e_burrell's Full Review: Elephant by The White Stripes
"I expected something pathological, but I did not expect the depth, the violence, and the almost intolerable beauty of the disease." - Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle 180)
What else could one possibly expect from the super duo of Jack and Meg White - vanguards of all that is pure and right with spit-shine shred-ahead garage rock? Violence? Check. Disease? Check. Beauty? Absolutely. On The White Stripes' fourth LP, Elephant, they manage to improve on their previous White Blood Cells wholesale. Elephant comes with no small amount of baggage and hype. The White Stripes were perhaps one of the most over-hyped bands of 2001 and 2002. Endless reporting on their "gritty" sound probably turned a number of people off, but if you let that happen, you've definitely missed the boat. Here's a chance to jump back in and sail away to nicer (more accessible) seas. Originally sent to music journalists in a vinyl LP form to cut back on internet piracy, Elephant will be available to buy in U.S. stores on April 1st with seven different album covers to choose from.
From the first track (and first single) Seven Nation Army, things start jumping with the strange commodity of bass guitar, something that until now most Stripes tunes have lacked. This addition is welcome, and the song tears along with the perfect swagger and bombast needed to kick a monster album off right.
There's No Room For You Here is a gorgeously sad song complete with lush harmonies (no idea how many tracks were used to overlap the Whites' voices, but it seems to be quite a few). It's a great effect, and fits in perfectly with this, perhaps the best song on the album.
On previous efforts like De Stijl and The White Stripes, there were tunes that didn't hold up as well as others. Songs that seemed to amble on and on (even with their compact punk timing) - Elephant has little or no noodling to speak of, just balls to the wall distortion, angst and fun.
That's not to say of course that all the songs are brash and piercing. In fact, there is a true balance on Elephant - Cold Cold Night finds Meg singing along to what sounds like an updated jazz standard, and this, directly after Jack has put his own stamp on the Burt Bacharach classic I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, a version that Burt could never have imagined - or come close to touching.
Sweet plaintive lyrics concerning young love - moms, dads -follows with I Want To Be The Boy. Jack White has a knack for picking tunes that fit his lurching, squealing bray, but the true beauty of this song is when his impeccable slide guitar slips through the speakers and slides right into your ears.
You've Got Her In Your Pocket sounds like something Mick Jagger and Keith Richards might have written while locked in a dirty bathroom somewhere in the mid Sixties. It's got that underproduced gritty acoustic sound circa Beggar's Banquet, and at this point the listener should realize how wonderful an album can be made for less than $10,000. That's right - a mere ten grand, and less than two weeks of studio time. This is real - this is rock and roll.
Electric Chicago Blues comes instantly to mind when Ball And Biscuit lurches to life and parades its blatant (yet again, understated) sexual innuendo and tension. Jack rips into a memorable blues run and the heavy distortion and simple-yet-effective drum beat recall Jimi Hendrix at his finest. The Hardest Button To Button is more bass and guitar fuzz with a taut beat and silly-simple drums. Its heavy call and response and foot stomping middle eight will throw a smile across your face as you nod your head back and forth, soaking it all in.
Little Acorns begins with a surprising storybook style voice-over about life problems and - of all things - squirrels and their nests. Problems can be broken into small pieces and carried away like little acorns. Corny, yes, but effective as Jack throws nods in to Black Sabbath and Buddy Holly among others throughout the tune. Without the vocals - this one has a bit more of a modern sound - kind of a Smashing Pumpkins (Mellon Collie era) feel to it.
From here, Elephant turns into a super hard rock album where guitars thrash about and piano crackle and fade. Hypnotize a quick, simple thrasher much in the same spirit as their previous hit Fell In Love With A Girl. The Air Near My Fingers is a great rock tune that will stay with you for a long time. Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine finishes off this triad of gluttonous distorted reverie with a crash and a bang.
It's True That We Love One Another is a fun little folk ditty which obviously plays on the whole "Are Jack and Meg brother and sister, or a separated married couple? It's a sing-song - where Jack and Meg White go back and forth with little barbs and snips at one another. It's a lot of fun, and a perfect way to end a great album.
Elephant is without a doubt The White Stripes most accessible album to date. Jack and Meg White have always kept the musicianship and fun level at equal heights, but this record seems to explore things deeper - heavier. Love, loss and death are explored thoroughly - though you might never know it you'll be having so much fun digging the grooves and the pure artistry in the music itself.
Yes, Elephant is accessible. It's also the White Stripes' best album to date, and I can't give it any more recommendation than that. If you even kind of liked White Blood Cells you'll want to pick this up when it drops on April Fool's Day.
"...Went from liquid lyricism to rasping lechery to the shrill skittishness of a frightened child, to a heroin nightmare. Spoke of heaven and hell and all that lay between." "Such music... could only be a case of schizophrenia or demonic possession. My hair stood on end, as though rolling on the floor, foaming at the mouth, and babbling fluent babylonian. When the music was done I shrieked at Julian Castle, who was transfixed, too, "My God - life! Who can understand even one little minute of it?" "Don't try" he said. "Just pretend you understand." (Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle 182)
Vonnegut understood the raw gut-wrenching awe that can be found in music. It's albums like this one which bring us that much closer to a deeper understanding - of a great many things...
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.