurs "establish a firm, emotionally charged identity of their own" and called the effort "flawed but ragged glory."[27] Allmusic concluded that the album is a "lop-sided, bottom-loaded album that's better and richer than their debut."[28]

The album was nominated for Best Rock Album and won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 51st Grammy Awards. The album ranked No. 44 on Rolling Stone's year-end critic's list and No. 35 on Spin Magazine's year-end Top 40 albums.[29][30] The album was ranked the No. 4 Album of the Decade[31] by Glide Magazine.[32]

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009 Consolers of the Lonely Best Rock Album Nominated
Best Engineered Non-Classical Album Won

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 42,000 copies in its first week.[33] It debuted at No. 8 on the UK Album Chart, No. 4 on the Canadian Album Chart, and No. 50 on the Australian ARIA chart on April 7, 2008, based on digital downloads. However, the CD was released on April 5, thus allowing the album the next week to ascend 32 places to reach its peak position thus far of No. 18 due to physical sales.

Track listing

All songs by Brendan Benson and Jack White, except "Rich Kid Blues" by Terry Reid.

No.TitleLength
1."Consoler of the Lonely"3:26
2."Salute Your Solution"3:00
3."You Don't Understand Me"4:53
4."Old Enough"3:58
5."The Switch and the Spur"4:24
6."Hold Up"3:27
7."Top Yourself"4:26
8."Many Shades of Black"4:25
9."Five on the Five"3:33
10."Attention"3:40
11."Pull This Blanket Off"1:59
12."Rich Kid Blues"4:34
13."These Stones Will Shout"3:54
14."Carolina Drama"5:55
Total length:55:30
Tenth anniversary Third Man Records Vault edition bonus 7"
No.TitleLength
1."Sunday Driver"3:39
2."Now That You're Gone"3:56

Personnel

The Raconteurs

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Consolers of the Lonely
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[34] 18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[35] 38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 58
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[38] 4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[39] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40] 29
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[41] 24
French Albums (SNEP)[42] 40
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 60
Irish Albums (IRMA)[44] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[46] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[48] 8
US Billboard 200[49] 7

Certifications

Certifications for Consolers of the Lonely
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Consolers of the Lonely
Region Date Label
United Kingdom March 24, 2008 XL
United States March 25, 2008 Warner Bros.

References

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  2. ^ Hudson, Alex (June 18, 2019). "The Raconteurs | Help Us Stranger". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "The Raconteurs, 'Consolers of the Lonely' (Third Man/Warner Bros.)". May 29, 2008. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Jackson, Josh. "The 50 Best Garage Rock Albums of All Time". pastemagazine. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "XL Recordings / 'Consolers of the Lonely' To Be Released March 25th". XL Recordings. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
  6. ^ "Did iTunes Leak Raconteurs Album Early?". Spin Magazine Online. March 21, 2008. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
  7. ^ "Five on the Five by The Raconteurs Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  8. ^ No byline (March 18, 2008), "Raconteurs: Who are the 'Consolers Of The Lonely'?" Archived April 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine NME.com. Retrieved on April 2, 2008
  9. ^ a b c Maerz, Melissa (April 17, 2008), Consolers Of The Lonely Archived May 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine RollingStone.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-02
  10. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (March 18, 2008), "Raconteurs Album Being Rushed To Market Next Week". Billboard
  11. ^ No byline (March 19, 2008), "Raconteurs' critical escape". Press Association - Premier Showbiz
  12. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (March 30, 2008), "Review: Critics: Releases: CD OF THE WEEK: The Raconteurs want to tell you a story: The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely". The Observer. :20
  13. ^ Harding, Cortney (March 21, 2008), "Raconteurs Album Hits iTunes". Billboard.biz
  14. ^ "Reviews for Consolers Of The Lonely by The Raconteurs". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  15. ^ Phipps, Keith (March 25, 2008). "The Raconteurs: Consolers Of The Lonely". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  16. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (March 25, 2008). "Consolers of the Lonely". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
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  22. ^ Browne, David (June 2008). "Missing Meg". Spin. 24 (6): 108. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
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  24. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (03-24-2008), "Miserable Exuberance From a Yin And Yang". The New York Times. :6
  25. ^ Rayner, Ben (March 25, 2008). "CD pick of the week". The Toronto Star. p. L08.
  26. ^ No byline (March 30, 2008), "No need to rush for Raconteurs' follow-up". Austin American-Statesman. :J13
  27. ^ Simpson, Dave (March 28, 2008), "Film & Music: Rock & pop reviews: The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely". The Guardian. :10
  28. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (undated), Review AllMusic.com. Retrieved on April 2, 2008
  29. ^ "News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  30. ^ 12.11.08 7:32 am (January 2009). "The 20 Best Albums of 2008 | 20) GNARLS BARKLEY, THE ODD COUPLE". SPIN.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  32. ^ "Music :: Culture :: Life". Glide Magazine. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
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