With “Elephant,” The White Stripes have produced the first truly excellent album of the year, while simultaneously inking arguably the most appropriate album title since “Exile on Main Street.”
The White Stripes are Jack and Meg White, a gimmicky south Detroit duo that dress alike, claim fraternity and play deceptively simple songs.
“Elephant,” the band’s fourth record, is enormous and dense, and full of dirty white blues. But, unlike 2001’s “White Blood Cells,” this album includes a bottom register and the novelty of Meg White singing lead.These moves give the album some of the versatility that may have been lacking on the band’s previous discs, and allow for greater experimentation with tempo changes – a trait that is a hallmark of this album.
Meg’s innocent sexuality comes to a head on “In the Cold, Cold Night,” one of the stand-out tracks on the album. She sings a halting and beautiful lead so impressively that it makes the rest of the album feel lacking in comparison.
In a surprisingly pretentious move, The White Stripes recorded the entirety of the album using an eight- track reel, and the liner notes actually state that no computers were used during the writing, recording, mixing or mastering of this record.
While the intention of the lo-fi production is questionable, the album shows the fruits of the decision. Perhaps blistering Led Zeppelin guitars and consistently excellent – and underrated – percussion work simply sound better this way.
“Elephant” has been called the Stripes’ British album because the band moves away from the ’60’s blues of its past and into London’s urban rock of the following decade. The Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind the Bollocks…” is all over this record, but the imitation is purely tangential as The White Stripes are in control of their own sound.
“Hypnotize” is a searing track with the length and attitude of a punk song, but a heart that is pure blues: “I want to hold your little hand / If I can be so bold, if I can be so bold.” Jack White breaks the mold of traditional blues music by writing textured, fascinatingly detailed lyrics about timidity and kindness. Lyrically, the album never dips into cliché or redundant babble. Every word is true and honest.
On “Ball and Biscuit,” Jack White puts on an epic guitar clinic that slides along for seven minutes, an eternity in The White Stripes time. Not content with purely imitating blues masters, Jack attempts to expand on the craft. He is not entirely successful here, as the guitar solo gets old and Jack’s guttural pleas become more than a little creepy. However, the experimentation is interesting, and is indicative of the musical ambition the duo has.
While heavily lauded with critical praise – Rolling Stone gave the album its coveted 5-star designation – “Elephant” is imperfect. Several songs elicit fierce deja vu because of their similarity to specific tracks on “White Blood Cells,” and the album tends to lag during the longer tracks.
The album is best, and most interesting, when it abandons formula and delves into different sounds and tempos. “I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart” and “You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket” are touching and gentle songs about fear and love that expose the rest of the album as an over-excited jukebox.
The closing track, “Well It’s True That We Love One Another,” is the surprise gem of the album, as Jack and Meg team with Holly Golightly in a sweet little ditty that shows the duo as real people, rather than dirty blues machines. On these songs one can glimpse into the soul of The White Stripes and see a jubilant mess of emotions that sometimes explode beautifully.
