Hear Me Out: ‘Blue Orchid’ is Jack White’s finest guitar work
Jack White is to guitar what Alexander McQueen was to fashion. A working-class outsider who revitalised a tired corner of their art with a daring mix of traditionalism, theatrics and grit. The two souls created a universe in their image and were McQueen’s life not tragically cut short in 2010, one would assume he would have been just as influential and titanic in his field as White is in his.
What also connects the two artists is the scope of their mastery. They didn’t have one aspect of their calling and prized it above all others. McQueen’s handiwork was as immaculate as his designs could be brutal. As such, picking out one aspect of the man born John Gillis’ guitar playing and holding it above the others is a tricky question.
The man could do it all on the guitar, so you really have to ask yourself what aspect of playing you value most. Want shredding? Check out his explosive performance during a festival set with his rock side project, The Raconteurs. Prefer delicate fingerpicking? His 2022 record, Entering Heaven Alive, is filled with it. And riffs? How about a riff so iconic that just typing it brings it to mind: Duuun, Dun-Dun-Dun-Dun-Duuun, Duuun.
So, when asked to consider the absolute high point of a career full of them, I went on a deep dive. Some of White’s live shows with The Stripes are phenomenal displays of six-string chaos. His slide work is always a joy, especially his rhythm work, but one track always came back to me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was the closest thing to a synthesis of everything I love about his playing until I eventually realised that my answer, like it so often is when considering favourites, was the first thing I thought of.
The album it’s from is iffy, but ‘Blue Orchid’ is, to this day, one of the best things Jack’s ever done. Simultaneously, anvil-heavy and Amityville creepy, catchier than a rich guy in a mask being pursued by Mystery Inc and built around a riff you could kill and cook a rhino with. What sets it apart for me, though, is the way that I’m sure the first time many folks heard it, they would have never guessed it was actually a guitar they were hearing.
Sure, the technical prowess of Meg’s ex is undeniable, but technical ability alone doesn’t make a legend—YouTube is packed with enthusiasts who can play more notes per minute than a hyper-caffeinated Eddie Van Halen. What sets Jack apart is his visionary approach, like crafting the iconic guitar tone in Blue Orchid entirely from scratch. This is even more impressive considering Jack’s well-known technophobia, likely ensuring any nearby computers were metaphorically—or literally—purged in holy fire before the project began.
This is a sound painstakingly crafted with guitar, pedals, and an amp, as evidenced by Jack’s ability to recreate it during the track’s electrifying live performances. Nearly two decades after its release, it still feels otherworldly, even as bands like Soft Play, Idles, and especially Royal Blood have built entire careers around similar sonic palettes. For that reason, it stands as Jack’s finest guitar moment. The most exciting part, however, is that you can’t entirely rule out the possibility of Jack creating something even greater in the future.
