Jack White released Entering Heaven Alive, his second album of 2022, on Friday via his own Third Man Records. The eccentric rock star and part-time upholsterer stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform “If I Die Tomorrow”. He also sat down with host Stephen Colbert for a segment called “Maybe Dropping Soon”, in which the two recounted imaginary collaborative albums concocted by the show’s graphics team.
Jack White – “If I Die Tomorrow” – The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The first joke album by “Colbert & White” was entitled Fennel, Dill, Tarragon & Chives—a spoof on Simon and Garfunkel‘s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. “We thought there were plenty of spices that haven’t been talked about yet”, White joked. The next was called Cirque Du Psycho by French Kiss, a play on KISS‘s Psycho Circus featuring White and Colbert dressed as French mimes in kiss makeup with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The final album was Yo Ho Ho and a Basket of Shrimp! “Plus 39 other unauthorized jingles for Long John Silver’s!” While joking about the album, the pair spontaneously burst into Stan Rogers‘ “Barrett’s Privateers”. “I didn’t know you know that song!” White exclaimed after finishing the duet.
Jack White – Maybe Dropping Soon – The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Entering Heaven Alive follows White’s first LP of 2022, Fear of the Dawn, which he released in April. Each album has its own character, exemplified in the two different versions of the song “Taking Me Back” that appear on the albums.
Both albums were written in a burst of inspiration following an eight-month period of creative silence during the pandemic. White had wanted to release the two albums simultaneously, but was unable to manufacture enough vinyl records due to an ongoing shortage of vinyl—hence the Supply Chain Issues Tour.
“I started writing a lot of songs, and they were in all different directions: some incredibly heavy; almost some like speed metal; some sounded so gentle. I ended up with 20, 25 songs,” White told Rolling Stone. “People don’t respond well to double albums these days. I wanted to put them out on the same day, but there’s no way we could press all that vinyl and have them all out on the same day.”
White recently expanded his Supply Chain Issues world tour and shared the rare glimpse of the tour with pro-shot video of his full performance at L’Olympia in Paris, France (phones are prohibited at the shows, so photos or videos are virtually nonexistent). Scroll down to watch the full-show video.
The tour will continue on July 30th at Fuji Rock Festival in Yuzawa, Japan, after which White will return to the States for a leg of North American dates stretching to the end of August. The tour will will pick up again in Louisville, KY on September 15th.
Enter Heaven Alive is now available on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album via Soundcloud in the player below, and for more information and to purchase tickets to Jack White’s Supply Chain Issues Tour, visit his website.
Jack White – Entering Heaven Alive
Jack White – L’Olympia, Paris