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Album Review
by SashaS
8-6-2005
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More on: The White Stripes
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| The White Stripes: ace album in 2 weeks! |
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The White Stripes: 'Get Behind Me Satan '
(XL Recordings)
The White Stripes: songs for music gourmands
As mentioned the other day, this is the week with the strongest line-up of releases and it may not be a close race in sales between Coldplay, The White Stripes and Kraftwerk as Chris Martin-fronted band is shifting truckloads but, in our estimation - none is a finer disc than the blues-voodoo/disco-punk/mini-rock-isms by the duo in red’n’white’n’black: Jack and Meg White.
‘Get Behind Me Satan’ proves effortlessly that one of the major ingredients of Rock’n’Roll has always been - spontaneity: instinct, impulsiveness, naturalness but never - artlessness... In the case, at least, of The White Stripes. Of all musicians around, Jack and his drummer girl Meg appear to understand this the best. Albums are simply aural snaps and teardrops of memories/feelings/events frozen in time.
Such method certainly has its drawbacks but less so than when you spend months in a studio and still come up a cropper. [Jack’s way also beats the pirates, although this may not be his main concern.] The lead-off single, ‘Blue Orchid’, was recorded and issued within two weeks! The rest of the songs took similarly ridiculously furious time to be canned.
The White Stripes are not self-restrained in their musical approach anymore and guitar/drums/vocals approach gets expended here with marimba, piano and even - a bass guitar! The delectably quirky is ‘The Nurse’, ‘The Denial Twist’ is a powerful tune, ‘My Doorbell’ is catchy and should easily and rapidly become a mass favourite!
The expanse of ‘Instinct Blues’ is counterbalanced by a country ballad ‘I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)’ that wouldn‘t have gone amiss on Loretta Lynn‘s album Jack worked on last year, later followed by a brisk bluegrass ditty ‘Little Ghost’. An album that perfectly reflects Mr White’s outlook right now, one suspects: not too big not to be able to control all aspects of a creative process. And, that’s how he’d like it to remain… Very much like ourselves, actually.
‘…Satan’ marks The White Stripes’ leaving Spartan sound behind not because it is passé but due to being the only way to escape Rock’n’Roll history - by having it rearranged. This is not retro-rock anymore but futuRock.
The album may not instantly sound like a classic amid their quintet of studio discs issued and it feels rushed at times but that’s the mode of their work and, by the way, the man needed to get married! Congratulations…
8.3/10
SashaS
8-6-2005
The White Stripes album ‘Get Behind Me Satan’ is released 06 June 2005 by XL Recordings
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