The White Stripes - Icky Thump Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 06.19.2007
What can you say? The White Stripes always deliver…
My Story
A bulletproof band is exceedingly rare in this day and age. Either you’re loved by critics but lacking in sales or you’re adored by fans and loathed by reviewers. And if you try something different, heaven help you. That’s what makes the continued success of The White Stripes so unlikely. And with a sound that is so purely ANTI-commercial, it makes their success downright confounding.
But everybody likes the White Stripes, right? The critics love them, the radio can’t get enough of them, MTV won’t quit airing them and, most importantly, fans won’t quit buying them. Jack White could’ve recorded this album over a four hour period in a hotel bathroom with a bad case of the flu and it would have been hailed as the next modern masterpiece. So, let’s focus here and try to answer the question: Is Icky Thump any good?
Their Story
The White Stripes formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1997, the combination of drummer Meg White and singer/guitarist Jack White (né John Gillis), formerly of the band Go. Early press releases and internet bios claimed that Jack and Meg were brother and sister, but later findings proved the two to be ex-husband and wife. This strange fib, along with their penchant for wearing red, black and white, only added to the mystique of the band, who drew inspiration from classic rock ‘n’ roll and American blues.
The White Stripes was released on Sympathy For The Record Industry in summer of 1999. It wasn’t anything like a commercial hit (though it did reach #197 on the UK charts), but it captured a certain amount of fan interest and led to tours with revered indie acts like Pavement and Sleater-Kinney. The band returned with a second album in 2000 called De Stijl, another indie tour de force in minimalist style and lo-fi rock. De Stijl led to the band’s first international tour, as they took the album to countries like Japan and Australia.
In 2001, the Stripes put out their third Sympathy album, White Blood Cells. Around the time of that album’s release, the US began to see a movement of sorts on the radio as bands like The Hives and The Strokes sought to revive the garage rock scene. Though Blood Cells’ first single, the acoustic “Hotel Yorba”, garnered a little airplay (mostly in the UK), its successor, the under-two-minute rock punch “Fell In Love With A Girl” fit right in with the newly popular sound. When critics and fans then turned their ears to the Stripes’ albums, they were the ones falling in love.
Things began to snowball from there. “Fell In Love With A Girl” became a Top 20 hit on Modern Rock radio, as well as MTV, as was its follow-up, “Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground”. White Blood Cells was re-released on Richard Branson’s V2 Records in 2002, as were the Stripes’ other albums. The awards started rolling in later that year. The Stripes wound up with four MTV Video Music Awards and were named one of People Magazine’s “Top 50 Bands To See Before You Die”.
In late 2002, The White Stripes headed to London to record their follow-up to the gold certified White Blood Cells, a stark change from their previous Memphis studio location. The resulting album, Elephant, was released on V2 in April of 2003. The set debuted at the top of the UK charts and reached #6 on the Billboard 200. The album’s first single, “Seven Nation Army”, was the band’s biggest hit yet, reaching #1 on the Modern Rock charts. Future singles “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” and “The Hardest Button To Button” both went Top 30. Elephant was perhaps the band’s best reviewed album, as nearly every critic hailed it as one of the top rock albums of 2003. Elephant was handed a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 2004, and “Seven Nation Army” also scored one for Best Rock Song.
For the two years following the release of Elephant, the White Stripes kept busy. They released a live DVD called Under Blackpool Lights, and appeared in an indie film called Coffee & Cigarettes. Jack ventured into outside projects, appearing in the 2003 movie Cold Mountain, as well as producing Loretta Lynne’s critically acclaimed 2004 record Van Lear Rose.
In 2005, the band reconvened and released their hotly anticipated fifth record, Get Behind Me Satan. The album was a big event, marked by a week-long appearance on the popular “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” show. Its lead single, “Blue Orchid”, was a Top 10 hit on the Modern Roc charts, and follow-up singles “My Doorbell” and “The Denial Twist” were also popular. While well reviewed, Satan marked a distinct style change for the White Stripes. The loud, fuzzy guitars were toned down in favor of pianos and acoustics, giving the disc a much quieter vibe. Fans still flocked to the album, though, which has since sold over 850,000 copies. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, the band’s highest place yet. Get Behind Me Satan was also the band’s second record to win a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.
Following Satan, the White Stripes took some time apart. Jack remained quite busy. He married model Karen Elson, had a baby, moved to Nashville and formed a successful sideband called The Raconteurs, whose 2006 album and tour proved to be a major hit. In fact, the Raconteurs were such a success that fans worried that Jack would not return to the White Stripes. Rumors were fueled when the band was dropped from V2 (along with all of the other label’s acts), thanks to an internal reorganization.
These worries proved unfounded in February of 2007, when the band announced they were in the studio working on their sixth album (which would be released on Warner Bros. Records). The first single, “Icky Thump”, hit radio in April of this year. It has since become the band’s first Top 40 hit on the Billboard 100, topping off at a healthy #26.
The Album
On June 19, 2007, Warner Bros. Records released Icky Thump, the sixth album by The White Stripes and the follow-up to 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan. It’s the band’s first record since leaving V2 Records. The album is available as a standard CD, LP and also on a limited edition 512 Mb USB Drive in apple lossless format. The Australian version of the CD contains a bonus DVD.
The Band: 9.5
Jack White: guitar, vocals, producer
Meg White: drums, vocals
White Stripes fans who were taken aback by Get Behind Me Satan’s pianos and dialed-back attitude can take solace in the fact that Icky Thump finds the band roaring back in full force. It’s a lo fi explosion of blues riffs, distorted guitars and howling vocals, all crammed into swaggering, confident rock ‘n’ roll that would kick ass in any decade of the last 60 years. Jack White sounds as dedicated to the band’s sound as ever and has developed into a cocky rock frontman in his own right. The singer stands up to no less than Robert Plant on “Icky Thump” and continues his assured stride through classic rock, gutbucket blues and, yes, a tad of psycho-country until the album’s last notes ring.
As far as guitar work goes, Jack rules in that department too, bringing them back out of the closet after getting experimental on Satan. If you like the “Icky Thump” single and its hard driving riff, then you’ll love the rest of this CD. There’s some weirdness, of course. What Stripes album would be complete without something out of place? The band utilizes bagpipes and mariachi horns on a couple of the tracks here, which actually only adds to the bigness of the Stripes’ little sound. This movie is the soundtrack to Jack White’s thoughts, it should have an interesting and diverse score.
Then there’s Meg, keeping the beat behind the kit, knowing when to throb and when to just let loose, proving why she’s still the only other musician Jack White truly trusts in the studio. Her vocal work here is limited, but always a treat, especially on the playful “Rag And Bone”, which only further proves that this band is still having fun after ten years together. And that’s good news for everybody.
The Songs: 9.0
1. Icky Thump
2. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Just Do As You’re Told)
3. 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues
4. Conquest
5. Bone Broke
6. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
7. St. Andrews (This Battle Is In The Air)
8. Little Cream Soda
9. Rag And Bone
10. I’m Slowly Turning Into You
11. A Martyr For My Love For You
12. Catch Hell Blues
13. Effect And Cause
With such an awesome sound, you nearly forget how great the Stripes are at songwriting. While “Icky Thump” draws heavily from the current political climate, the subjects on this album range from love to death to garbage picking. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” is an interesting cut, probably the most Nashville inspired here, as I could imagine the lyric (if not the rock music) fitting in well on 70’s or early 80’s country radio. Another great song, “Conquest”, with its horns, over-the-top vocal presentation and throbbing beat, is amazingly not even the strangest nor the most fun song on the record. It’s a bull fight of the lover and the scorned, with horns switching heads midway. As far as fun goes, nothing could beat the wry single “Rag And Bone”, which finds Jack and Meg employed as trash movers. Jack’s lines here are so funny you can’t help but laugh.
The blues are present, as always. “Catch Hell Blues” is one of Jack’s shining moments on guitar. Then you have the straight-up rock of “Bone Broke”, a song so feverishly rocking that it could be dangerous to listen to in your car CD player. Some of the experimental tracks don’t work as well, though they definitely fit in. “Prickly Thorn” serves more as a mid-album intermission than something fun, and “St. Andrews” sounds like Jack’s misled attempt at Sgt. Peppers. “A Martyr For My Love For You”, this album’s slowest track, comes dangerously close to dragging. You can blame the environment, I guess.
Conversely, “Effect And Cause” is a glorious acoustic closer with some of Jack’s best lyrics ever (“I ain’t sayin’ I’m innocent, in fact the reverse/But if you’re headed to the grave you don’t blame the hearse”), and “Little Cream Soda” is an excellent bit of rock ‘n’ roll. In fact, there’s so much good here, you’re going to learn to love the lesser tunes, because you’ll be spinning this one over and over. This is your album of the summer, if not the year.
The 411: Icky Thump is The White Stripes’ confident return to blazing rock. The eclectic nature is kept in the background as Jack and Meg jam to some burning rock and searing blues, all the while keeping that lo fi, quirky sensibility that has made them indie and critical darlings. Songs like “Icky Thump”, “Effect And Cause” (when you’re headed to the grave, you don’t blame the hearse”) and “Rag And Bone” are modern rock classics. Icky Thump continues the White Stripes’ trend of excellent albums. The big difference here is the assuredness with which it’s delivered. They know you’re gonna like it.
