When: Released April 1, 2002
Why? According to one reference, this is White Stripes’ best-selling album. I chose it specifically because it contains the only WS song I’ve ever heard, “Seven Nation Army,” which I enjoy. Music journalist Jake Kennedy calls this album the White Stripes’ “most dynamic release.”
What? Fourteen songs, 51 minutes, from the once-married duo of Jack White and Meg White. Famously, White Stripes’ songs are built on Meg’s drums, Jack’s guitars, some additional keyboards—and no bass.
First Impressions: I liked this. A lot.
So let’s talk about the “Elephant” in the room.
If there’s a unifying sound to this album, it’s distortion—multiple distinct flavors of distorted guitars, along with occasionally overdriven keyboards, vocals, and perhaps even drums. Spare arrangements mean that there is still a clarity to all of the instruments; each one has a role to play.
Jack White’s lyrics (all songs were written by him, apart from the Hal David/Burt Bacharach cover, “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself”) are generally clear, poetic, fluid, and often tinged with humor. His delivery frequently shifts from singing to singing-speaking to something close to a poetry slam, depending upon the material. And I enjoyed all of it.
I was surprised to learn that Meg White is also a singer. Her vocal performance of “In the Cold, Cold Night” is, pardon the pun, chilling. It’s also a great moment of quiet and vivid storytelling musically. It’s too bad this is her only solo vocal appearance on the album. (She joins Jack and guest vocalist Holly Golightly on the lighthearted round-robin closer, “Well It’s True That We Love One Another.”)
There wasn’t a bad track on the album; I found something I could appreciate in every single song. But highlights include “Seven Nation Army,” “Black Math,” “There’s No Home for You Here,” “I Want to Be the Boy…” (with piano/guitar instrumentation reminiscent of early-70s Elton John), “In the Cold, Cold Night,” “Ball and Biscuit,” and “You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket.”
I want to elaborate a bit about “Ball and Biscuit.” It is over 7 minutes long, but it didn’t feel like it. Like the other songs on “Elephant,” there are multiple short instrumental breaks (often involving a repeated theme) that put breathing space between verses and choruses. I’ve heard albums where such things feel like filler, but that wasn’t the case here. In “Ball and Biscuit,” as in every other track, the short instrumental sections blended melodies, crunching guitars, distortion, and sometimes feedback to introduce changes that always kept me interested and engaged. I was actually surprised when “Ball and Biscuit” started to fade out; I couldn’t believe it had been 7 minutes already.
So? As I said above: I liked this. A lot. After just sitting through a half-dozen albums that, while sometimes enjoyable, didn’t get me excited, this was eye-opening.