The White Stripes
Walking With a Ghost

In December two years ago, the White Stripes, after releasing Get Behind Me Satan six months earlier, a good album, released a remarkable EP: Walking with a Ghost, overall an EP between blues and garage.

The piano is not missing, already introduced in Get Behind Me Satan, which gives a more bluesy twist compared to the previous albums of the white stripes from Detroit, despite Jack's unorthodox method of playing, using multi-effect pedals (both bass and guitar). The White Stripes owe their fame also to their vintage taste for equipment and instruments; white, red, and black form the perfect color triad, at least according to Jack. Is it all for show? The fact is that the music of the White Stripes is authentic rock'n roll. Jack launches his compelling riffs and Meg comes in with her drums, despite not having exceptional technique. This is the music of Jack and Meg; virtuosity or extraordinary skills are not needed, it's about mastering the instrument. In the music of the White Stripes, there is nothing clean; the duo has stated multiple times that their music, to be authentic, must not be corrected in any way. If you listen to their music, you perceive that the sound seems like it's not breathing, that Jack’s retro guitar struggles to be heard, as if it were closed in a box.

This EP alternates blues atmospheres with Led Zeppelin-like hard rock and classic Detroit garage rock. Here, the White Stripes collaborate with another Canadian female duo, Tegan and Sara, who influence and contribute to the first track of the EP.

It starts.. The first track, the title track, was written by Sara Quin of the duo Tegan and Sara and opens with a respectable guitar riff by Jack. The song continues with the two voices merging, respectively Sara Quin’s and Jack White’s; nothing much, a hard hybrid reminiscent of AC/DC or even Rush (at least in my opinion). The second track is a live version of the soft ballad Same Boy You've Always Known which dates back to White Blood Cells, with intimate and passionate lyrics. The third track is the live performance of As Ugly As I Seem, taken from Get Behind Me Satan; another ballad, but this time the rhythm draws from folk and country, with bongos dictating the rhythm and the guitar crafting a sweet melody. Next comes The Denial Twist, another track from Get Behind Me Satan; a progressive rhythm, a mournful voice, captivating piano, and Meg's crashing cymbals make this song one of the best by the White Stripes. It concludes with Screwdriver, obviously a live version since they play it at every concert and it's also their first recorded song; a devastating garage riff, Jack's voice is rarefied, a filthy and foul sound, similar to a song by the Stooges; it’s precisely the carelessness of the sound that gives this song its value (which, by the way, is the best of the White Stripes, at least in my opinion).

A simple EP, slightly revised in blues terms compared to Elephant and De Stijl; melodies resembling Get Behind Me Satan and a sound renewed by the piano to change the sharp and angry sound of the garage rock of the white stripes from Detroit. Is their style just propaganda to make money? Who cares... they are the only ones currently making us relive the music of the sixties to the fullest...