The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"

I’m not going to claim that I knew about The White Stripes before anyone else. But I was into them way before Seven Nation Army got played to ever-lovin’ death on the radio (to the point where I still have a hard time listening to that song). So I suppose I’d consider myself a true fan. The first album I listened to was “White Blood Cells” and after a couple rounds in the CD player I knew it was love. I immediately ran out and picked up their self-titled first album and the follow-up, “De Stijl” and for a while those three albums were all I would listen to. Then “Elephant” hit and the Stripes exploded into the mainstream. So I guess we were all waiting with bated breath to see what their latest album, “Get Behind Me Satan”, would be like.

I’ve read elsewhere that this is the kind of album that will “make or break a ‘true’ White Stripes fan.” I think that’s probably a pretty damn accurate description. This album is so different from what came before it (and yet unmistakably a White Stripes album) that it might take most people by surprise.

I’ll be honest that my first impression of the album (based on the first single release ‘Blue Orchid’) was not a very positive one. I guess that’s because it was less like the tinny, country/rawk ballad I really wanted to hear and more like a blast of mid-70’s rock that I was not expecting. So I had my fingers crossed. Then I heard the first half of the album on the Internet. I was shocked by how . . . different it was from the rest of the Stripes stuff, or at least from what I was expecting to hear. That was almost it for this album as far as I was concerned. I had decided that it sucked. And I washed my hands of it.

Then I got curious. How many times have you listened to an album for the first time and weren’t really sure whether you liked it or not, only to discover that on the second or third try you really, really loved it? I figured the Stripes deserved another shot. Well it’s a damn good thing I gave it to them because this just might be one of their best albums yet.

I still prefer rocking out to “De Stijl”, but just the fact that the White Stripes took such a bold chance to do something different makes this album worth checking out. There’s a lot of experimentation going on with Get Behind Me Satan. One of the biggest differences from their previous outings is the noticeable lack of loud and heavy guitar (not that there aren’t some great guitar moments). Instead we have a lot of heavy piano, which in most of the songs is played loud, hard and energetically enough that it evokes those same rock n’ roll feelings. They’re testing their limits; they’re not letting themselves be defined by their previous triumphs. And more than ever there’s that feeling that you’re listening to something raw and almost unfinished, something that the Stripes have been playing with over all of their albums.

You’ll find yourself jumping from pure country to rock to almost pop-like songs. There are some great and distinctive tracks on this album that you won’t be able to help but play over and over again. One of my personal favorites is ‘Doorbell’, which makes me feel exactly the same way I did when I first heard ‘Hotel Yorba’ (from “White Blood Cells”). It’s infectious and makes you want to tap your foot, then knock your chair over and start dancing around the room. Another great track is ‘Take, Take, Take’ which is just a great story with a hell of an atmosphere that brings you into the bar where it takes place. And then there’s ‘Instinct Blues’ which sounds more like a live track from an age-old concert featuring a forgotten blues star who you may or may not have ever heard of. Of course ‘Red Rain’ just may have the best opening of any song on the album.

The album’s not perfect. As much as I like that Jack and Meg are experimenting and trying new things, there are times when I wish the album had a bit more focus. My biggest gripe however has to be with ‘Passive Manipulation’. It’s the only song on the album featuring Meg singing and it’s only thirty-five seconds long! As soon as you get into the song it ends. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s damn close.

In the end I guess I’ve really fallen for “Get Behind Me Satan”. It has definitely made me realize that I am a “true” White Stripes fan. Are you?

Four and 1/2 out of Five Stars

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