Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Elephant-The White Stripes


I felt like doing some White Stripes, and so I'm reviewing whats probably their best album Elephant. From the opening notes of Seven Nation Army you know that Jack White has truly found himself as a rock god. While this is not the Stripes breakthrough album this is indeed the album that made everybody kneel to Jack White. This album is an awesome combination of blues and metal. Jack White is a genius, and shows himself as one on this album. The guitar is fantastic and defines the Jack White sound, in addition his keyboards really compliment the music. Meg's drums are awesome and help drive the music along. You cannot forget there are the really cool lyrics which provide a great vibe to the album. Jack of course has a great voice which he shows on this album.
While a lot of the guitar has a blues influence you also feel the influence from Jack's days as a journeyman musician in the 90s when he was big in his local cowpunk scene. Despite the punk style of some of the songs White keeps to his old blues influences and adds a nice classy touch to the album. With his guitar he proves himself as a true rocker who can take the musical world by storm. The sheer power seen in his work is amazing, especially when it is offset by the times of extreme quiet. It shows an awesome juxtaposition and it really rocks. I love the guitar on this album because it combines my love for blues and heavy metal. Meg is great on her drums keeping the music going on the hard rockers and adding a nice touch to some of the quieter ones. Overall the instrumentalism on this album is awesome.
The lyrics are typically rather sad. Many of the lyrics seem to have to do with the disappearance of the concept of the sweetheart. A lot of them are simply talking about lost love and dealing with life in general. Some lyrics talk about the problems with fame as well and the difficulties that the two band members face dealing with all of their newfound fame. (And there was a lot of it.) This album has lyrics that are very inspiring but also sad. The vocals done by Jack are awesome and really show him as one of the best modern vocalists. His voice is both caressing and smooth as well as powerful and capable of destroying anything. In the song Ball and Biscuit Jack invokes the aura of Robert Plant and classic folk music, and then breaks out into a very Jimmy Page like solo. Meg's vocals, while very good are very gentle and soft. They provide an offset to the masculine vocals of White.
Overall this is an album that really can be best described as Led Zeppelinesque. There are quiet acoustic tracks and then loud rock anthems. I love that juxtaposition, for me it makes the album truly great and simply beautiful. The guitar is awesome, a combination of blues and heavy metal, a lot like Zeppelin, only heavier. Meg White plays the drums very well, driving the songs along and providing a nice feel to the music. The lyrics are great, they are mostly sad but they are very deep. Jack is a great singer, at times he is like Robert Plant and other times (more often) he is like Bob Dylan. Meg also has a good voice when she does her share of the singing. Anybody into heavy blues or heavy metal should love this album.
OVERALL 10/10
Elephant

6 comments:

  1. 8/10

    Cool riffage, nice acoustic passages and good drums, but the vocals can range from endearing and comforting-ly/emotionally shaky to annoying whiny and aggravating. Some songs are just too strange for my tastes, and seven nation army sounds like a ripoff of another song.

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  2. 7 nation army is not a rip off, and the reason you dont like some of the songs twoguys is that you are a death metal head and bob dylan is not for you, and thats where jack gets the whiny feel

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  3. dude, i gave it an 8, its safe to say i like them, just 7 nation army reminded me of some jazz song, havent heard it in a while, dont remember the name, cant guarentee anything

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  4. Eh I just re-listened to the album, did i say an eight? no, thats wrong, its a 10 folks

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  5. They aren't, we do more than just metal though.

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