Posted on June 19, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Avant-garde garage rock fans, rejoice! The new White Stripes album, Icky Thump, is out today. What better way to mark the occasion than live-blogging my first listen?
To start off on a shallow note, I love the cover shot. The ornate mariachi costumes are awesome, and Meg looks downright adorable in hers. I’m just saying…
“Icky Thump,” the title track and lead single, is up first. Man, that’s a killer riff. I wasn’t so sure about this one when I first heard it on the radio a month ago, but it’s really grown on me since. It’s not quite “Seven Nation Army,” but it’s good stuff.
By the way, I love this lyric: “White Americans, what? Nothing better to do? Why don’t you kick yourself out? You’re an immigrant too.”
Track #2 is “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told).” It’s a catchy country western stomp, and the lyrics carry an anti-love sentiment reminiscent of Dylan classics like “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Idiot Wind.” Really, the only thing that might prevent this track from becoming one of my favorites is the fact that it vaguely reminds me of Alabama’s “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band).” Maybe that’s just me, though.
“300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues” takes first prize in the album’s Best Song Title competition. Bonus points for actually including the phrase in the song.
“300 M.P.H.” evokes the bluesier feel of the Stripe’s early albums, but it also highlights just how much the duo has grown musically in the past few years. It’s not as immediately appealing as the first two tracks, but “300 M.P.H.” definitely shows off the richer, more robust sound the band has developed.
A lyric that caught my ear: “There’s all kinds of redheaded women that I ain’t supposed to kiss. And it’s that color which never fails to turn me blue.”
The fourth track is “Conquest,” and Jack and Meg have just made my brain asplode. The Patti Page cover opens with a bold Tijuana Brass trumpet and follows up with campy, completely over-the-top vocals from Jack. If you’ve heard the Stripes’ cover of Burt Bacharach’s “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” imagine that amped up a few notches and throw in a backing mariachi band.
Seriously, this track sounds like one of those bizarre pieces of music that Quentin Tarantino digs up to stick in his movies. “Ca-onn-onn-QUEST!”
“Bone Broke” is the fifth track on Icky, and it’s a little blah. The riff gets a repetitive, and the shouted vocals don’t really reach out and grab me. Next.
Next up is “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn.” Another great song title, by the way. After a trip to Appalachia with “Little Ghost” on Get Behind Me Satan, “Prickly Thorn” ventures to the Scottish highlands for a folksy little jig — complete with bagpipes and mandolin. A little annoying with the all the li-de-li-oh-oh’s in the chorus, but gutsy nonetheless.
And now “Prickly Thorn” fades into Track #7, “St. Andrew (The Battle Is In The Air).” Is it possible to get feedback on a bagpipe? Maybe an electric bagpipe?
I think that’s Meg doing a spoken-word bit over all the noise, but she sounds like a little kid. A little kid possessed by Satan and talking backwards. Only you can understand what she’s saying, so I guess it’s not backwards. Just weird.
Okay…”St. Andrew” isn’t making it onto the iPod. I need a Tylenol.
“Little Cream Soda” is the eighth track, and the bagpipes are thankfully gone (although I can still hear them wheezing faintly in the back of my head). I dig the dark, heavy guitar riff on “Little Cream Soda,” and there’s something appealing about Jack’s spoken-word vocals puctuated by the repetition of the phrase “oh well, oh well” throughout the song. It’s a fairly standard issue White Stripes rocker, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Track #9 is “Rag & Bone,” and I already love it after twenty seconds. The song casts Jack and Meg as junk dealers, acting out little spoken-word dialogues between verses.
Jack: “Meg, look at this place. Well, this place is a like a mansion! It’s like a mansion! Look at all this stuff!”
Jack (again): If it’s just things that you don’t want — I could use ‘em. Meg could use ‘em. We can do something with ‘em. We can make something out of ‘em. We can make some money out of ‘em, at least.”
Yep, I love “Rag & Bone.”
My initial reaction to “I’m Slowly Turning Into You,” Jack’s ode to married life and the tenth track on Icky, is that it seems a bit underwhelming (especially after the exuberant “Rag and Bone”). Not bad, just nothing outstanding.
That being said, there’s some really sweet guitar and jazz organ going on in “I’m Slowly Turning Into You.” And the lyrics are fairly clever.
The eleventh track is “A Martyr For My Love For You,” a softer number that gets a nice little groove going without ever really paying off. This far into the album, it feels like filler. That being said, filler from the White Stripes is better than the average rock band’s best material.
“Catch Hell Blues” is Track #12. It starts off slow; the vocals don’t really kick in until well over a minute into the song. Jack busts out a few tasty guitar licks as the song progresses, but again, it’s nothing terribly special. At this point, the album feels like it’s running out of steam.
The final track is “Effect & Cause,” and it’s a fun send-off — a loose, acoustic throwback to previous White Stripes album-closers like “It’s True That We Love One Another” and “Your Southern Can Is Mine.”
You’ve gotta love lyrics like, “You can’t blame a baby for her pregnant ma. And if there’s one of these unavoidable laws, it’s that you can’t take the effect and make it the cause.”
Whoa…I just realized what this song keeps reminding me of. It’s the Dukes of Hazzard theme! I really hope that doesn’t end up ruining it for me. On the bright side, it reintroduces a bit of energy to the album that was missing in the last few tracks.
My initial impression of Icky Thump is that it’s a stunning album from a band that can seemingly do no wrong at this point in their career. It’s not as immediately accessible as Elephant or Get Behind Me Satan, but it clearly represents another major step forward for the duo. Of course, if you’re a die-hard White Stripes fanatic, you already own Icky Thump and I’m preaching to the choir. However, if you’re still on the fence when it comes to Jack and Meg, why not sample a few tracks online? Icky Thump isn’t perfect, but my first listen leaves me feeling like there’s probably something for everyone here. You might want to avoid “St. Andrew (The Battle Is In The Air),” though. It’s scary.
Standout tracks: “Icky Thump,” “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues,” and “Rag & Bone.”
Get Behind Me Satan is accessible? Other than the first track, I would disagree with that.
Also, Icky Thump is very, very good.
@Chris: I dunno…in addition to “Blue Orchid,” I thought “My Doorbell,” “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me),” and “The Denial Twist” from Get Behind Me Satan all came off as catchy on the first play-through. Then again, I’m a die-hard fan, so my perspective is probably a bit warped.
So, as someone who’s listened to Icky Thump, what did you think about “St. Andrew”?
My bad, I totally forgot about “My Doorbell.” Quite infectious.
“St. Andrew” isn’t all that compelling on its own, but combined with “Prickly Thorn” it’s a good palate cleanser.
I’m anxiously awaiting the next Raconteurs album, BTW.
Looks more like they’re pearly king and queen (UK) than tat but, hey hoo..
After some checking they are defo pearly King and Queen..
“Little Cream Soda”=”a fairly standard issue White Stripes rocker”
Whoa, there is nothing standar about that song…
“Little Cream Soda” is the be all, end all of White Stripe songs. I can’t imagine a more perfect composition. If that’s really how you feel take another listen. Hell, compare it to the fair you were so quick to group it with (I’m assuming songs of the “Hypnotize” ilk), this track is the definitive White Stripes song.
I fell in love with Little Cream Soda immediately. Standard? I think its almost 7 Nation Army competition. This album is just insane. Then again Jack is brilliant. And who isnt waiting for the next Raconteurs album.