Elephant
I don't think there's a better opening track to start an album than Seven Nation Army. It starts with a simple but ominous bass riff, followed by steady drums, then vocals, then it builds to a rocking chorus which will have you jumping around the room if you're not careful. Just a tour-de-force to begin what I believe to be the best White Stripes album, and very possibly the best album of the decade. The band expresses more range than ever, using quiet acoustic guitar in You've Got Her In Your Pocket, and tender piano in I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart, but never abandoning their roots with rocking songs like The Air Near My Fingers and Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine. Interestingly, the White Stripes also experiment with a solid punk vibe, radiating pure manic energy with Black Math and Hypnotize.However, the signature White Stripes songs on Elephant besides Seven Nation Army are the epic, shifting The Hardest Button To Button, and blues-rock masterpiece Ball And Biscuit. The Hardest Button To Button feels like a song that only the White Stripes could write. The way the melody moves up and down the scale and then alternates for the eighth bar feels classic Jack White, and the lyrics espouse the off-center view of family building that typifies his view of everything else. Ball And Biscuit is a classically structured blues song with blistering guitar licks from the now virtuoso Jack White. It builds and recedes wonderfully, and it is easy to get sucked into any one of the several guitar solos punctuating the song. These songs are just the best in an overall fantastic album. Even though I named nine out of fourteen songs in this review, there are some great songs on this album I didn't even mention.
Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, is more intellectual than past efforts, and in some ways the quality suffers. I mean, no one can write albums like White Blood Cells and Elephant forever, especially since part of what makes those records great is how unique they are. But the vibraphones on The Nurse feel out of place on a White Stripes album, and while I applaud trying new things, this song and Forever For Her (Is Over For Me) don't feel natural; like Jack was trying too hard to be different. With those two exceptions, however, much of what makes the White Stripes great returns in full force on this album. Blue Orchid is a fun rock number that draws on the band's more sinister side. My Doorbell and The Denial Twist are a little more swinging - you could almost dance to them, if you were so inclined. Take, Take, Take and Little Ghost fill the role of the novelty song, providing interesting/funny lyrics over more traditional country-rock trappings.The two best songs on the album, however, are Red Rain and Instinct Blues. Red Rain is an example of the band's desire to experiment and be more intellectual actually paying off. The use of what sounds like a children's xylophone underscores the bigness of the song, especially when Jack's ripping guitar comes in for full contrast. And frankly, there's not much to say about Instinct Blues except that a lot of what I said about Ball And Biscuit holds true for this song. It's not quite as interesting musically as Biscuit, but the lyrics are better and in the balance it ends up being just as enjoyable to listen to. Get Behind Me Satan is yet another great album from the White Stripes, but there are some hints they're starting to get bored with the genre they defined.
Icky Thump
I like a lot of songs on Icky Thump, but I'd be lying to you if I said this wasn't my least favorite album by the White Stripes. As the band gets more and more bored with their own sound, some of their songs sound more stilted and inaccessible. In specific, the dual track Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn and St. Andrews (This Battle Is In The Air) draw on some sort of Celtic music influences to flat effect. Prickly Thorn transitions into the bizarre St. Andrews with what sounds like a bagpipe, and overall it just doesn't work for me.
Luckily, the next track rebounds into one of the most powerful songs in the White Stripes arsenal: Little Cream Soda, which is reminiscent of The Hardest Button To Button. Bone Broke is similarly awesome. I'm honestly not sure what to make of the title track Icky Thump, but I can be caught jamming out to it on occasion. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues bridges the gap between the Stripes' slower songs and their more rocking ones as the band never has before. Catch Hell Blues once again dips into blues-rock, which has always worked so well for them, but relying more on roaring guitar riffs than their typical blues trappings. A Martyr For My Love For You is probably the best slower song from the band, especially the acoustic version, which can send chills down your back. Effect & Cause and the cover of Conquest are just fun songs with funny lyrics and capture the personality of the White Stripes nicely. The White Stripes were always so specific in their message, style, and even color scheme, and this album shows a lot of signs that they were outgrowing that specificity. It makes sense that this would be their last album.
* * *
The White Stripes will obviously always be near and dear to my heart. I appreciate how they went out, in order to "preserve what is beautiful and special about the band", because it's so easy for bands that don't have a falling-out to chug along as a shadow of what they once were, or worse, decide to go in a different direction and ruin their once unique sound. The way they phrased their going away letter was cathartic, allowing the fans of the band to celebrate what the band had created rather than focusing on the end. In writing this retrospective and re-experiencing the band, I was able to create closure for myself and appreciate why I loved the band in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment