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White Stripes

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The White Stripes

 
White Stripes
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Avg: 4.0 (51 ratings)

A basic blueprint — in red and black.

  • We Say...

    Until Get Behind Me Satan, this 1999 debut was Jack White's favorite Stripes album, probably because he'd so immersed himself in his beloved blues that it felt like the ultimate dream come true — not just making an album in the first place, but making an album of music so relentlessly true to his obsession with the blues that it thumbed its nose at all the timid, copy-cat tendencies of mainstream rock at the time. Even after White has gone on to expand his musical vision with country, rock and even pop, this basic primer is still thrilling. From the blistering remake of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down" and the unflinching rendition of Bob Dylan's mysterious "One More Cup of Coffee" to his own tunes, White fearlessly applied remarkable passion and craft to the topics that would continue to drive him: innocence, loyalty and faith.

  • They Say...

    Minimal to the point of sounding monumental, this Detroit guitar-drums-voice duo makes the most of its aesthetic choices and the spaces between riffage and the big beat. In fact, the White Stripes sound like arena rock as hand-crafted in the attic. Singer/guitarist Jack White's voice is a singular, evocative combination of punk, metal, blues, and backwoods while his guitar work is grand and banging with just enough lyrical touches of slide and subtle solo work to let you know he means to use the metal-blues riff collisions just so. Drummer Meg White balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare cracks. In a word, economy (and that goes for both of the players). The Whites' choice of covers is inspired, too. J. White's voice is equally suited to the task of tackling both the desperation of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down" and the loneliness of Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee." Neither are equal to the originals, but they take a distinctive, haunting spin around the turntable nevertheless. All D.I.Y. punk-country-blues-metal singer/songwriting duos should sound this good.

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