Music Collection - W (Part 3 of 3)
Lo-fi rock band The White Stripes go to lengths to maintain their aesthetic: “No computers were used during recording,” they proclaim in the liner notes of Elephant. They are Jack White and his sister ex-wife Meg. Jack writes and plays various instruments, usually piano and guitar. Meg drums, badly, but to be honest Jack makes just as many mistakes, which are not corrected during production. The songs justify all the fuss, though sometimes one is infuriated that they didn’t take the time to perfect some of the truly great songs.
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells - Their commercial breakthrough album features raw, emotional lyrics, rawk arrangements, and insidious melodies. Highlights Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Fell In Love With a Girl, and I Think I Smell a Rat would be nothing in lesser hands, but in the White Stripes’ hands, they are stripped of everything but their impact. The softer material, like We’re Going to be Friends, is touching but not quite as effective. Also check out the bizarre The Union Forever, a send-up of Citizen Kane. 3.5 stars
The White Stripes - Elephant - Elephant is an electrifying listen. Check out the stomper Seven Nation Army and the tantrum version of Burt Bacharach’s I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself. Jack is at his best when he’s just belting it, as he does repeatedly, and the lack of production makes these deceptively simple songs sound like we’re listening at the key moment of fruition. Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine, Little Acorns, and Hypnotize all have this quality. The Air Near My Fingers is brilliant: listen to Jack musically mutter “I get nervous when she comes around.” Others are more distant, but have a stylish swagger that is no less effective: Ball and Biscuit and The Hardest Button to Button both assure us of The White Stripes’ power. Even the song Meg sings, the folky In the Cold, Cold Night, is effective, and a breath of fresh air to break up the album. This album is recorded more carefully than White Blood Cells, but it’s still not inviting, and that’s really the only relevant criticism I can level at this album. 4.5 stars
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan - Nobody is better than Jack White at distilling pure emotion into a lyric and a melody, as evidenced on My Doorbell. It has the perfect hook: “I’m thinkin’ about my doorbell\When you gonna ring it?\When you gonna ring it?” It could have been an all-time classic if it just had professional recording quality, but the volume goes down in the middle, sapping it of its energy. Blue Orchid is a revved-up stomper, and The Denial Twist is classic White Stripes. Little Ghost hints at Jack White’s fondness for folk that can be seen in the movie Cold Mountain. Meg’s contribution this time is Passive Manipulation, which is effective, if slightly out-of-tune, in its deliciously creepy 35 seconds. Overall, this record is more diverse in style but not as effective, as Jack White tries to slow it down and be soft more often. 3 stars
Brian Wilson - Smile - If you’re interested, read up on the web about how this is the Beach Boys’ long-lost classic that was shelved because Brian Wilson was going insane, only to be re-recorded and released 30ish years later. If you believe the critics, this is one of the best albums ever recorded. So let’s push hype aside a find out about the music. Smile plays like a devilishly clever children’s album that appeals to adults, leaving out teenagers who probably will find it too fun. Great hooks abound, set to silly Americana or nursery rhyme lyrics. Consider “I’m gonna chow down my vegetables\I love you most of all\My favorite vegetable” or “Rock, rock, roll, Plymouth rock, roll over.” With the exception of the last track, the adored Good Vibrations, there are no choruses or bridges. It plays more like a symphony, as a sequence of great ideas with abrupt transitions between them. It’s fun, beautiful, and engaging, and doesn’t cross the line to being to corny or earnest. It’s an album written by a great songwriter in his prime, but recorded this decade, which means it sounds fantastic. So while it may not be my favorite album, like, evar! it’s still a quiet classic. 5 stars
Amy Winehouse - Frank - Amy Winehouse is a sultry neo-soul songstress who’s as infamous for her tabloid life as she is famous for her music. Her debut Frank was a hit in Britain, and it’s easy to see why, with her jazz-informed pop tackling contemporary girl issues in a fresh and forward way. Check out Know You Now for a fine example, lyrically and musically. Unfortunately, all the ingredients aren’t here yet. There are hints of great songwriting, but she sounds very young (think Corinne Bailey Rae) and her voice can get shrieky. However, stay tuned… 2.5 stars
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - Back to Black is a fantastic, purposeful musical statement. The songwriting is more assured; her voice deeper, huskier, and stronger; the beats fatter; the jazz more jazzy. Frankly, it’s more frank than Frank. Consider the irresistible pop sensation Rehab, or the jazzy You Know I’m no Good. If you liked those on the radio, the quality of the remainder is only slightly lower. Me & Mr. Jones invokes the old standard of the opposite gender. "What kind of fuckery is this?" she demands, and we all want to know. Love is a Losing Game floats along majestically, and her vocal performance is brilliant. In Wake Up Alone, her stream of consciousness is buoyed up nicely by nice rolling arpeggios. She brilliantly invokes 60s pop with the horns and backing vocals in He Can Only Hold Her, and yet it sounds fresh. Wow. 5 stars
Next Up - Various artists (Part 1 of 5) - Some soundtracks from the 90s, plus an Indie rock touchstone.