Artist:
The White Stripes
Album: Elephant
Label: Third Man / V2
Release: 2003
Web: Official Site
"Microsoft Image Composer is awesome." ~Huey
I have to review this? I'd much rather just talk about how beautiful drummer Meg White is.
I think about her more than I do this album.
The Stripes are pretty much this year's critical darling. Their latest album
"Elephant" is the center of all of that attention. Does it hold up to the raves
it has been receiving? Well...
"Seven Nation Army" has been overplayed to death, and I now despise it. But, I
did enjoy it when I first bought the album. "Black Math" is catchy as hell. This
should be a single. Jack White continues to reel you in with his powerful guitar licks and
Frank Black-esque voice on "There's No Home For You Here." The weird choir like
singing towards the end is a bit annoying, and ruins the song for me a bit.
"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" is a great cover of a Burt Bacharach
song. "In The Cold, Cold, Night" features sweet Meg on lead vocals, and is one
of the album's best cuts. I might like her voice more than Jack's.
Let's just cut to the chase. "Ball & Biscuit" is an epic, easily the album's
best track. I remember being completely floored the first time I heard this song. Jack's
guitar playing is amazing. He's a bit higher than he should be on Rolling Stone's
"Best Guitarists" list though.
There is a lot of filler on this disc, and though it is more cohesive than White Blood
Cells, that doesn't mean it is worthy of all of the A ratings it has received. Rolling
Stone gave this album a perfect five star rating. That's blasphemous. Why do I keep
mentioning Rolling Stone? I have no idea. The album's closer "Well It's True That We
Love One Another" makes me cringe. Avoid buying this and just download "Black
Math," "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," "In The Cold, Cold,
Night" and "Ball & Biscuit."
Bottom Line: The White Stripes are hit and miss. When they are on, they are on. I
can take this band in small doses. Their over-exposure annoys me a bit. Despite my
sarcasm, they really do have talent. Jack can play guitar pretty damn well. Meg can keep a
beat and she is hot. This disc suffers from too much filler and sloppy lyrics.
~Huey (9/13/03) |
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