Review: White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
The best thing about 2003's Elephant was that it was a near perfect celebration of 70s hard rock, paying homage without simply emulating, delivering rock in its purest form. The downside was that it really didn't stretch out beyond hard rock and garage influences. Get Behind Me Satan is just the opposite. It stretches further, but lacks the punch of Elephant's purity.
The new album isn't a complete departure from Elephant. The fat multi-tracked guitar of "Blue Orchid" gets things off to the same start that the heavy, heavy "Seven Nation Army" did on the last album. It's not quite as interesting, but it has the same knock-you-down-and-kick-you blast. "Instict Blues" has the same Led Zep ebb and flow of energy that "Ball and Biscuit" did, except, once again it's not quite as strong. They return to the Zeppelin well again for "Red Rain" with similar success. "The Denial Twist" is boogie that rocks on piano as much as it could ever hope to on guitar. Once again, it's nothing that they hadn't done before, but this one does come a little closer to the quality on Elephant.
On other stongs, they stretch out a bit more, emcompassing broader influences. Jack and Meg are feeling the soul on "My Doorbell," taking the essence of R&B and playing it like kids in a garage, much like their Detroit forefather Mitch Ryder did some 40 years ago. "Forever for Her (is Over for Me)" is a sugar-coated 60s pop song with that same dark undercurrent that helps those songs stand up over time. The White Stripes give old-time country a shot on "Little Ghost" as if they'd played with Charlie Poole, not just heard of him. With marimba and maracas as principle instruments, you'd think "The Nurse" would be an upbeat, Latin-inflected piece, but it's dark and downright creepy (and perhaps a tad long since at 3:47 it feels like 5:00+). "As Ugly as I Seem" is a hippie folk song that finds itself somewhere between "Jane Says" and "Sympathy." They tie up any loose ends with the quiet, but passionate, gospel-tinged blues of "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't that Lonely Yet)." It's tracks like this that make it evident that Jack White as a songwriter and both of them as performaers must have a tremendous breadth to their musical experience. And that is the real seed of greatness.
Get Behind Me Satan doesn't quite live up to the near-perfection of Elephant, but to its credit, it doesn't try to. Rather than resting on their laurels, the White Stripes continue to search all the backroads of music most of us have long since forgotten. Also to their credit, they don't just reiterate what they find. They reconstruct it in their own garage-band-from-Detroit sorta way.
There is one other point I want to make that isn't related only to this album, but to their work as a whole. Jack White is the obvious creative force in the band, so it seems that Meg's contribution is often overlooked, but that's unfortunate. She takes a plodding style and turns it into a strength that gives the music power and drive. Very few drummers, even with vastly superior technical skills, are able to do that.
Rating: 9/10
The new album isn't a complete departure from Elephant. The fat multi-tracked guitar of "Blue Orchid" gets things off to the same start that the heavy, heavy "Seven Nation Army" did on the last album. It's not quite as interesting, but it has the same knock-you-down-and-kick-you blast. "Instict Blues" has the same Led Zep ebb and flow of energy that "Ball and Biscuit" did, except, once again it's not quite as strong. They return to the Zeppelin well again for "Red Rain" with similar success. "The Denial Twist" is boogie that rocks on piano as much as it could ever hope to on guitar. Once again, it's nothing that they hadn't done before, but this one does come a little closer to the quality on Elephant.
On other stongs, they stretch out a bit more, emcompassing broader influences. Jack and Meg are feeling the soul on "My Doorbell," taking the essence of R&B and playing it like kids in a garage, much like their Detroit forefather Mitch Ryder did some 40 years ago. "Forever for Her (is Over for Me)" is a sugar-coated 60s pop song with that same dark undercurrent that helps those songs stand up over time. The White Stripes give old-time country a shot on "Little Ghost" as if they'd played with Charlie Poole, not just heard of him. With marimba and maracas as principle instruments, you'd think "The Nurse" would be an upbeat, Latin-inflected piece, but it's dark and downright creepy (and perhaps a tad long since at 3:47 it feels like 5:00+). "As Ugly as I Seem" is a hippie folk song that finds itself somewhere between "Jane Says" and "Sympathy." They tie up any loose ends with the quiet, but passionate, gospel-tinged blues of "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't that Lonely Yet)." It's tracks like this that make it evident that Jack White as a songwriter and both of them as performaers must have a tremendous breadth to their musical experience. And that is the real seed of greatness.
Get Behind Me Satan doesn't quite live up to the near-perfection of Elephant, but to its credit, it doesn't try to. Rather than resting on their laurels, the White Stripes continue to search all the backroads of music most of us have long since forgotten. Also to their credit, they don't just reiterate what they find. They reconstruct it in their own garage-band-from-Detroit sorta way.
There is one other point I want to make that isn't related only to this album, but to their work as a whole. Jack White is the obvious creative force in the band, so it seems that Meg's contribution is often overlooked, but that's unfortunate. She takes a plodding style and turns it into a strength that gives the music power and drive. Very few drummers, even with vastly superior technical skills, are able to do that.
Rating: 9/10
posted by bob_vinyl at 2:19 PM
2 Comments:
I can't wait to hear all of this album. I've seen the video for "Blue Orchid" and think it's an ass-kicker even with its random disjointed timing swaps that actually serves the overall integrity of the cut. It's a real blaster and you feel invigorated afterwards, like, holy shit, what can stop these two?
Witchcraft and I were talking about the White Stripes a little bit. I think Witchcraft has the potential to show what a foursome can do with classic rock influence, but their doom base is what'll keep them as an underground band that is destined to reach a cult status, I'm positive of that. I think it's because of the reasons you mention, that Jack White is constantly traveling down old roads seldom journeyed that give them their appeal.
I have to say that as a crappy drummer myself, Meg White is an inspiration to me. Never, and I mean NEVER has anyone with a slim, basic sense bare bones fundamentalism sound as thunderous as say, John Bonham. Meg realizes she doesn't have to be Neil Peart, so long as she's driving Jack along. Meg's the shit.
In a world full of problems, this seems to be picking at me most of all... more than the murders or the drugs, more than the corruption and dishonesty, even more than the fact that President Badword is going to be in office for another 3.5 years.
Your rating system is inaccurate. Get Behind Me Satan gets a 9/10, but it is certainly not a mere one star behind Dark Side of the Moon or Abbey Road or Operation Mindcrime.
Now now, I understand that you're giving it a 9/10 for this year, not for all time. As you say, Abbey Road is a 15/10. But you see, that's just not right. This doesn't go to 15. Sure, maybe it goes to 11, in case you want that extra little give. But 15? The answer is none. None go to 15.
So here's my request. Stop confusing me with these "9/10" things. I went out and bought Get Behind Me Satan*, expecting something just a hair less great than Dark Side of the Moon. Now I sit here, listening to an album that is, at best, 7/10 in the grand scheme of rock albums, and I curse your inconsistent ratings. A curse on the head of your blog. If you're going to keep this up, I might as well just start forming my own opinions, and we all know what happens when I do that.
(* I didn't really go buy the album. I did listen to the single, but I hated it. I might listen to the rest of it, especially in light of your 9-star review, but right now I'm really into hot French girls singing sexy French songs in their sultry French accents. Last time I checked, neither Jack nor Meg fit that description.)
Post a Comment
<< Home