C-wod.com

Yeah, I wrote this awhile ago. Better late than never.

The White Stripes, after falling off the face of the earth for a while, returned to the studio in early 2005. Two weeks later, they had an album or something resembling one.

After producing Loretta Lynn’s album, we all knew that the next White Stripes album would have a country/folk feel. Since I’m famous for tolerating non-rock music, I didn’t mind the change one bit. Actually, that last statement isn’t true at all. Yet, I did grow up listening to Garth Brooks, so that means… Yeah, what does that mean, anyway?

Mindless rambling aside, Get Behind Me Satan doesn’t sound like anything the White Stripes have previously released. Jack White’s distorted guitar and assortment of crunchy power chords have been replaced by acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, tambourines, and whatever else they felt like. I feel that this album works as a nice contrast to the Foo Fighters’ recent release. The White Stripes show that one album of rock/acoustic can be just as good as separate CDs for each. They also show that it is possible to write acoustic songs that don’t all sound the same. Then again, the Foo Fighters probably have that problem with all of their songs, not just their latest acoustic CD.

The first song, which also happens to be the single, Blue Orchid, has a few things going for it. It has a pretty cool riff—I keep telling people it sounds like a song by the Kills, only better. However, since most normal people—you are out there, right?—probably don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to listen to Good Ones by the Kills to find out. Better yet, watch the video. It has lots of pink goo and other weird visuals. That’s enough digression for one day. Jack White’s now smoke-free lungs really help him with the high notes on Blue Orchid. If he sang this song back in his chain-smoking days, it would be even more unintelligible, which is a scary thought. Compared to the rest of their catalog, the song isn’t anything special, but I like it. Maybe it’s because I [want to] dance like a little girl to it…

The Nurse is the second song, which is unfortunate for candy cane children everywhere. It isn’t particularly melodic and makes me scratch my head with the random percussion. There are moments in the song when I think to myself “What was the point of that?” The arrangements are interesting and all, but it just sounds like noise. Although a lot of other people seem to like it, I think The Nurse is the weakest song on an otherwise strong album. If Meg spoke up more and was audible, maybe she could have told Jack something along the lines of, “This song just isn’t working.” That obviously didn’t and would never happen.

My Doorbell is a truly great song. I wish I could write great songs about doorbells, but I just can’t. With this song, Jack White has regained my respect even with the crazy moustache.

Little Ghost sounds like something a less-emo Conor Oberst would write. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, but it’s definitely something (because that isn’t the least bit vague).

The Denial Twist is fairly close to old White Stripes. For that reason alone, it’s a good song. Nothing beats a well-done, piano-based rock song. Now that I think about it, it’s really catchy, too. Must be the vocals.

Passive Manipulation is the obligatory Meg-on-vocals song. Jack doesn’t have an ego and didn’t give her only 35 seconds to handle lead vocals. Oh, Jack does have an ego, and this song is only 35 seconds long.

Take, Take, Take is another catchy, folksy song. Don’t forget they mention Rita Hayworth in it, too.

Red Rain is a strange song. It’s still pretty rocking, though.

I’m Lonely (But I Ain’T That Lonely Yet) closes out the album. It’s a slow song and sounds like something they would play at a funeral. Interestingly enough, in an interview a few years ago, Jack White said that the White Stripes would only do one more album after Elephant. However, they’ll probably release at least another album. I can’t see them going out with this. Or did the minimalism get the best of them?

Overall, Get Behind Me Satan offers glimpses of musical growth in the White Stripes. Perhaps it would have sounded better if they didn’t record it in a mere two weeks. Still, it has lots of solid tracks, hopefully foreshadowing a continuing musical shift.

7.5/10

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.