The White Stripes - Icky Thump
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Free Music Notes for Icky Thump
Free Music Review: Now seven albums strong
Hit: 5 Stars
It's undisputed that the White Stripes are one of the best rock bands of all time. Although I might need some time to think about where to place them in my list of favorite bands, this album proves that they rank pretty high on the Richter scale.
"Icky Thump" is an earthquake-shaker of an album, starting off with a title track with slamming guitar chords, Meg White's loud cymbals and an angular guitar solo acting as the chorus. The solo is followed by a schizophrenic keyboard solo that adds much more excitement to a spectacular start.
And the excitement never ceases. Jack White literally turns into a wannabe-Spanish tenor, with his cry on the epic "Conquest". Who would have thought that Jack would go so far with his loud songs?
Another original twist comes in the form of bagpipes. "Prickly Thorn" starts as a folk-song, complete with clapping. However, it changes gears in a psychedelic bagpipe melody, mixed with strange quotes and laughs.
And it still features awesome exploding songs, such as "Little Cream Soda". Although I have heard Jack White give odd monologues alongside loud guitar blasts, his coolest one yet came in this song. He spends time reminiscing about times when he wanted his ice cream soda a little colder, passing it off by saying "oh well."
I'd have to say that Jack White is starting to develop quite an ego, though. With "Rag and Bone," Jack literally brags that "If it's just things that you don't want, I can use 'em/Meg can use 'em/Make some money out of 'em, at least". Still, I'd have to say that Jack White has every reason to brag--they're the hottest band out in America right now, and still as explosive as they were when they began.
But still, back to rocking. In fact, "Catch Hell Blues" shows off Jack's wacky slide guitar effects. I love how inventive Jack is with high-pitched guitar squeals. I missed these squeals from bands such as "Rage Against the Machine," and I'm glad White has made the squeals cool again (thank goodness!).
And finally, Jack has never sounded so soulful as in the last jam, "Effect and Cause". There's nothing better than a simple acoustic guitar song, with excellent protest lyrics such as "Well you can't take the effect/And make it the cause/I didn't rob a bank/Cos you made up the law".
This is, to date, The White Stripes' explosion album that shows them off at their best. There's so much original materal, so many awesome sound effects and so much protest angst that I couldn't give this album any less than my highest recommendation. Go get it if you're a rock fan. You won't regret it.
Free Music Review: Back with a Thump!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
With a buzzing bass line, thumping beat, and sudden bursts of guitar and percussion (and a squealing guitar solo), The White Stripes announce their return with lead off single "Icky thump", which is already a UK #2 smash.
"Icky Thump" is the Stripes 6th studio release, and the first since Jack White's detour to his Grammy nominated side project, The Raconteurs last year, and its a plethora of great edgy blues/garage rock songs. The album has a fuller sound than the more stripped sound of "Get behind me satan".
The blues influenced "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You're Told)" flows effortlessly, while the horn peppered "Conquest" is a cover (rare for the Stripes) of a Patti Page song; it features fab trumpet layering to give a band effect and a duelling guitar/trumpet solo over a pseudo mariachi rhythm (you can almost picture Jack in a poncho and sombrero).
"Rag and bone" is a power house featuring both Jack and Meg on vocals (his southern drawl nicely contrasted by her whispering) and is brilliant! Just as rocking is "Little cream soda" with its thumping beat, crashing cymbals, and spoken delivery.
"Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" throws bagpipes (giving a Celtic touch) into the mix, aptly followed by the psychedelic "St. Andrew (This Battle Is In the Air)", a spoken piece (by Meg) set to percussion and bagpipes.
"300 M.P.H. torrential outpour blues", and the brilliant "Catch hell blues" are (as their names imply) the most heavily blues tinged songs, the latter featuring interesting tempo shifts (gentle to explosive) and very interesting and exciting guitar work (from delicately plucked, to squealing guitars).
"I'm a Martyr for My Love for You", a beautifully melodic song about an affair with a teenager that can never be, is the album's lone ballad. "I'm slowly turning into you" is a midtempo rocker with a blistering guitar riff, and lyrics recognizing how alike two people in a relationship become over time. Closing out is the brief country tinged "Effect and cause" with Jack having fun singing, even giggling.
Much more accessible than the dark, experimental (even by the Stripes standards) "Get behind me satan" (which I loved, don't get me wrong), they are still pushing the musical envelope, something loads of acts seem unable to do these days. Look out, The White Stripes are back!!
Free Music Review: Another excellent record from Detroit duo.
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of the White Stripes for five years, and I find at least with the full-length records that they can pretty much do no wrong. I tended to embrace both the earlier blues rock/garage sound and the art rock on Get Behind Me Satan, a range which showed how versatile the band is. They sound very electrified here and that is a good thing for me. As usual, the songs are all about as good as they could possibly be.
I've always thought Jack was effortless with the blues, and it's as present here almost as much as De Stijl. The title track is probably my single of the year, with the awesome pounding bass sound of Meg's spare beat and the insanity of the instrumental music. There is a diversity here and if you hoped for Meg to do some vocal work, it can be found here. "St. Andrew" is kind of the reprise of the finger-pick "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn," but that's a track that's more spoken than sung. Both tracks go complete with bagpipes. -- unheard of on the previous five records! The latter mentioned track goes nicely for those who like something in the "Little Ghost" vein.
For me, other highlights are an amazing cover of "Conquest" which even has a siren/toy machine gun-esque bridge and I really like the chorus of "I'm Slowly Turning Into You." "Effect and Cause" shows that Jack White still has the lyricism in him. This is the sound of rejuvenation; it's like they really had a mojo workin' on this record. It's intense fun and just about anything you've liked about the group can be found here, with a few new added stuff that's also a nice change of pace. You may not enjoy it the first time around, but oh well oh well oh well (makes sense in the context of "Little Cream Soda").
While I thought the Raconteurs were a kind of average yet occasionally enjoyable pop group, that band probably makes this release all the more exciting. I'm glad these guys aren't defunct, and maybe won't be soon. Not too many guys hit the mark each time like they do. And unlike most "return to form" albums, they remember what drew listeners in the first place.
Free Music Review: Getting Back To Basics
Hit: 5 Stars
White Blood Cells was my introduction to the White Stripes, but it was the stripped-down spirit of De Stijl that cemented me as a Stripes fan. So my heart nearly leaped from my chest as the first few bars of Icky Thump signaled the return of the Stripes blues/garage-rock sensibilities. However, the Stripes have learned from five albums experience, and Icky Thump filters the spirit of their initial two offerings through a
production filter like that of WBC and Elephant, with Get Behind Me Satan's willingness to experiment dashed on top. While there are some songs that I haven't warmed to yet, Icky Thump is a solid album all around. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Icky Thump- Jack's distorted guitar and falsetto are the perfect vessel for brilliant lyrics and start the album off right.
2. You Don't Know Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)- A softer , more bluesy track than the opener, the second track more than holds it own with singing that reminds me of a more uptempo I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) with a strong catchy progression playing on top.
3. Conquest- The only song on the album not written by Jack, Conquest adds a mariachi band to Meg's driving beat and Jack's guitar. The effect is brilliant, and extremely original.
4. Rag And Bone- With a driving intro that invokes Golden Earring's Radar Love, Jack and Meg banter back and forth, while the rest of the song kinda reminds me of Broken Bricks off the Stripes' first album. Very enjoyable.
5. A Martyr For My Love For You- By far my favorite song on the album, a riff similar to Dave Matthews' Gravedigger plays over some of the best lyrics Jack has ever written. Words simply cannot do this song justice; an utter stroke of genius.
6. Effect and Cause- The swan song of the album is a very simple song, without much of the heavy distortion that characterizes much of Icky Thump. However, it's extremely catchy, and Jack's lyrics hold up to just about anything else on the album.
Although Icky Thump isn't exactly like anything the Stripes have done before, much of the best elements of their past albums shine through on Icky Thump, making it a solid part of their discography.
Free Music Review: I TAKE IT BACK- WHITE STRIPES CAN STILL ROCK!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been harboring some resentment against these two ever since they got real popular about five years back, and started to decline (slightly) into fame. When I heard that Jack and Meg were ditching their old fashioned style of reel to reel recording, and finally going digital I pretty much disowned them. Hearing the single initially didn't help much either, with the Limp Bizkit meets weird al rap hooks... I thought it was all done. Then a friend of mine gave me the CD, just to say..LISTEN.. and then...
I am pleased to say once again that The White Stripes rock. They are a pretty damned cool little duo. Forget that The White Stripes now record in digital.. because its more like digital went White Stripe than it is the other way around. Amazing collection of sounds are put together on this album, spanning the sounds of popular music from the last hundred years (so i read) and really, where the last two albums have lacked somewhat, this album really shines... its full, and its packed with variety, that still flows remarkably well. Makes much of the`last two efforts seem flat in comparison. Maybe us oldschoolers are wrong about the digital age. Apparently it just takes someone to know what to do with it.
Highlights for me are mainly in the second half with the pounding LITTLE CREAM SODA.. the plainly awesome RAG AND BONE (defies me..."if you dont want it, we'll take it!") and SLOWLY TURNING INTO YOU, but the first half is cool too with amazingly different, but familiar songs like CONQUEST (sort of an old time mamba thing going on?) 300MPH, a "thumper", the poppy YOU DONT KNOW WHAT LOVE IS, and even the title track quickly grows on you (I have some problems with the lyrics in the third verse, they just sound stupid to me.. minor complaint) ..The two halves are split by a two part indian number, one half jacks and one half megs, its interesting.
All in all, The White Stripes have won me over again (and I always love watching meg bounce when she plays those drums!) ...Very good stuff... don't delay. Five.