The White Stripes
Get Behind Me Satan
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The White Stripes
Get Behind Me Satan
Third Man/V2, 2005
RiYL: Booker T, Loretta Lynn, Led Zeppelin |
I mean, just take a look at the cover of this album. Who would actually cultivate a look like that? Where is this couple from, and when are they from? Sure, I know the answers to those questions. But do I really? If I didn't have any idea about what these guys were up to, I might be scared. They like to keep you guessing and throwing your attention to the music, which is just getting better.
It's still a simple setup -- the slightly competent chick drummer and the flamboyant singer/songwriter/guitarist, proficient as lightning on his electric axe. The band's love of blues has taken on many forms, but on Get Behind Me Satan we actually get the most honest take yet, with the possible exception of the group's raw self-titled debut. Jack's time spent with country legend Loretta Lynn (resulting in the acclaimed Van Lear Rose) has rubbed off on him in a more intense way than fans might have expected.
First single and lead-off track "Blue Orchid" is a powerful Zeppelin-esque riff rocker, but its familiar sound betrays the album's true nature, a more subdued and esoteric offering that drops a lot of the wailing pretension of the harder-edged material on the group's 2003 breakthrough, Elephant. "The Nurse" embodies the eccentric aspect of the group's music. Primarily a marimba-fueled dirge, the song keeps being interrupted by thunderous bursts of speaker-pulsing guitars, making the listener wonder which way the album might go.
A refreshing pointer comes in the way of groovy third track "My Doorbell," whose addictive rhythm steels our faith in Sister Meg. Over a pulsing throwback beat -- think soulful Ray Charles-style piano riffs, shakers and a bold kick drum -- Jack spices up his trademark Preteen Romantic shtick with a plaintive chorus admission: "I've been thinkin' about my doorbell -- when you gonna ring it?"
A similarly funky, Motown-style workout can be found on "The Denial Twist," where the staccato piano/shakers effect is once again used to delicious effect. It's reminiscent of one of those classic soul tunes used to introduce the nation's youth to some brand new dance, sure to be a craze. Naturally, Jack's trying to get some sort of romantic metaphor across instead, but damn it's funky.
The man shows a lot with his use of acoustic guitars on this new jag. In the past, he would rely on them almost as a token act -- one slow acoustic song per album, usually from a child's point of view, like "I Can Tell We're Gonna Be Friends" or "I Wanna Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart." It was almost as if he thought of unplugging as an immature act. But the situation couldn't be more different on Satan. Maybe hanging out on Lynn's front porch with some good ole' boys got him in the right spirit (of course, many of the the Stripes' musical forefathers made transcendent use of a full-bodied acoustic).
One precious example is "Take Take Take," a hilarious tale of a guy who is never satisfied, though he keeps telling himself he's got "all that I needed." The off-kilter titular chorus keeps getting louder and more off-key, but Jackie and Sister Meg's kick drums keep bringing it back into focus.
Penultimate cut "Red Rain" is a deliciously demonic slide-guitar, hi-hat and distorted-vox wank-fest, but as is the pair's wont, the album concludes with a piano ballad. "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" is a proper and fitting conclusion to a (more or less) roots record. It's confessional, and not short: "Are you my friend when I need one / I need someone to be one / I'll take anybody I can get."
You get the sense that the group is growing up. True, we don't really know what to expect. Is this the band's last album, as Jack has alluded to in past interviews? Well, we don't expect them to stop us from guessing. But that's what makes this band so fun to follow. That, and the music. With the deep debt they owe to the blues, the White Stripes can never truly be called original. But they certainly have left their mark, and Get Behind Me Satan is an impressive additional chapter in their story, mysterious as it may be.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.