"I love Jack White like a Little Brother.." (Elephant - The White Stripes)

Member Name: Blurbubble

Product:	Elephant - The White Stripes
Date:	16/04/04 (1750 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Consistency of tracks, catchy tunes

Disadvantages: Jack White's vocals may be an acquired taste!

I felt like doing a music review for a change but was at a loss which CD to write about hence it?s taken me a while. After some thought I?ve plumped for the White Stripes ?Elephant? as it?s been permanently glued into my CD player for a while now, OK, I haven?t actually GLUED it in there ? that would just be silly, wouldn?t it?!

As with many people, the White Stripes were first brought to my attention with their ?Hotel Yorba? single, a few years ago now, although they were on their third album, ?White Blood Cells? by then. I heard their album and later saw them play live at Reading Festival in 2001 and so I was hooked! It was refreshing to hear music pared down to a basic simplicity with no frills or over-production but still with good meaty tunes and lyrics which displayed humour, intelligence and sometimes plain weirdness. This makes such a welcome change after so many manufactured bands, ?perfect? pop and high-tech production techniques and instrumentation which often knock all th4e stuffing and kick out of potentially good bands/music. That again is one of the main reasons I love seeing bands live to get true idea of how they REALLY sound. It always pleases me when I hear a band that sound the same live as they do on their recordings ? that?s what I prefer ? not being hoodwinked by special effects, etc. It must be the old Punk in me!

Right, I?ve gone off on one there, back to the album in hand then. ?Elephant? was released in 2003 on XL recordings dressed in a cover which also displays the White Stripes simple approach with their trademark red and white colour scheme and a stark picture of Jack and Meg White on the front. Jack sings lead vocals, plays guitar and piano and Meg plays drums and does backing vocals. There you have it ? the ?band?!
Admittedly the last track on the album also features guest vocals from Holly Golightly but apart from that there are no orchestral adornments, bells, whistles or frills. Indeed it states on the

cover that ?no computers were used during the writing, recording, mixing or mastering of this record? and it was also entirely recorded on a good old eight track reel- to ?reel machine which again enhances that raw, simple, played live sound. I?m all for it (can you tell?!)

Let?s get going with the music then?.

?Elephant? kicks off with probably one of their best known tracks by now, the single ?Seven Nation Army?. Starting with its simple guitar hook line the infectious tune explodes out and gets your toe tapping straightaway. As ever Jack does sound rather like he?s singing through a tin can with a somewhat high, frantic tone.

The next track, ?Black Math? is a real favourite of mine as someone who loves a good, fast, loud chunky tune which doesn?t get over-indulgent or drag on too long and is impossible to stay still to! A meaty riff without being too fast for its own good.

?There?s No Home for You Here? has a comparatively more complicated structure than most of their songs although by no means unrecognisable. A big opening and choruses of harmonies with pared down verses which leave Jack almost struggling to fit all the words in and one of my favourite lines on the album: ?It?s hard to look you in the face when we are talking, so it helps to have a mirror in the room.?

Surprisingly the following track is a cover of Bacharach & David?s ?I Just Don?t Know What to do with Myself? but executed totally in the White Stripes style so if you?re not very familiar with the song you probably wouldn?t recognise it anyway! This is also one of the tracks which emphasises that fact that Jack White is NOT a great singer. He has a distinctive style which complements the music but, boy, does he struggle with the high notes and any softer, quieter moments!

After that we have the simple (I must think of an alternative word!) ?In the Cold, Cold Night? which features Meg singing for a change backed by some sparse guitar. A
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it?s a catchy little tune but one of my least liked on this album.

?I Want to be the Boy to Warm your Mother?s Heart? returns to Jack singing and a more chunky, full approach again with keyboards to the fore this time.

?You?ve got Her in Your Pocket? is another of my favourites on here. This is a very gentle track with, as I mentioned before, Jack sounding a bit strained on the softer vocals required and a countrified strummed guitar backing.

Did I just say that was a favourite? Oh, here comes another one, you know what it?s like deciding upon these things! Yes, ?Ball and Biscuit? is definitely ?me?! A great bluesy, lazy rock track reminiscent of the Rolling Stones style from the early Seventies ? wandering, with a sneaky hook line and more strident, impressive vocals from Jack. I think this is the longest track on the album too, which is fine by me.

?The Hardest Button to Button? continues the pace previously set with its clever, amusing lyrics and Jack returning to his frantic vocal style over a ?thumpety-thump? rhythm that sets it all off nicely.

A comical Sixties-style American voiceover kicks off ?Little Acorns? ? a song of triumph over adversity albeit through minimal lyrics but more of a ?wall of sound? musical backing.

On to ?Hypnotize? which has a great tune and another basic riff line which bounces along at a galloping pace and displays that these faster, rockier songs are definitely what the White Stripes are best at.

?The Air Near my Fingers? follows with short, snappy lyrical lines but continues the same musical pace and bounce as the previous few tracks.

Another rocky track hits us with ?Girl, You Have no Faith in Medicine? with Jack almost shrieking his way urgently through this one. Definitely another favourite here, given a lightly different sound by the constant madly shaken tambourine (?) throughout and Jack sounding on the verge of actually losing it this time.
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The final track, all too soon, gives a light, amusing ending to the album. "Well It's True That we Love One Another features Holly Golightly doing guest vocals as she and Meg discuss their feelings for Jack as he cuts in with his responses to their enquiries. It?s almost a childlike sing-a-long tune much akin to those in traditional musicals and a completely different style to the rest of the album but again this is another impossibly infectious number which will remain in your head for ages!

So there you have it ? quite a difficult album to review due to the fact the same descriptions could apply to most of the tracks despite the fact that they DON?T actually sound alike (does that make sense?!) If you like your music in the rocky, bluesy vein with a punk influence and attitude then you?ll probably enjoy this as much as I do.

Now, I think I need to go off and look up some alternative words for ?simple?, ?basic?, ?frantic?, ?bounce???????.

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