Icky Thump : White Stripes : Review : Rolling Stone

So what is it about Jack White? Right, he's very talented. Major guitarist, albeit overrated by those seeking a young titan to prove the guitar retains its glamour. Voice avid and emotional enough, words catchy sometimes and – crucially – tunes catchy often. Plus the color-coded packaging and knack for self-mythification. Still, what do the White Stripes have to say? What do they stand for? Why do simple pop fans care about minimal Jack and his mythical sister, Meg?

Part of the answer is that not so many simple pop fans do. The White Stripes are justly renowned for cracking a hit parade of mad compression and synthesized everything with naught but a guitar, a drum kit and some analog tape. But they've yet to break it wide open. The title track of their Warner Bros. debut, Icky Thump, is their first single to go Top Forty on Billboard's Hot 100 - Top Twenty-Six, to be precise. Lyrically, the song is a change. Elephant's "Seven Nation Army" and Get Behind Me Satan's "Blue Orchid" defy fame and a temptress with typical pop imprecision. "Icky Thump" has a topic: immigration! The song isn't easy to parse, but for once that's a plus - it's genuinely complex, condensing hard moral conundrums into a narrative whose comic side is captured by the south-of-the-border video and whose intrusive guitar leaves conflict hanging rather than providing comfortable resolution.

The other part of the answer, sad to say, is that this cultural breakthrough is almost certainly an accident. That's because Jack White is less a songwriter than a sonic architect. Compared even with Lil Jon or Avril Lavigne, what his hits have in common isn't anything he stands for. It's instantly enticing musical constructions. On these the new album comes up slightly short. One telltale sign is a standout cover: "Conquest," an anti-sexist jump blues popularized by Patti Page in the Fifties and reconceived here as flamenco mariachi, with Jack laying on the vibrato and melisma and then flashing his steel-sharp guitar at fearless Mexican trumpeter Regulo Aldama, who duels him to a dead heat.

Two other top tracks show off Jack's songwriting per se: a broadly applicable philosophical closer called "Effect and Cause," and a cute Jack-and-Meg dialogue that recalls the band's earliest blues, "Rag and Bone," where the pair wander "Rich house/Doghouse/Outhouse/Old folks' house/House for unwed mothers. . . . Looking for Technics turntables to gramophones." Proudly, they build their music – and "make some money," yeah! - from the "Christmas trees" and "toilet seats" others discard. That's always been Jack's MO, and album to album - one every two years since White Blood Cells in 2001 - he's hauled new detritus into his theoretical garage. This time it's bagpipes, their wild-man-of-the-north mysticism balancing off the hit's south-of-the-border macho. But you can be sure we'll never find out how "Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn"/ "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" will fare on the Hot 100. The innocence lost of "Little Cream Soda," an old plaint for Jack by now, stands a better chance - as does "Bone Broke," about Jack's supposed money woes, and, right after "Icky Thump," the riff monster "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)."

The ostensible content of "You Don't Know What Love Is" is also anti-sexist - get-up-stand-up counsel to a woman not his wife. But in essence it's a monster riff - bigger and slower than, for instance, "Blue Orchid." And that's the scoop on the architecture here. Jack hauled more than bagpipes to his garage to make Icky Thump, which is easily his loudest album - maybe he found a beat-up Marshall stack somewhere or a tube amp forgotten by history. Although the new constructions don't entice as consistently as they should, their noise stays with you. And what that noise stands for is itself. Once the White Stripes and their fashion-plate brethren the Strokes were hailed for reviving punk & roll basics. But they were cold bastards, emotional vocals and all - formalists through and through. Like his sometime heroes Led Zeppelin, Jack White builds monuments. They're suitable for awestruck visits. But they're no place to settle down.

ROBERT CHRISTGAU

(Posted: Jun 11, 2007)

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Review 1 of 65

5of 5 Stars

although at first listen, outside of single icky thump, it may not be the best white stripes album you have heard, although, listening to it a couple of times, it definitlly grows on you, and experiments with thier sound further with the same old hint of blues and other influences. it's a great must-buy album period

Feb 11, 2008 17:31:44

Review 2 of 65

5of 5 Stars

'STRIPES MASTERPIECE

Jack White is a master of the guitar. It
doesn’t matter whether he’s grinding out riffs or reeling off solos, he has a supernatural presence that is consistently dynamic.
With such supremacy, one would expect the lead singer and guitarist of The White Stripes to have some swagger, right?
Wrong. White is an enigma—a puzzlingly humble man with dynamite talent who, in this day and age, goes against the rest of popular culture with an old-school, blue collar aura.
Though he prefers modesty to majesty off stage, he exudes the latter while in the spotlight. The White Stripes’ 2007 album “Icky Thump” is essentially a platform to show off Jack White’s ability as a musician. Drummer Meg White provides the foundation for Jack’s handiwork as she builds beats and fires shots on her cymbals as his guitar blasts into chord progressions or solos.
The opening track, sharing names with the album, starts out with organ and guitar before Jack begins to yell rhymes. “Icky Thump” is the only song that the ‘Stripes have ever done that actually speaks out about a controversial issue, and in this case it’s immigration.
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too.
Who’s using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can’t be a pimp
And a prostitute too.
Though the song delivers a message, White can’t help but to outshine it with his potent guitar playing.
In “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told),” Jack and Meg rock and roll through a steady song until Jack takes hold and showcases his power with six strings through a solo that amazes listeners for 45 seconds.
The CD then progresses into an eclectic jumble of songs. The explosive “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues” cycles through abrupt changes, from grooves to howling solos. Jack’s cry at the outset of “Conquest” is a startling change of pace, but gives listeners another taste of Jack’s style as his guitar battles a Spanish trumpet through the middle of the track.
Meg and Jack stomp through “Bone Broke” before they take a detour with “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn” and “St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air).” Led by bagpipes, Meg and Jack coast through the first half of their Scottish experiment with acoustic guitar and clapping. They elevate to drums and a whining electric guitar as the vocals switch to Meg. The two songs are a diversion from the rest of the record, and while they are well done, are confusing.
Jack and Meg finish out the CD with a medley that climaxes with “I’m Slowly Turning Into You.” A wild guitar rages behind the constant drone of Jack and Meg.
The final track, “Effect and Cause,” is a soft exit and helps to slow the CD down.
From his Jack’s blue collar persona to the pair’s authority over the variety of blues rock, they build an absolute must-have. In this case, two “Whites” and all the right blues make gold.
Top Tracks: Icky Thump, You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told), Conquest, I’m Slowly Turning Into You

Nov 18, 2007 07:56:40

Review 3 of 65

4of 5 Stars

I haven't even finished it all....I keep on listening to Icky Thump.

Oct 22, 2007 18:24:03

Review 4 of 65

5of 5 Stars

Along with Elephant this is the Stripes best album. In fact I'd put it a notch ahead because I think Jack's songwriting has actually improved. While at times the lyrics were clever but nonesensical, here he seems to have simplified them , made them more accessible , yet still totally original. "You Don't Know what love is you just do what your told..." Whoever said that before? Then there's the relationship paranoia of "I'm slowly turning into you", a twisted brilliant take on the formulaic love song. To this add the way the White Stripes like Zeppelin and the Stones before them are able to take the blues and somehow make it their own. As for Christgau.. he should have stopped reviewing back in oh 1985. How can Jack White be both a major guitarist yet not influential? He calls him style over substance but I don't think there's another songwriter working today who is more honest and profound than Jack. Meg's drums are better too.

Oct 20, 2007 15:15:13

Review 5 of 65

1of 5 Stars

I'm glad that the self procliamed "Dean Of Rock Critics" (a title
that will be forgotten with his death, thankfully) sussed out
the real time deal here-stating that The White Stripes are a
band to get momentarily awe struck by, but not a place to
stay. I've been saying this since their rise to the middle, but
unlike Mr. Christgau, I do not think this particular release
even warrants the slight attention he has given it. In short-
this is pretty much postured dogma, pure product posing as
interesting pop-which it is not. The lyrics are slightly better
than a 7th grade wanna be poet, and the music is uninventive
and lame, not to mention dull as a bag of nails. I'd say this is
only striking to those who actually find Blink 182 or Green
Day compelling. Pass (or maybe a C+ is Christgau land...)

Oct 15, 2007 14:02:17

Review 6 of 65

4of 5 Stars

I've listened to the album maybe a dozen times and the music wears well. It's smart, tight and a little demanding. Personally I can't see listening to this all the time - it is not smooth enough. But just because you can't live on chocolate doesn't make it good. Favorite elements are lyrics and vocals, poetic but still unpredictable (don't you hate it when you can tell what the next line is going to be?). Those interesting twists of phrase draw you into the rest of the song. Jack is a very good guitarist and I love the all the sounds he pulls out, but his voice is his best instrument. He connects emotionally and still manages to be intelligible. My favorite song at the moment is "Little Cream Soda" which is an anthem for those who have done everything possible and still come up short... Oh well oh well oh well. Perfectly delivered, the 'ah ha' moment that makes it bearable. Life goes on, give it a listen in the meantime.

Oct 11, 2007 14:58:24

Review 7 of 65

5of 5 Stars

"meg look at all this stuff!" and what stuff it is that the white stripes find. they claim that they'll use anything you don't need in "rag and bone" . and that isn't really much as a claim than a statement. they even bust out bagpipes and trumpets.(see "conquest" for your trumpet fix)but the weird is easy for the white stripes. they've been brilliantly weird from the beginning. but ever since their classic album "elephant" they'd crossed over to being a truly great timeless band. and this album just makes you believe that all the way through. even with a song with such a strange name as "icky thump" the stripes turn out a classic. and what is this song about? of course, deportation. and this perfectly off beat song isn't the only one with great appeal. how bout that guitar heavy, call the girl out anthem "you don't know what love is (you just do what your told)". and who at one time hasn't felt that way? and then the other masterpiece would be the love loathing "i'm slowly turning into you". and those would be the best of the bunch, but there's no filler here. "cream soda" is a blast and "300 m.p.h. torrential outpour blues" is a slowly burning self portrait masterfully sang by the riff master himself Jack White. this one is a must own for anyone who claims love great music . oh well, oh well.

Aug 20, 2007 01:02:42

Review 8 of 65

5of 5 Stars

This new effort for the white stripes is actually one of their best so far. I can’t believe they can keep on making brilliant music like this. They haven’t failed yet and I don’t think they ever will. This band will go down in history for sure. Buy this album!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aug 16, 2007 00:53:36

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