Certain albums in your life get a lot of heavy play when you first buy them. This next review is one of those.
Disc 251 is...Elephant
Artist: White Stripes
Year of Release: 2003
What’s Up With The Cover?: The White Stripes like their covers to be red, white and black, and here's another. I quite like the simplicity of this cover though. Meg looks like she's crying, and Jack looks astonished - or vacant. I can't imagine Jack White as vacant so I'm going to go with astonished. Also, is that a cricket bat he's holding? That's a bit odd...
How I Came To Know It: Like every person with a pulse in 2003, I heard the song "Seven Nation Army" and had to have this album.
How It Stacks Up: I have six White Stripes albums, and with their announced retirement that may be all there will ever be. Of the six, there are three I prefer, and "Elephant" is one of those. I think I'd put it either first or second. I have a hard time ranking White Stripes albums though, as they are all pretty close, so that might change by the time I roll another one of their records.
Rating: 4 stars but a very thin line from 5
Is there an elephant in the room? Yes - and that elephant is that everyone already knows this record. If you don't then I applaud you - living under a rock for the past seven years has probably saved you a considerable amount on rent.
This is also the album that broke the White Stripes into the main stream where schmucks like me would hear them. This happened a little late, as "Elephant" is their fourth studio release. They made some minor waves on their previous record, "White Blood Cells" (reviewed back at Disc 126) but nothing comparable to the success that came with "Elephant".
As a result of the late blooming, the sound of this album is very mature to me. All White Stripes albums have that visceral production and bluesy grit that Jack White is so good at, but "Elephant" is definitely a well formed idea.
That idea begins with one of the great rock songs of our generation, "Seven Nation Army". This is one of those songs that we'll still be hearing on rock radio stations thirty years from now. For all that I've heard it countless times, I still love it. White consistently shows that every great riff was not used up in the seventies - there are still plenty more to discover, and he lends one to this modern day classic.
That said, the album is more than "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button to Button" (the other hit). These songs form the nucleus of seventies inspired blues rock, but "Elephant" reaches in both directions from here. "Ball and Biscuit" is over seven minutes of the blues, amplified out of all ho for your listening pleasure. Like a good blues song, it never feels like it is dragging, despite playing the same basic riff most of the time.
At the other end we have "In The Cold Cold Night" a tight little song, with Jack showing he can play quietly in the background, and Meg's voice - fragile and real - singing proudly, when so often she sits behind her drum kit, comfortably anonymous.
There are even punk elements on furious tracks like "Hypnotize", although White's natural musical ability and clear ennunciation always make his songs too melodic to fall far into the realm of punk, "Hypnotize" does capture the ferocity of the movement.
The one bad track is the 14th, "Well It's True That We Love One Another" which is a too-cute dialogue between Jack, Meg and guest vocalist Holly Golightly (herself, possessing of a name too-cute all on its own). It is supposed to be lively banter between the characters on the nature of their various relationships. Instead, it sounds like something that was borne from a jam session in the studio, and should have been left on the cutting room floor. Still, with the other 13 tracks as strong as they are, this is a minor quibble.
I won't wax on (or off) much longer. The truth is, the White Stripes are already a critical darling, and this album is the most precious among their offerings. Consequently, we've all read plenty about it, and I won't be able to add much that hasn't already been said.
I will say that my work took my up to Camosun College yesterday when I had this in my car and while I was there I noted a sign on campus pointed to the Jack White Building. It struck me to the point that I took a picture of the sign.
Of course, this would be an entirely different Jack White, but the moment was nevertheless illustrative; even out of my car and thinking about work, this album had gotten into my head to the point that I was noticing it even when it wasn't present. Or put more simply, it leaves an impression.
Best tracks: Seven Nation Army, There's No Home For You Here, In The Cold Cold Night, Ball and Biscuit, The Hardest Button to Button, Girl You Have No Faith in Medicine
Disc 251 is...Elephant
Artist: White StripesYear of Release: 2003
What’s Up With The Cover?: The White Stripes like their covers to be red, white and black, and here's another. I quite like the simplicity of this cover though. Meg looks like she's crying, and Jack looks astonished - or vacant. I can't imagine Jack White as vacant so I'm going to go with astonished. Also, is that a cricket bat he's holding? That's a bit odd...
How I Came To Know It: Like every person with a pulse in 2003, I heard the song "Seven Nation Army" and had to have this album.
How It Stacks Up: I have six White Stripes albums, and with their announced retirement that may be all there will ever be. Of the six, there are three I prefer, and "Elephant" is one of those. I think I'd put it either first or second. I have a hard time ranking White Stripes albums though, as they are all pretty close, so that might change by the time I roll another one of their records.
Rating: 4 stars but a very thin line from 5
Is there an elephant in the room? Yes - and that elephant is that everyone already knows this record. If you don't then I applaud you - living under a rock for the past seven years has probably saved you a considerable amount on rent.
This is also the album that broke the White Stripes into the main stream where schmucks like me would hear them. This happened a little late, as "Elephant" is their fourth studio release. They made some minor waves on their previous record, "White Blood Cells" (reviewed back at Disc 126) but nothing comparable to the success that came with "Elephant".
As a result of the late blooming, the sound of this album is very mature to me. All White Stripes albums have that visceral production and bluesy grit that Jack White is so good at, but "Elephant" is definitely a well formed idea.
That idea begins with one of the great rock songs of our generation, "Seven Nation Army". This is one of those songs that we'll still be hearing on rock radio stations thirty years from now. For all that I've heard it countless times, I still love it. White consistently shows that every great riff was not used up in the seventies - there are still plenty more to discover, and he lends one to this modern day classic.
That said, the album is more than "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button to Button" (the other hit). These songs form the nucleus of seventies inspired blues rock, but "Elephant" reaches in both directions from here. "Ball and Biscuit" is over seven minutes of the blues, amplified out of all ho for your listening pleasure. Like a good blues song, it never feels like it is dragging, despite playing the same basic riff most of the time.
At the other end we have "In The Cold Cold Night" a tight little song, with Jack showing he can play quietly in the background, and Meg's voice - fragile and real - singing proudly, when so often she sits behind her drum kit, comfortably anonymous.
There are even punk elements on furious tracks like "Hypnotize", although White's natural musical ability and clear ennunciation always make his songs too melodic to fall far into the realm of punk, "Hypnotize" does capture the ferocity of the movement.
The one bad track is the 14th, "Well It's True That We Love One Another" which is a too-cute dialogue between Jack, Meg and guest vocalist Holly Golightly (herself, possessing of a name too-cute all on its own). It is supposed to be lively banter between the characters on the nature of their various relationships. Instead, it sounds like something that was borne from a jam session in the studio, and should have been left on the cutting room floor. Still, with the other 13 tracks as strong as they are, this is a minor quibble.
I won't wax on (or off) much longer. The truth is, the White Stripes are already a critical darling, and this album is the most precious among their offerings. Consequently, we've all read plenty about it, and I won't be able to add much that hasn't already been said.
I will say that my work took my up to Camosun College yesterday when I had this in my car and while I was there I noted a sign on campus pointed to the Jack White Building. It struck me to the point that I took a picture of the sign.
Of course, this would be an entirely different Jack White, but the moment was nevertheless illustrative; even out of my car and thinking about work, this album had gotten into my head to the point that I was noticing it even when it wasn't present. Or put more simply, it leaves an impression.
Best tracks: Seven Nation Army, There's No Home For You Here, In The Cold Cold Night, Ball and Biscuit, The Hardest Button to Button, Girl You Have No Faith in Medicine
1 comment:
I like that you used "out of all ho" - heh heh. Also Holly Golightly is the name of Audrey Hepburn's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's".
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