The Raconteurs “Help Us Stranger” 2019. Third Man Records. Limited edition green/black/copper swirled vinyl, part of Third Man’s Vault Package, #40. Help Us Stranger is The Raconteurs third album and it debuted #1 on the US album chart in June when it was released, only to dive to #45 the following week. That dramatic drop is too bad and unwarranted because it’s a really really great album. I’ve found myself listening to it frequently since it came out, proving my thesis that Jack White is a genius but only truly palatable when he’s collaborating with other musicians that enhance and rein in that genius. He and Brendan Benson have written some really good and even addictive alt-pop tracks. My favorites come in a 1-2-3-4 punch at the start of the record. Track 1, “Bored and Dazed” starts off with a Grateful Dead-ish riff that quickly morphs into a big early 70′s scuzz-rock/Midwest protopunk ripper, punctuated with the line “Well I’m Detroit bored and razed.” “Help Me Stranger” is ridiculously catchy and I think maybe my favorite of favorites but there’s a lot of competition for that with the sadly beautiful “Only Child.” “Don’t Bother Me” is dense and loud, reminding me of some of White’s work on some of the later White Stripes stuff as well as his mostly decent solo material on Blunderbuss and Lazaretto with the prominent garage-style organ. On Side B The Raconteurs’ cover of Donovan’s “Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)” is a great update to the original, punching up the Bo Diddley beat and adding in screaming guitar.  I also like the head-banging “Sunday Driver” which I heard earlier in the year when Third Man included the 7″ as part of Vault Package #38; that song is a great partner to “Bored and Razed” for that hard-edged 70′s Detroit sound but adds in elements of 60′s psychedelia. The Vault Package also came with an early demo 7″ of “Help Me Stranger” and “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)” but I haven’t listened to it yet. Also included is a Patrick Keeler-designed Raconteurs bandana and a turntable slipmat.