The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - Printable Version

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The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - cLaY - 04-12-2005


Satan contains 13 songs, all of which were written on piano, acoustic guitar and marimba, according to a band spokesperson. Frontman Jack White has called the record, now due June 7, an exploration of "characters and the ideal of truth."

Get Behind Me Satan was recorded and produced in 20 days by Jack at his Third Man Studios in Detroit. This time out, no guest performers are on the disc, and all the songs were written by Jack. Drummer Meg White contributes vocals to one song, but it's currently unknown which song that is.

As for the apparent cover photo for the first single, "Blue Orchid" while the cover on the Stripes' U.K. label's Web site has still yet to be confirmed as the single's artwork, closer inspection reveals that Jack and Meg aren't actually even on the cover.

Comparable in aesthetic tone to their previous covers, in place of the candy-colored pair are a black woman with a Bettie Page-esque Meg White hairdo holding what looks like an egg. Standing next to her is a greasy-haired Jack-like man in a hat and black leather clutching what appears to be a lamp. Above them hangs a microphone; the backdrop is a red and black velvet curtain. They're standing back-to-back and pointing toward each other.

Before the Stripes announce North American tour dates, they will hit Mexico, Central America and an opera house in South America. The group will also be among the headlining acts at the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K., which takes place June 24-26. And one U.S. appearance has been announced — June 6 at Atlanta's Music Midtown Festival.

Get Behind Me Satan track list, according to the White Stripes' publicist:

• "Blue Orchid"
  
• "The Nurse"
  
• "My Doorbell"
  
• "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)"
  
• "Little Ghost"
  
• "The Denial Twist"
  
• "White Moon"
  
• "Instinct Blues"
  
• "Passive Manipulation"
  
• "Take, Take, Take"
  
• "As Ugly As I Seem"
  
• "Red Rain"
  
• "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)"
  

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The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - cLaY - 04-14-2005




Had the White Stripes gone — dare we say it — soft?

Not in the least.

Because when Get Behind Me Satan made its world premiere on Wednesday night at New York's splashy Splashlight Studios — before an assembled crowd of around 100 rock journos — one thing became clear: Satan is not only the hardest, sleaziest, gut-punching-est album the Stripes have ever made, it's also the prettiest, subtlest and most confounding thing they've ever done.

The lead track (and first single), "Blue Orchid," charges in with such a loud blast of amplified guitar, you'd swear this was the new Electric Six disc. Jack White's falsetto has never been higher, his guitar never more reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. And as the tune sped along to its conclusion, many in the room were left wondering what happened to those new, soft Stripes they'd been reading so much about.

If heads were scratched during the album's opening tune, then they were gashed wide open by track number two, "The Nurse." As chimes and that aforementioned marimba made their debuts, Jack assaulted it all with brutally distorted guitar stabs and then — in probably the album's most stunning moment — drummer Meg White, who is the album's unexpected MVP, absolutely kills her kit, pounding louder and harder than she ever has on disc, until the whole song bunches up into what can only be described as a God-honest noise-rock jam. As the marimbas and chimes make their way back in, it sounds as though "The Nurse" has just introduced the world's most destructive children's toy.

"My Doorbell" is next, marrying some beat-box drums and jumpy piano chords with Jack White's hound-dog whines. The tune builds to a bluesy, lilting piano/drum combo reminiscent of — no lie — the Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle." "Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)" rang out like a supercharged version of the Stripes' "You've Got Her in Your Pocket" (from 2003's Elephant), with pianos and drums thudding joyfully. And before you realize it, it's been almost 10 minutes since you've heard one of White's near-patented guitar solos.

Track five, "Little Ghost," does little to assuage those thoughts. It's a Deep-South hoedown that shows that Jack took careful notes when working with country legend Loretta Lynn. "The Denial Twist" is a short and sweet slab of classic Stripes, with Jack's frantic vocals and guitar (there it is!) balanced perfectly atop Meg's thudding drum work. "White Moon" is a slow, down-tempo tune, with little more than a plodding piano line and a rhythm egg accompanying Jack's laments.

After "Instinct Blues" starts off with some guitar noodling, Meg's drums come crashing in like anvils falling from the sky. Then Jack does an amazing imitation of Hendrix, pulling deep, ruddy blues notes out of his axe. "Passive Manipulation" gives Meg a chance to stretch out her pipes over a Holly Golightly-esque piano line (Jack soon reassumes vocal duties). "Take, Take, Take" melds jangling, twisty acoustic guitars with a piano line, sounding a whole lot like some of Zeppelin's mellower numbers.

The album abruptly closes with two boozy, bluesy tunes: "Red Rain" and the piano ballad "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)," both of which smack of Lynn. On "Rain," Jack's slide guitar bleeds into Meg's smashing drums in a sloppy but pretty interplay. And on "Lonely," White pounds the keys like a drunken pianist in a whiskey joint in hell, bringing the record to a tears-in-yer-beer conclusion.

It was loud, it was quiet. It all seems like a bunch of contradictions, but on Get Behind Me Satan, one thing was without debate: the White Stripes haven't gotten soft.

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The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - cLaY - 06-07-2005

:":: :":: :":: :"::

fucking awesome album

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The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - minorthreat - 06-10-2005

Agreed.

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The White Stripes "Behind Me Satan" - ... - 06-15-2005

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