The White Stripes

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The White Stripes

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I read about the White Stripes in the NYtimes and bought White Blood Cells w/o any further provocation. Not long afterwards I had to get my hands on another Stripes album, this being it. This album does pack a lot within its 43 minutes and there seems to be a song here for whatever mood you may be in. The three cover-tunes are worth the price of the album alone with "One More Cup of Coffee" by Bob Dylan, "St. James Infirmary Blues" an old Louie Armstrong standard by J. Primrose, and "Stop Breaking Down" by Robert Johnson. You can hear musical elements of each of these artists within these songs, especially some of Louie Armstrong's trumpet work in the voice of Jack White. My favorite track, and the one that every other reviewer fails to mention is Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down." The slide work is ferocious if not outright feral and JW's vocals are both intense and playful. Meg's drums throughout the album makes you want hammer away on the steering wheel of your car (mental note to be careful while driving and playing the White Stripes). Get your lame self out of your chair and get this record.

First off, as a new fan who grabbed all four of the White Stripes records within the scope of a week, I would advise anyone who has been weened on 'Elephant' (2003) or 'White Blood Cells' (2001) to get the other LPs first. Their indie debut probably takes the most getting used to.

That said, the first two rockers, "Jimmy the Explorer" and a cover of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down", are like a breath of fresh air. There are other hints of greatness here as well, including the power blues of "Suzy Lee", the acoustic blues of "Sugar Never Tasted So Good" (the latter being a taste of what was to come with the follow-up record, 'De Stijl' (2000)), and the old-school blues (we're talking 1930s here) of "St. James Infirmary Blues".

The problem with the record is the one dimensional aspect - by the time you get to the third track, "The Big Three Killed My Baby", the novelty of Jack White running his voice through a guitar amp and the minimalism of Meg White's drumming starts to wear a bit thin. But hey, it was their first record, they would learn . . .

For the new listener, I recommend trying out White Stripes in the following order: (1) De Stijl; (2) Elephant; (3) White Blood Cells; and (4) White Stripes.