Who's That At The Door? (Get Behind Me Satan - White Stripes)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Get Behind Me Satan - White Stripes
Date:	14/10/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some big tunes

Disadvantages: Inconsistent

"Get Behind Me Satan" was released as the fifth album from the Detroit Alternative Rock band The White Stripes. Consisting of Meg and Jack White, the two shot to fame when "Seven Nation Army" was released, and so to follow on from the success that came of that and the "Elephant" album that followed, this came three years later in 2005 to take things further for them. Giving the break they had been striving for since debuting in 1999. Here they are seen to bring in influences from the likes of Punk, Blues and Garage Rock with other little things rounding it all off.

1. "Blue Orchid"

This was the lead single to the record and one that has them throwing down a heavy jam that I really felt suited being a representative of this album as it has the sort of energy that you expect from a lively Rock track and it appears to show that they haven't really moved that far away (musically) from the places seen on the album prior to this. It is a strong opener and one that livens you up for the thing.

**Four Stars**

2. "The Nurse"

I can't say that I was as impressed with this one as the first one as you find that here you get a track that has them returning to the sorts of alternative, and especially experimental things that came in all the albums leading up to this point and the kind of things that had put me off a lot of their work. Towards the end as it all came together it made more sense, but really it didn't have much that I could easily connect with.

**Two Stars**

3. "My Doorbell"

This is a hardcore joint from the pair and one that I felt was a great single from them as without this (in addition to "The Denial Twist") I doubt whether I would have seen any interest in their material. Here they bring forward a fly one that has them combining the cold setting that makes up most of their songs with some heavy, pounding kickdrums to empower it as they show that they can bring the Funk.

**Five Stars**

4. "Forever For Her"

With a hype created from the last track, I felt that it meant that it was a little easier to get into the sort of stuff that you get from this one as you see that they don't move all that far away from it. However it was far enough away for me to lose whatever I saw in them before as it became a little more average-sounding than what they had hit the listeners with on the jam prior to it and so brought about a bit of a slip.

**Three Stars**

5. "Little Ghost"

Here you get a short little Bluegrass session as they show exactly how varied their music can be and I felt that placed where it is, it gives you a bit of a lift and shows you that they have a lot to offer and may take things in completely unexpected directions easily to come out to make for a very varied album. It is one that will grow on you with time and I felt that it was a nice addition to the album for what it offers.

**Four Stars**

6. "The Denial Twist"

I saw this one as one of the most impactful tracks by the band and one that has them throwing together a little something that shows that they can get down with the Funk Rock style and do it like it was their specialist area. In spite of its likeness to "My Doorbell" I believe that it deserved a lot of attention as they bring so much with it and defy all the expectations that you would tend to associate with them.

**Five Stars**

7. "White Moon"

I felt as though a massive drop came about as they moved on into this one and came out with a bluesy track that takes you from a massive high, right down into some material that I really didn't have much interest in whatsoever as they try out even more of the extremely experimental material that you really have to engager with to get the most out of, but I could just never get into the groove of things.

**One Star**

8. "Instinct Blues"

I felt that even though the style remained the same with this one as with the last, it was amazing to see just how much the feel of things appears to shift as here you get a much more powerful blues performance here as they go for a throwback Blues Rock-styled jam that bring s out all the Soul in what they have to offer to bring back the quality of the album to where it had been with some of its singles.

**Four Stars**

9. "Passive Manipulation" (Lude)

10. "Take, Take, Take"

After a brief beak where Meg takes over the lead vocals from jack, you see that they come out with a very complete-sounding tune that has them coming out with another tune that takes from the basic structure seen in "My Doorbell" and manipulates it in new and original ways to bring out the best in what the band are able to achieve, and so it gives you another chance to feel them working to their highest standard.

**Four Stars**
11. "As Ugly As I Seem"

Here you get a tune that I felt really didn't have all that going for it and one that showed just how inconsistent things are with this album where it shifts from a high to lows fairly quickly and prevents you from really getting the chance to stay with them for any length of time as they will move on so far from one tune to another. It just wasn't my thing, but others may feel differently towards what comes of it.

**One Star**

12. "Red Rain"

Luckily they pull things back again with this one as they bring forward a tune that finds them coming out with a little something that brings back the much more impressive Rock end of their music forward. It is an expressive composition and one that has Jack putting in a lot of effort to convey his emotions about how the relationship with his girl is going as he breaks down a lack of communication that he feels is pulling them apart.

**Four Stars**

13. "I'm Lonely"

The album ends here and it seems that they brings a tune that seems to have all the soothing elements that you tend to expect to have at the end of an album. I felt that it was a good decision to end with the Blues side of things, but I can't say that it really stood out as many of the others on the album were seen to and so it isn't a particularly the best way to close the thing off, but seems to suit their style well.

**Two Stars**

Quite clearly this is an album with flaws and one that is able to manage its weaknesses by showing a wide variety of different styles to the table to show that they always have something to fall back on if something isn't received well. There's a lot to like here, but I felt that its inconsistency meant that it shifted frequently from something that you get down to something that is easy to want to ignore.

Summary: The White Stripes' fifth album