With a dozen career GRAMMY wins behind him, Jack White's new album, Boarding House Reach, struck some critics as an experimental departure from what had worked for him in the past. As far as the fans' take? Given the April 7 Billboard 200 album rankings, the result is resounding: White earned his third No. 1 LP on the strength of 121,000 "traditional album sales," the most of any rock album in 2018 so far.
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In addition to topping the Billboard 200, the 27,000 "traditional album sales" that were of the vinyl format variety gives Boarding House Reach the distinction of netting the fourth largest sales week for vinyl since Nielsen started tracking.
Boarding House … follows White's previous solo efforts, 2012's Blunderbuss and 2014's Lazaretto. Both went to No. 1 and were nominated for GRAMMY Awards, with the song "Lazaretto" winning Best Rock Performance at the 57th GRAMMY Awards.
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In 2017 White garnered special recognition from the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing in receiving the President's Merit Award in celebration of his ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music. As someone who helms his own music and produces for other artists, White still feels genuinely gratified by this acknowledgment.
"I am very grateful [to the P&E Wing] to bestow upon me something like that. It was a nice pat on the back. It felt very nice," White recently told KCRW-FM's "Morning Becomes Eclectic."
With his latest accolade secure, White now turns his attention to taking Boarding House Reach on the road beginning April 19 in Detroit. He is also among the headliners for the 2018 installment of Lollapalooza.
