The Raconteurs - Acoustic (2006-2008)

A while back, I posted a stray tracks album of the Raconteurs, covering the years of their first period together, 2006 to 2008. (In case you don't know, the band is mainly led by Jack White, formerly of the White Stripes, and Brendan Benson.) This album covers the same period, but consists just of acoustic versions of songs.

Nearly all the songs here are acoustic versions of songs from the Raconteurs albums in 2006 and 2008. But there are two exceptions: "It Ain't Easy," a song made famous by David Bowie, though it wasn't written by him, and a version of "The Seeker" done with the song's author, Pete Townshend of the Who.

The Raconteurs are a rocking band, so some of the versions here are fairly rocking too. Some of them have bass and drums. But they still use acoustic guitars, and there's a general acoustic feel, so I'm including them on this album anyway. Plus, this album is a good way to gather up all the various B-sides and other random tracks that I didn't include on my other Raconteurs album.

Everything on the album has been officially released, except for "The Seeker" and "Yellow Sun." But both of those were put on the Internet by official sources, so the sound quality is high all the way through.

01 Broken Boy Soldier [KCRW Session] (Raconteurs)
02 Blue Veins [KCRW Session] (Raconteurs)
03 It Ain't Easy [Live] (Raconteurs)
04 Steady, As She Goes [Acoustic Version] (Raconteurs)
05 The Seeker (Raconteurs & Pete Townshend)
06 Old Enough [Bluegrass Version] (Raconteurs with Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe)
07 Carolina Drama [Acoustic Mix] (Raconteurs)
08 You Don't Understand Me [Acoustic Version] (Raconteurs)
09 Many Shades of Black [Acoustic Version] (Raconteurs)
10 Yellow Sun [Acoustic Version] (Raconteurs)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15182058/TRacontrs_2006-2008_Acoustc_atse.zip.html

The album cover art uses a photo of the band playing at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. I picked this one because it prominently displays the band's leaders White and Benson playing acoustic guitars.

The Raconteurs - Keep It Clean - Non-Album Tracks (2006-2008)

Just a few days ago, the Raconteurs released a new album, "Help Us Stranger." If you don't know, the Raconteurs are a group led by singer-songwriters Jack White of the White Stripes and Brendon Benson. It's their first album since 2008. I was disappointed with White's last solo album, but I think it's a strong return to form. I hope he keeps going with the Raconteurs, since his talents and Benson's complement each other.

To celebrate this new album, I thought I'd post something else by them. Up until their new activity, they really only existed as a group from 2006 to 2008, although they had an occasional concert since then. So I divided all the stray tracks I had from two into two, and came up with this album, of full-band material, and another album of acoustic stuff.

The vast majority of the songs here are covers. There are only three that are not: "The Band Rendition," which was a B-side and bonus track at the time of their first album in 2006, and "Open Your Eyes" and "You Made a Fool Out of Me," which were leftovers from their second album in 2008, and were released as a single in 2012.

I must say, the covers run a very wide range, from Howlin' Wolf ("Little Red Rooster") to Sonny and Cher ("Bang Bang") to the Undertones ("Teenage Kicks") to Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy"), and a lot more. Some of them are mainly sung by White, and others are mainly sung by Benson. The vast majority were done live in concert. I then tried to erase the audience noise as best I can, as I often do, to help those songs fit in with the studio tracks.

This album is 52 minutes long.

UPDATE: On May 31, 2025, I updated the mp3 download file. A kind person finally found the missing song I'd been asking for, a version of "Send Me a Postcard" by the Shocking Blue. So thanks to that person for that.

01 The Bane Rendition (Raconteurs)
02 Heading for the Texas Border (Raconteurs)
03 A House Is Not a Motel (Raconteurs)
04 Floating (Raconteurs)
05 Bang Bang [My Baby Shot Me Down] (Raconteurs)
06 The Christian Life (Raconteurs)
07 Crazy (Raconteurs)
08 Send Me a Postcard (Raconteurs)
09 Who Do You Love (Raconteurs)
10 Teenage Kicks (Raconteurs)
11 Open Your Eyes (Raconteurs)
12 You Made a Fool Out of Me (Raconteurs)
13 Little Red Rooster (Raconteurs)
14 Keep It Clean (Raconteurs)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/UrdiYtzL

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/kHfWbeO62kPhAKv/file

For the album cover, I found a photo of the band from 2006. I also found a concert poster that I didn't use, but I took the unusual lettering of the band name from that.