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Rating: No, we haven't lost them. "Get Behind Me Satan," the previous studio work by White Stripes, didn't really impress us. Rectius, after the initial interest, we listened to it very little. Which is always quite symptomatic. We actually appreciated Jack White's effort to step out of his compositional style and arrange the songs differently. After two works adored by critics and the public, "White Blood Cells" and "Elephant," it seemed like a smart move to avoid repetition and boredom (see QOTSA). The result was an album written and played on the piano, which, however, lacked one of the group's best features, namely the tremendous energy and power that White Stripes manage to produce even in the studio.
So now Jack has returned to the guitar. And some songs on "Icky Thump" are among the heaviest and most distorted ever released by the Chicago duo.
It starts right away, the album's title track, with a nice Zep-style riff, reminiscent of the second album of the dirigible, contaminated here by the Stripes with their usual effects and breaks. The love for certain '70s eras is reaffirmed in the Stones-like stride of "You Don't Know What Love Is". Next is "300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues", and we're in an adorable zone, if only for the title: the main acoustic guitar riff seems straight out of Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks," but it also reminds me of Steve Winwood, a bridge to White Stripes, and no refrain, the verse alone is beautiful enough, only some delirious guitar breaks in a couple of spots. A delight.
There are then some oddities in the lineup: "Conquest", modeled on a rather hard riff, I'd say like The Litter, accompanied by Spanish-style horns, and "Prickly Thorn...", a jig with mandolins and bagpipes, which, however, doesn't seem to be in our friends' strings, interspersed with "Bone Broke", also built on a healthy Jimmy Page style riff (but the singing is also very Robert Plant).
We then return to the more classic Stripes: if "Little Cream Soda" doesn't shine with particular light, I really like "Rag and Bone", an effective rock'n'roll riff, with Jack and Meg calling and retorting at each other, in their typical goofy manner: I imagine that if they play it live, it will be quite a blast for the audience. "I'm Slowly Turning To You" is a stomp-blues, with an organ reminiscent of Deep Purple (see Jack White's experience with the Raconteurs). "A Martyr For My Love To You" is one of those ballads that only the Stripes can pull off, and which we love. The tour concludes with "Catch Hell Blues", which lives up to the promise of its title, and "Effect And Cause", another homage to vintage Stones.
A couple of anecdotes to finish: the album's title seems to derive from an idiomatic expression from Lancashire, the native land of Jack White's current partner.
Last May 30th, the album's preview was entirely broadcast by Dj Electra on Chicago's Radio Q101. A couple of hours later, it seems that an irate Jack, informed of the event, called from Spain, where the Stripes were on tour, reprimanding the said Dj for what happened and telling her that "things like that aren't done." White Stripes are known for preventing their albums from leaking on the Internet until the release day, unlike most bands. Dj Electra, who disclosed the affair, claimed that during the phone call, she almost cried. We sympathize with both... we were able to hear and review the album thanks to the radio program's recording. In any case, it will be released on June 18th. Four stars to be considered as 7/10.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Icky Thump (04:15)
Yah-Hee,
Icky thump,
Who'da thunk?
Sittin' drunk on a wagon to Mexico.
Ahh well,
What a chump,
Well, my head got a bump,
When I hit it on the radio.
Redhead señorita,
Looking dead,
Came and said,
"Need a bed?"
En español.
I said,
"Gimme a drink of water
I'm gonna sing around the colla'
And I don't need a microphone."
Icky thump,
With a lump in my throat,
Grabbed my coat,
And I was freakin',
I was ready to go.
And I swear,
Besides the hair,
She had one white eye,
One blank stare,
Lookin' up,
Lyin' there.
On the stand,
Near her hand,
Was a candy cane,
Black rum, sugar cane,
Dry ice, something strange.
La la la la la la la,
La la la la la la la.
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant, too.
Who's using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute, too.
Icky thump,
Handcuffed to a bunk,
Robbed blind,
Looked around,
And there was nobody else.
Left alone,
I hit myself with a stone,
Went home and learned how
To clean up after myself.
04 Conquest (02:48)
Conquest.
He was out to make a conquest.
Didn't care what harm was done,
Just as long as he won
The prize.
Conquest.
She was just another conquest.
Didn't care whose heart was broke,
Love to him was a joke,
Til he looked into her eyes.
And then in the strange way things happen,
Their roles were reversed from that day.
The hunted became the huntress;
The hunter became the prey.
Conquest.
Now you know who made the conquest.
She with all her female guile
Led him helpless down the aisle.
She had finally made a conquest.
And then in the strange way things happen,
Their roles were reversed from that day.
The hunted became the huntress;
The hunter became the prey.
Conquest.
Now you know who made the conquest.
She with all her female guile
Led him helpless down the aisle.
She had finally made a conquest.
Conquest.
06 Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn (03:06)
Singing li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Well, the hills are pretty and rollin',
But the thorn is sharp and swollen.
And the man plays a beautiful whistle,
But he wears a prickly thistle.
Singing li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
The silver birches pierce through an icy fog
Which covers the ground most daily.
And the angels which carry St. Andrew high
Are singing a tune most gaily.
Singing li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
One sound can hold back a thousand hands
When the pipe plays a tune forlorn.
And the thistle is a prickly flower, aye,
But how it is sweetly worn.
Singing li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
Li de li de li, oh oh.
Well a li de li de li, oh.
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Other reviews
By GrantNicholas
Jack White describes it as one of the hardest things the Stripes have ever produced; a sort of return to basics, at least in sonic aggression.
'Icky Thump' is a great album, made even richer by new sounds, which the Detroit duo loves to incorporate into each new record.
