Artist: The White Stripes
Album: “Get Behind Me Satan”
Highlights: “Blue Orchid,” “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me),” “As Ugly As I Seem,” “Red Rain”
Rating: 87 out of 100
In the past five years, The White Stripes have churned out some of the most invigorating and clever albums rock and roll has seen [“De Stijl” (2000), “White Blood Cells” (2001), and “Elephant” (2003)]. Their latest release, “Get Behind Me Satan,” has been one of the hotly anticipated records of the year, and in many a mind, a clear shot straight to the top.
And it’s true. The band is there, but this isn’t the same Jack and Meg White you’ve come to know–it’s version 2.0. Since “Elephant,” the band has tinkered with its tried and true formula of “guitar + drums = rock!,” expanding its horizons to include a host of other instruments and voices. For better or worse, you better believe they’re serious about it.
The addition of an extended rhythm section is immediately noticeable. Maracas, bells, a lot of piano, and marimba round out the sound on many a song, but is a mixed bag with others. Compared with the cool finesse of heart-achy “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me),” “The Nurse” sounds like clunky album filler. After a few listens, however, you might even want a marimba resting on your coffee table–and you’ll have Jack White to thank for that.
With or without the new toys, the band’s thorough globetrotting has resulted in the chameleon-like ability to “change hats” at, well, the drop of a hat. “Little Ghost” sees the band in the coal-mining mountains twanging away, a far cry from the Love style bummer trip of “As Ugly As I Seem.” It even seems like Cat Stevens dropped by to play on “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” if he had time traveled through the saloons of the old west on the way there.
Older fans might be dismayed by the jumble, while newer ones will revel in the complexity and range covered by the material. The fact remains, however, the band never comes completely unglued to the point where the music is uninspired or forced.
In fact, the very glue keeping “Satan” bound at the spine isn’t the sound. It’s Jack White’s familiar lyrical muses: volatile love, intense heartbreak, and fiery power struggles. “You think not telling is the same as not lying, don’t you/Then I guess not feeling is the same as not crying to you,” Jack seethes in “Red Rain,” while Meg punishes her drum kit. Even the sizzling first single, “Blue Orchid,” wastes no time getting to the juicy bits. “How dare you/How old are you now anyway,” Jack accuses in a mocking falsetto. If catharsis is a target with this album, then The Stripes hit the bullseye.
Another popular muse is actress Rita Hayworth. Hayworth pops up in “White Moon” and “Take, Take, Take,” and it’s no surprise coming from Jack White, a fan of her one-time husband Orson Welles (e.g. “The Union Forever” from “White Blood Cells”). What more perfect couple to exemplify ego struggles and failed attempts at romance than this one? It’s no wonder “Take, Take, Take” seems to sympathize with her–Jack’s been in her shoes.
Surely we’ve all been in Jack’s shoes, too. Who hasn’t been angry, loving, or frustrated? This is the simple genius of “Satan.” At times, it broods like a felon in a dank cell. Other times, it traipses lightly through more pleasant terrian; The band hasn’t lost its sense of humor (see: “Denial Twist”). While “Satan” is an ambitious step forward, The White Stripes have taken it in a running stride, further proving that talent can manifest itself in myriad ways and still be successful.
