The White Stripes
http://www.whitestripes.com
styles: garage rock, blues rock, solid rock
others: Son House, the Stooges, Loretta Lynn, Jesus Christ
 Get Behind Me Satan
V2, 2005
rating: 4.5/5
reviewer: chadwicked
Jack and Meg's loss of innocence -- we knew it was coming. The expectations of its arrival have been spoken of for a few years now. We've seen the white articles of clothing be overtaken by the black; their raucous performance of "Death Letter" at the 2004 Grammy Awards made their intentions clear. Son House's stomps were replaced with cymbal crashes. Yes, we knew it was coming. But we didn't know it would arrive with a pencil-thin moustache. We didn't know the singer would be dressed up like a funeral-going gondolier. We didn't know the singer would look like his gondola had been capsized somewhere near the shores of Guatemala. Didn't know he'd fall for a love goddess -- a pin-up gal. We didn't know he would usher in an upright piano, shakers, and a marimba. We weren't even aware the sibling victims had been drying out gourds.
The White Stripes are resisting temptations. They're acting off instincts. Always a reclusive pair, preferring dim to shine and secrecy to publicity, the duo headed south for the time leading up to the release of Get Behind Me Satan. With the album reaching the states, we find Jack and Meg putting faith in apparitions. The devil's torture methods have left Jack, the former aspiring priest, with a higher voice. They've embraced a Central American influence. The band has long expressed their interest in Dylan's Desire album. They covered "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" on their debut album, and "Isis" was covered live on a number of occasions. It's no coincidence that there are many South-of-the-border mentions on Desire, as there is in both the aesthetic and content of Get Behind Me Satan. Perhaps such matters were discussed backstage at the Dylan concert in Detroit last year on Saint Patrick's Day, prior to Jack joining Bob onstage to perform "Ball and Biscuit" (a song Son House would certainly approve of).
The songs on Get Behind Me Satan are sturdy. Like previous albums, it's an even mix of soft ditties and hard-nosed romps. Piano pounding and playful key touches dominate roughly half the songs, driving the songs enough to be a worthy replacement for guitar. "The Nurse" is like nothing the band has ever done before; the much-talked about marimba is most prominent here. On "Little Ghost," we find Jack singing as Georgia (albeit a triple-tracked vocal version of him), returning to Cold Mountain for one last mountain tune. Parts of the vocal melody on "As Ugly As I Seem" sound borrowed from the Born Again Christian Dylan tune "I Believe In You." "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" sounds like a long-distance companion to Loretta Lynn's "Miss Being Mrs." Temptation is apparent throughout the album. On "The Denial Twist," lust gets the best of the singer, leaving him vulnerable. There is nothing left to profit from his sin, and "the twist" turns from a rambunctious anthem that promotes procreation to an unsettling tale of bitterness.
More than once, Jack pledges his devotion and adoration towards an actress. Rita Hayworth is the actress' name -- the name spoken in songs, anyway. "A lot of people been confused and abused / Real easy when it comes to love." Jack White takes plenty of time lamenting over the difficulties of maintaining a balanced romantic relationship. Sincere longing and damning the inconvenience of distance equally pervade the album.
The origin of the phrase "Get behind me, Satan," as you could've guessed, is biblical. It was Jesus' reply to Satan when that smarmy devil offered the Savior all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. You must have a bass player in your band if you thought Jesus was going to worship Satan -- and Jack and Meg ain't going to worship him either. The evils they are choosing to reject are many -- fame, excess, and certain pale-faced Oscar winners. Jesus also used the phrase to rebuke Peter for doubting and objecting to his plans for resurrection. Jesus proclaimed: "Get thee behind me, Satan." (Jack White wasn't so historically-obsessed to include the word "thee" in his use of the phrase.) There are still detractors who question the White Stripes minimalist beliefs and old-fashioned approach to music-making -- Satan-worshipers, in other words. The White Stripes have embraced the temptations, the negativity, and the troubles. Now they're showing them all to the door.
Orchids have lost their whiteness, the color of pouring rain has turned blood red, and ghosts are now kept as pets. Jack White originally planned to call this album Let's Play the Victim, and so they are playing the victims, working to triumph over power, greed, and corruptible seed. Now go take a bath together, Jack and Meg.
1. Blue Orchid
2. The Nurse
3. My Doorbell
4. Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)
5. Little Ghost
6. The Denial Twist
7. White Moon
8. Instinct Blues
9. Passive Manipulation
10. Take, Take, Take
11. As Ugly As I Seem
12. Red Rain
13. I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)
 Elephant
V2, 2003
rating: 3.5/5
reviewer: eyad darras
Every few years rock music gets a little too flashy for its own good, and a crop
of back-to-basics rock groups will arise to do away with the genre’s excesses.
In the past, bands like Nirvana have taken on this duty ("grunge" to kill glam
metal and synth pop), and more recently, so
have the White Stripes (garage rock to kill boy/girl bands and limp rock).
On White Blood Cells, the album that thrust Jack and Meg White into the
spotlight, the group got so back to basics that they even forgot to include a
bassist in the band. Their latest release Elephant finds the group
filling out their sound with such oddball instruments as bass guitar and
electric piano. The added instruments create songs that are more complete than
their predecessors from previous albums, but unfortunately do not push the band
toward exploring different styles of music. This lack of diversity was the
downfall of White Blood Cells and unfortunately continues with
Elephant.
That being said, for what they are, the songs on Elephant are genuinely
enjoyable. This album finds songwriter Jack White developing his craft, creating
lyrics that go beyond the typical angst ridden material put forth by most of the
band’s peers. There is a distinct literary flair in the songs of Elephant.
The sound is not too removed from that of White Blood Cells; however,
each track barely reaches the piercing intensity of any track on that album, with the possible exceptions of "Hynotize" and "Girl, You Have No Faith
in Medicine." But even these tracks, with its sloppy execution and snotty
vocals, seem empty and half-assed.
Guest Vocalist Holly Golightly (unfortunately not Audrey Hepburn) lends her
voice to a few tracks on this album, most enjoyably the duet "It’s True that We
Love One Another." The song, which is sung as a dialogue between Jack White and
Golightly is rather charming, as is an interesting cover of Burt Bacharach’s "I
Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself."
In somewhat of a misguided boast, the band remarks on the liner notes for
Elephant that computers were not used in the creation of the album. While
the Amish style of record production is not without merit, it doesn’t help the
White Stripes achieve a clean sounding recording of their already sloppy
musicianship, and it severely limits the sonic territory they can explore.
Though it is kind of funny that their attempts to remain analog will be negated
by the fact that everyone will be buying the polycarbonate CD version.
Sad as it may be, there is a finite amount of time that the loud and sloppy
approach that The White Stripes employ can remain popular. The White Stripes had
better evolve or they are at risk for being left behind.
1. Seven Nation Army
2. Black Math
3. There's Just No Home for You Here
4. I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
5. Cold, Cold Night
6. I Want to be With the Boy
7. You've Got Her in Your Pocket
8. Ball and Biscuit
9. The Hardest Button to Button
10. Little Acorns
11. Hypnotize
12. The Air Near My Fingers
13. Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine
14. It's True That We Love One Another
 White
Blood Cells
Sympathy for the Recording Industry, 2001
rating: 4.5/5
reviewer: pringles
Shit, this review is long overdue. But I'm assuming there are some laggards that
have yet to experience the raw sounds created by duo Jack White and Meg White.
Their garage-rock blues with a heavy does of punk and a touch of country that
kicks dirt and sand in your eyes. The kind of music that seems so basic at first
that you dismiss it as trite, but soon realize it's a hybrid that just keeps on
spitting. Grab your ankles kids, the Stripes has a treat for you.
The strongest aspect of White Blood Cells is the fact that it flawlessly
combines a myriad of genres into a beautiful mess. Sure, it's been done before:
mix a few genres and hope for a unique album; but most often, the band fails to
sound original or even remotely unique. However, the White Stripes sound
original and unique-- not to mention incredibly fresh. The duo creates a
breath of fresh air without sounding forced. It's hard to pinpoint what elements
attribute to its success, but the Stripes has this fierce intensity and palpable
rawness that most bands only dream of creating.
Sloppy is almost an understatement. Some songs, such as "Expecting" and "Dead
Leaves and the Dirty Ground" are so sloppy you'd think that they are practicing
a new song. Strained notes here, missed beats there, it's as if the Stripes is
trying to dirty its sound to the point that they are destined to only perform in
bars and small clubs. But in reality, the sloppiness only adds positives to its
foray into the music video world.
There really are no letdowns on the album. "Fell in Love With a Girl" is one of
the strongest tracks, with its punk rock beat and spastic vocal styling by Jack
White. The song needs less than 2 minutes to hit you with a bat and throw you in
the trunk of a BMW. "Now Mary" sees the band playing with moods, switching from
heavy metal classic-rock to a country-tinged chorus that will have you swaying
your hips with the best of them. Each track is laced with incredible visceral
energy and pay just enough homage to its forebear.
With White Blood Cell's amount of variety, I'll leave the rest of the
analysis to you. If you have yet to experience the album, go and grab it as soon
as you can. It may take a couple listens to adjust to Jack White's vocals and
the slicing guitars, but you shant regret it once you do. And if you do have the
album and know a friend that doesn't, it makes for a good birthday present.
1. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
2. Hotel Yorba
3. I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman
4. Fell in Love With a Girl
5. Expecting
6. Little Room
7. The Union Forever
8. The Same Boy You've Always Known
9. We're Going to Be Friends
10. Offend in Every Way
11. I Think I Smell a Rat
12. Aluminium
13. I Can't Wait
14. Now Mary
15. I Can Learn
16. This Protector
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