611 The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (2005)

 611 The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (2005)

Studio album - Garage Rock



About the Act:

Jack and Meg White were known as the White Stripes, and American rock duo. At first they perpetuated the idea that they were brother and sister, when in fact they were a married couple, then a divorced couple. Their music was generally categorised as Garage Rock, due to its simplicity. They used a strict aesthetic of the colours red, white and black, and are best known for the single "Seven Nation Army".

About the Album:

This was their fifth album. 

My History with this Album:

None 

Review:

The White Stripes continue to baffle me. At one level this is a badly-recorded and amateurish album. At another level it has a certain something, a freshness and clarity that you don't get on many records. It is forthright and to the point.

Musically, it is more diverse than other White Stripes albums I have heard, leaving aside their normal electric guitar and drums combo for lots of things and drums, but not many at once, usually. There is a piano, a marimba, a mandolin, even, and it is musical, just very, very unpolished. I guess if you are this unpolished, you need other qualities to allow you to get away with it. There's some other percussion as well as drums, and the tambourine is a particular favourite, and played quite simply and often badly. I mean, how hard is it to get tambourine right? 

Regardless of this roughness, it's quite accomplished in some ways, there's great production, and really full and warm sounds are used. There's some great use of space and dynamic attack, which makes the most of the stripped-back instrumentation. I guess it is the antithesis of bland, programmed music, it is most definitely expressive, and as I write, I think that this is the USP that makes this strong, good expression.

Lyrically, it's curious. There's actually some good writing here, and he is obviously having fun with some of the rhymes. Some of them are dreadful, but some are really quite inspired. White Moon is my favourite in this regard. At times the songs are actually reminiscent of older stuff, Americana, and the eclectic take here reminds me of Tom Waits, strangely.  There's an interesting song about meeting Rita Hayworth, and I'm Lonely (But I Aint' That Lonely Yet) could be straight out of a country songbook.

Jack's vocals are, well let's use the word expressive again. He's not technically good, but it's a good-sounding voice, with a plaintive growl to it that suits things well. He sounds like he's agonising over everything, and that plays well, although could get wearing after a while.

So all in all, strong but rough. Would it be as strong if it was not as rough? I think it could be. It wouldn't sound as broken, and maybe that broken-ness is part of the charm.

7.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3rHeq4F5wnaLBjNtuz7Yvh

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC80P4gsPr-YpSu6qzthIhd5w70eqgqEu

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Behind_Me_Satan



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