Getting ready for Christmas is
tiring work. The shopping is finished
right enough, but just clearing my desk to take some time off is a task in and
of itself.
As a result, this review was a bit
delayed in getting written. I’m getting it done now in the hopes I’ll be able
to get one more in over the weekend and before the holidays fully descend.
Disc 577 is…. Get Behind Me Satan
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| Form of...an apple tree! Form of...English Zorro! |
Artist: The White
Stripes
Year of Release: 2005
What’s up with the Cover? The usual red,
black and white set up that is the White Stripes’ trademark. Meg’s dress looks lovely and Jack’s moustache
is impeccable. Note the behind-the-back
finger pointing. Is this finger pointing
accusatory in theme with the album title (“He’s Satan!” “No She’s Satan!”), or
are they just activating their Wonder Twin powers?
How I Came To Know It: By 2005 I was firmly a White Stripes fan, so I just
bought this record when it came out.
How It Stacks Up: I have all six White Stripes albums, and they are
all amazing. Sadly, something has to be
at or near the bottom, and so it is with this album, which I put fifth or
sixth, depending on my mood.
Rating: 3 stars but close to 4
White Stripes albums will always
have the advantage of Jack White’s amazing abilities as a producer.
The first track on “Blue Orchid” is brilliant on its own,
but with White’s production decisions it becomes a thing of raw beauty. Jack’s vocals are high but bluesy, like
Robert Plant crossed with Robert Johnson.
The guitar riff is simple, but White has turned up the reverb to its
highest, crunchiest point. The guitar never
crosses the line into muddy, but listening to it walk right up to the edge of
doing so is what gives the song its energy.
At a mere 2:37 “Blue Orchid”
is also brilliantly brief, showing that like previous rock pioneers Buddy Holly
and Dick Dale, White can wow us quickly and not feel like he has to drag it out
after he’s done so.
“My
Doorbell” is another of my favourites.
It is constructed like a classic R&B track, and then infused with so
much seventies rock enthusiasm it defies classification. The melody is delivered partly with guitar
chords and partly with piano mimicking the same effect, and both work equally
well in getting your groove on.
Some songs like “Little Ghost”and “Nurse” are a bit too cutesy.
They have moments of brilliance and overwrought concepts (lyrically and
musically) in equal measure. Both come
out on the positive side of the ledger, and are unlike anything anyone else was
doing at the time (or since) so I forgive their excesses, even if I feel duty
bound to point them out.
Jack White can write a pretty little
melody in his sleep, and for all its crunch, “Get Behind Me Satan” smartly
leaves lots of space between the sound to appreciate the song’s
construction. In lesser hands music like
this is gets filled with guitar or drum flourishes that bleed into each other
to construct the oft-sought “wall of sound,” all at the expense of the tune
itself. “Get Behind Me Satan” is crisp,
and each note rings out, controlled and resonant, like a preacher’s voice at
the height of a sermon.
Overall, the album is very good at
mixing light and whimsical with thick and dirty.
Most tracks on “Get Behind Me
Satan” find the perfect alchemical process to mix these two things, but at
times it can feel more like a sound experiment than a fully developed song. “White Moon” and “Instinct Blues” both suffer from this, although neither could truly
be called bad.
One of my favourite deep cuts is “Take Take Take” a song about how fans
always feel like they are being respectful with their requests of celebrities,
but how often these requests get more and more unreasonable until the star is
forced to be rude just to disengage. In
the song, our protagonist sees Rita Hayworth come into his seedy bar. Hayworth agrees to first an autograph, and
then a picture but eventually has had enough, at which point our pushy fan
turns on her, portraying her as cruel and uncaring. It isn’t at the level of Rush’ “Limelight” (the most honest song about
star/fan interaction ever written) but it is still insightful.
The album ends with “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)”
a stripped down song with Jack singing over a single piano about…well…loneliness. We’ve all been there, and this song captures
the feeling pretty well, if from the perspective of someone who feels the pangs
a bit more than most.
“Get Behind Me Satan” at times
feels unfinished, and at times it takes chances that are equal measures
inspired and frustrating, but ultimately the brilliance of Jack White’s
writing, production and performance come together to deliver another solid
record that is worth your time.
Best tracks: Blue Orchid,
My Doorbell, The Denial Twist, Passive Manipulation, I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t
That Lonely Yet)
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