Jack White reveals details for secret release ‘No Name’ album
Last week, music obsessives were driven into a frenzy after Third Man Records stores began handing out secret copies of a new Jack White album. Stamped No Name, the record was given away for free with any purchases at stores in London, Nashville, and Detroit. Despite the flocking of fans to these stores, details about the album itself have remained impressively scarce, until now.
The original promotion was a one-day-only event, but more copies of the record have been given out at the merchandise desk of White’s live shows. On July 27th, the White Stripes founder played a charity gig for the American Legion Post 82 venue in Nashville. At that concert, which included performances of previously unheard songs, White declared, “I got something special for you at that merch table on your way out.”
During the original run of white-label copies, the records themselves were housed in plain white sleeves and pressed on white vinyl. However, the copies given out in Nashville featured a little more information about the release. Pressed on blue vinyl, these No Name records also included real album artwork and even a track listing.
Those lucky enough to score tickets for the show at the intimate venue were quick to share their findings with the wider community of fans, and many of the details surrounding the release have now become open secrets. The artwork, for instance, is very minimalist, featuring White’s signature blue tones on a textured image – theorised by some to be taken from a photo of rubble at Mount Rushmore that the songwriter shared on Instagram previously.
Of course, it’s impossible to too much about an album simply by looking at the track listing without any context. However, White debuted many of these songs at the Nashville performance, interspersed with highlights from across his career. Songs like ‘Old Scratch Blues’ – the opening track on No Name – as well as ‘Missionary’ and ‘Number One With A Bullet’ are particular highlights.
With these tracks, White seems to be harking back to the sound of his early material with The White Stripes, imbued with a raw garage rock sound that had largely disappeared from his solo work prior to this release.
The back cover of the LP also featured some dedications, including names like Mia Goth, Zasu Pitts, Nudie Cohn, and Coco Crisp among many other bizarre monikers. It seems the only unanswered questions surrounding No Name, at present, are its potential release date, and why White has opted to shroud the record in such mystery.
Furthermore, White has recently been announced for a series of festivals across Europe in August as a last-minute replacement for Queens of the Stone Age after they were forced to pull out due to Josh Homme’s health issues.
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