Morphing the Blues: The White Stripes and the Strange Relevance of Detroit

Even if you are not a fan of the White Stripes, "Morphing the Blues: The White Stripes and the Strange Relevance of Detroit" is fascinating in its depiction of Detroit and the history of the local music scene. There is, as the author puts it, "... a third, equally influential player in the Stripes story - the city of Detroit." The first chapter is basically a background history of Detroit. I love the line, "The birthplace of the White Stripes is a tough town." Chapter 2 tracks Jack White's young life and his discovery of the blues, especially guitarist Son House. Jack's first encounter with Son House was the recording of 'Grinning In Your Face.' "There was truth in that record," professes White. "I realised that less can be more. Why get a bass player? Why add more stuff when it is already truthful." There are basic lessons in Detroit rock and roll starting with Motown, the MC5, Iggy and the Stooges as well as White's admiration for Mick Collins and the Gories (a band without a bass player). Discussed are Jim Diamond and Ghetto Recorders, the Go and Matt Smith, Italy Records and the importance of the Gold Dollar to the Detroit music scene in the '90s. There is a strange, but interesting analysis of the Detroit scene: Detroit's poverty and working class structure made the local music scene close knit. Because Detroit is "slow to become technologically savvy," it meant the live concert scene was vital, that "word of mouth is more important than reading a review on the web." And I liked Roach's review of the song "Big 3 Killed My Baby" analyzing the relationship between blues, the city of Detroit's decay and renewal cycle, and the music of the White Stripes. As for the band itself: "Bands in Detroit are extra-willing to make cartoons of themselves," quotes Surge Joebat of the Wildbunch. "They [White Stripes] were just another weirdo band in Detroit, one out of a hundred weirdo bands. Everybody was doing something different. It was a much less orthodox scene." As a fan of both Kitty Wells and Loretta Lynn, the book foreshadows White's work with Lynn. The book ends with the MTV Video Awards, the Grammys, Jack White's relationship with Renee Zellwegger on the set of "Cold Mountain" and a car crash in which his hand is injuried and the author wonders if this is the end of White's career (it's not). The book has its flaws. Roach is in dire need of a proofreader with his run-on sentences, clumsy stream-of-conscienceness phrasing, frequent repetitions and misspellings (Ann Arbour indeed). He's cranked out dozens of books on rock musicians and the book reads like it was written by someone who whips them off. The book ends rather abruptly, but then where does an author end a book about a living artist? I was thankful it missed the whole Jack White vs. Jason Stollsteimer ordeal; in fact hardly any ink is given to the Von Bondies besides being part of the Detroit garage rock revival and that Marcie Bol