Elephant

Slaps through and through. Excellent blues rock/garage rock that surprised me having only known Seven Nation Army.

Jack White never fails to impress me

It's hard to write 100s of reviews and know what to say so brain dump it is. I liked this but not enough to give it a 4. The distortions and basslines are cool. Shame they had to lie about their relationship. Rating: 3

It's a childhood related album that will always be comforting to me.

Really great band. Energetic, upbeat, rocking music. Such unique harmonies and vibes from them and this album is no different. It's even got that one song they play at every sports stadium across the world!

yuuuuuuuuup!

No thoughts, but I enjoyed it enough!

I’m gonna need to retry this one later in life it’s not hitting rn

Wel oke

If you arrange the songs (excluding the first two) in reverse alphabetical order by title, and then arrange the third last letter from the fifth word of the second verse of each song in that order, it spells "ELVIS IS ALIVE"

What a wonderful album. Jack's guitar sound is so biting and sensual. It just amazes me the sounds and textures he brings out of his guitar. Meg's minimalist drumming is so solid and vital. The album is a joy to listen to.

7 nations army of course but nothing else jumped out at me.

I've listened to this one before! In fact, 7 nation army was the first song I ever played on an open mic night. But hardest button to button is my favorite track. Was the album ground breaking? Not especially, does it flow well? Not particularly, is it alright? Yeah it's solidly alright.

Didn't really have time to do this justice, enjoyed what I heard although sound maybe a bit samey.

An album I already like, trying to find reasons not to love. Unfortunately, I cannot. Fun, different, kooky songs with lots of character. Oh and 1 generational banger to start with.

Other than one weird moment where I thought I had accidentally started playing some sort of self help podcast aloud in the kitchen, this is wall to wall bangers 🤘

Nonstop onslaught of good tracks, love the final track as well

I love the White Stripes. Great blues guitar in a garage rock band.

I love when this project makes me listen to albums containing songs I already liked. Ball and Biscuit is a great track, but I hadn’t really heard the rest of it. Stripped back and kind of weird!

the guitar solos were FANTASTIC

not bad but not very memorable for me. yes, not even seven nation army.

Will most likely be a 4/5 as I like this band

Awesome album but I think I like the other White Stripes ones in here more

Awesome album. Awesome band

The one White Stripes album I listened to a lot as a teen. Not sure why I never got to the others, but this one is so fun

Great 00s band, fun to listen and gets the energy up. A little on the angry side but that isn't a terrible thing.

Really solid album with some well knows songs and some really great songs that are less well known. Really enjoyed this.

Interesting that the White Stripes are compared to the Rolling Stones so much, because I don't hear much connection apart from maybe (at a stretch) the blues. And even there's more resemblance to Led Zeppelin than the Stones. I guess the singer is sort of a mix of Plant and Jagger. Note that there's little, if any, blues present in Elephant until side B with the monster track Ball and Biscuit and several tracks following it. The genre/sound before that is a bit more amorphous, incorporating some elements of hard rock and garage rock, and focusing heavily on guitar riffs. That's one thing they do excellently. From the stadium-rocker tune in Seven Nation Army to the violent blues-scale Ball and Biscuit, to the stop-start melodic rhythms in The Hardest Button to Button... nearly every track's guitar part has something to say. In the form of a short, catchy, repeated statement. (I can dig that.) The guitar sound itself is odd, and it took me most of the album to work out why. It felt a bit... ungrounded, maybe? Turns out the White Stripes don't have a bass player, and the bass sound is created by heavily filtering and layering the lead guitar during studio recording. I can't imagine how they'd play some of this material live without a bass guitar. The whole sound is a bit simplistic and I can't imagine gleaning much more upon a second or third listen. And as a piece of art, for its time (in the 21st century!), it doesn't push many musical boundaries – mostly sticking to a mishmash of late 20th-century rock subgenres. So I'm a little surprised it had this big of a splash on the musical scene. That being said, there are plenty enough bangers on Elephant to jam out to with your friends, and there's no filler. 4/5 Key tracks: Seven Nation Army, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Ball and Biscuit

Seven nation army is great, of course! The rest is surprisingly mediocre. 4/5

Not my favorite of theirs, but love The White Stripes.

Fun album. Never listened to it fully so I’m glad I did

Eh. Banger of an opener but wasn't a fan of the rest

One of the most powerful and epic albums ever made. I have always loved The White Stripes for their ability to do so much with so little, and despite the extreme simplicity of their music, somehow they still managed to come through with such an interesting and diverse masterpiece. When it's loud and in your face, it really lets you know about it, but always gives you moments to breathe with something quiter when you need it.

Im conflicted about this one because it has an all time opening song and start in general but I found myself not enjoying the back half of the album which is probably why I hadn’t ever explored more than the hits with the Stripes. I’m feeling a strong 6 to a light 7. Favorite Song: Seven Nation Army

I truly believe Jack White is extremely underrated. He does not get nearly enough credit for carrying garage rock through the early 2000s. The number of artists he indirectly created by the White Stripes is nothing to scoff at. They weren't all necessarily good, but they can't all be winners. Favorite Song: Seven Nation Army Rating: 8/10

8/10 Jack white is that guy. Favorite song: Seven Nation Army

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A bit mid tbh. Most of the songs were good but apart from Seven Nation Army none particularly stood out. Still not a bad album though.

Good beats and catchy tunes, loved the vibe but I feel like the closing might have been a little weaker than the front half

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I didn’t know what to expect, knowing only the opening track but I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. There’s a lot of tonal shifts that really stuck out to me and I will likely be returning to some of these.

Very crunchy.

Some banging trucks on here. Very enjoyable

Still holds up more than 20 years later. Probably suffers slightly from the self-imposed limitations (what if they actually had a bass player?), but that’s also what gives it a structure

Aged well. Very good album. Probably better than I remember

i enjoy this one more than their other album i’ve got on here, the music is nice and just the songs overall are better done. also cooler riffs and solos.

After a decade of disliking/being ambivalent toward the White Stripes, I was not excited when this record came up. One Jack White album is generally too many in my eyes. I was not expecting to enjoy this album, but for whatever reason, most of the things I find offensively annoying about Jack/the White Stripes, are mostly absent here. Of course there's the anthemic "Seven Nation Army" which has taken on a life of its own since its release. This is absolutely deserved; it is a jam. Likewise, the second single from this record "The Hardest Button to Button", transcends the rest of the album and is a great rock song. The rest of the album features Jack's quiety/loud/quiet garage rock songs ("Little Acorns"), a few sparsely accompanied vocal tracks ("In the Cold, Cold Night" and "You've Got Her in Your Pocket"). "Ball and Biscuit", while not a bad song on its own, sounds like patient zero for the Black Keys/big truck commercial songs that would pollute the 2010's music landscape. All in all, a triumph. Since it was generated, I've made the conscious choice to throw it on 6 times. I'll have to give the White Stripes another chance.

There was a time when the White Stripes steam rolled the competition with album after album. They didn’t really taper off but Meg had her problems and Jack honored her by not continuing under the Stripes name. You can commend him for that. Maybe not his political views but that’s for another time and place. Anyways…. You have to like simplicity, both lyrically and musically to really enjoy this album. It’s so simple but gosh darn it, it works. Choice cut: Ball and Biscuit

Never a dull moment in the entire album of 51 minutes. This is peak rock of the 2000s. Favorite track: Seven Nation Army other picks: there’s no home for you here, the hardest button to button, ball and biscuit

second half was good af and reeled me in. not the biggest rock fan but I'd say this was a good intro album to get into it

LOVE this album! So many memorable songs and classics which stick with you

This album was so long but oh my gosh I loved it so much. I had only ever heard 7 nation army and it was good but I was surprised by how much I liked the rest of the songs. They were creative and each song was distinct. They had good themes and the background music was great. There will be a lot more rock music in my future :)

I like it.

Considering this is my second exposure to a Jack White record, AND Seven Nation Army is so massive it wouldn't be surprising to see a one-hit album; but I was pleasantly surprised. This record is unbelievably fresh, well-paced, and unique. For a 2003 album, it was completely unexpected to hear the heavy blues influence on a garage rock album. The guitar work is just unbelievable in a lot of songs here. The production on this thing is incredible, too. I found myself not sure if this record was made in 2003 or 2023. I enjoyed the consistent guitar tone, but no songs sounded particularly similar, which is good. Little Acorns, Black Math, and Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine were my favourites. The only song I don't like is the last one, but I'm pretty sure it's in jest, so I'll let it slide. I felt like a 4 would be fair here, but considering I listened to this about 4 times on repeat and it felt fresh each time, I'll bump it up.

13 - Elephant (The White Stripes) **** It feels really mean to say since I liked this album a lot but it felt as though the two of them are REALLY good at the basics/fundamental stuff but just don’t deviate too far into stuff that would produce much ‘wow factor’. Ironically, the bluesy parts of this album which were arguably the safest stuff on the album were also my favourite. While I felt that the ‘controlled chaos’ garage vibe of the 2nd track Black Math was very full on at first, I do wish it was maybe a bit more prevalent in the remainder of the album. God I really feel like a jerk for complaining this much about an album that I enjoyed from head to toe with tracks coming in at a ‘good’ at the bare minimum with plenty of diversity in its sound. It’s just a bit harder to highlight the standout elements here aside from the tremendous technical talent on display. To many another cinematic comparison as I have in the past, this reminds me of a lot of Christopher Nolan films of the late 2000’s - 2010’s where his movies are all created with such technical competence that it just feels wrong to not applaud it.

Meg White is an underrated drummer man not everyone has to be Neil Pert fuckin playing seventy drums at once in six time signatures while sucking yourself off from behind. Keeps time and keeps the beat marching while Jack White does his thing. Genuinely don’t think this would be nearly as good with a different drumming style.

Well I had a massive review written for this but fuck me i guess the fucking site decided to nuke the entire thing. Tldr: hard rock is never hard enough, thankfully this album is 7/10

One super iconic song followed by filler, filler, filler with a couple of gems here and there. And by gems, I mean I can recall how the song goes more than 5 minutes after I finish listening to it. All in all, perfectly cromulent rock music but nothing crazy. It will make you tap your feet and listen intermittently, but I think the only reason that Seven Nation Army is such a standout song is how often I was beat over the head with it growing up. Highlights - Seven Nation Army, You've Got Her In Your Pocket, The Air Near My Fingers

Try as I might, I just can’t get into the White Stripes.

I mean… classic early 2000s rock punk music.

Fun rock. Hard, but doesn't take itself that seriously. I really enjoyed it. 4/5

One good song. Everything else is trash. 2/5

Loved this one! Bluesy, grungy with great guitar riffs.

Gritty and punchy

I remember the first time I heard this record being annoyed at how pedestrian and sloppy the drums were. Listening now, I realize if this album featured Jeff Porcaro or Omar Hakim or Dave Weckl or heck even Scott Plouf it wouldn't work as well. Jack White's guitar is volcanic lightning especially on Bell and Biscuit. The music is loose and extremely human. The last few tracks are throwaways, but the bulk of the album is fire.

Good album - haven't finished listening all the way but varied, well-written tracks performed and produced with raw energy.

Great

vier bis fünf lauter hits

A few songs carrying the album, filled with some trash

My perception of "Seven Nation Army" has been absolutely ruined by over playing on mainstream media. If you removed it this would be an 8/10. The rest of the album is pretty gas though. "Black Math", "Ball and Biscuit" & "Girl, You have no Faith in Medicine" are great songs. The acoustic songs are kind of annoying though 7/10 Favourite: Ball and Biscuit Least Favourite: Seven Nation Army

Exceptional album

Elephant overflows with quality -- it's full of tight songwriting, sharp, witty lyrics, and judiciously used basses and tumbling keyboard melodies that enhance the band's powerful simplicity. They've succeeded at mixing blues, punk, and garage rock in an electrifying and unique way. On these terms, Elephant is a phenomenal success.

Хороший альбом, с топовым треком

Hey, it's that song from high-school sports! Put this album on to exercise, or if you otherwise need to feel like a cool-guy.

Super Dope

It was over too soon, so good

It's ok they're not really my thing but I liked a few songs

Pretty good, I liked it more than expected

every time I get to hear Meg’s voice the sun shines a little brighter, the air smells a little sweeter, the bird song sounds a little more beautiful

Nuff said

Yeah man

Proper band👍

I wasn't a big fan of The White Stripes until this record came out. I remember it being polarizing at the time. Many fans said it was too polished, not lo-fi enough. I think it's fantastic, from the furious thump of "Seven Nation Army" to the sensuality of "In The Cold, Cold Night".

Can't quite put my finger on why but I just don't care for Jack White all that much. This album's alright but I didn't find it particularly engaging ("Seven Nation Army" excepted).

Classic White Stripes. They are a pretty reliable band.

Awesome

Good! Really enjoyed how its all recorded on pre-1963 equipment so everything being analog really gives it that classic sound. Some bangers on it besides seven nation army too

Nice punk. Føles som at det kunne vært eldre men fortsatt litt moderne følelse

One start for Seven Nation Army.

Very strong album. 7 Nation Army an absolute GOAT, but there are some great singles. Probably their peak.

Classic

very fun rock

No está mal, pero escuchar sus álbumes completos en esta lista me ha hecho descubrir que son medio aburridos.

Pretty cool

While maintaining the bright and powerful tone of the guitar, the catchy melodies and riffs, and the variation, I felt that this album was a little less consistent than 'White Blood Cells', specially because of the slower cuts. Either way, this record is still great and powerful.

Incredible musicianship on this classic. Stripped down, raw energy

Pretty good. Seven Nation Army is a banger, obviously. I also like the cover I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself. However, the album slightly over-stayed its welcome, but it’s a solid 4 from me

Seven Nation Army is one of those songs I haven’t actually heard in ages, but have heard various forms of the chant for too long. Forget how much of a banger it is. Simpsons: Guest Stars

This is like a mountain or a really high hill; it starts off at the top and goes all the way down from there.

Solid album, 7 nation army is a banger but I feel it could play with dynamics more if I'm honest. Not as good as the othe White Stripes album IMO but I still quite liked it.

Leuke nummertjes met redelijk wat afwisseling, verder redelijk poppish en verdwijnt nogal op de achtergrond, ben misschien ook wat royaal met mn ratings, dus 6.8/10

I mean, it’s a modern classic

2nd White Stripes album in this list. This one is more entertaining. I really like some songs that kick the blues into new sound such as "Black math" or "Ball and biscuit"...at first...but then I find it tiring...

A lot of nice songs with great guitars. Much better than Get behind me Satan.

Thanks to seven nation army , otherwise it was 2 stars …

Surprisingly good

More fun to listen to than ‘Get Behind Me Satan’, their other album we’ve been previously exposed to. Surprisingly, the rhythmic shortcomings don’t drag it down as much here. When this album goes garage, it really goes garage — the riffs stick with you way more, and there’s just enough bluesy nuance to make the whole thing an acceptable ride. Still their sound is a bit tiring at the end.

Daa da da da da da daa Daa da da da da da da da da His voice can sound a little grating after a while I like Black Math and Ball and Biscuit the best i think.

Elephant ist das vierte Studioalbum des US-amerikanischen Duos The White Stripes, bestehend aus Jack und Meg White. Die Aufnahmen fanden überwiegend in den Toe Rag Studios in London statt, die für ihre analoge Aufnahmetechnik bekannt sind. Die Produktion verzichtete bewusst auf moderne digitale Hilfsmittel und setzte auf klassische Tonbandgeräte und Vintage-Equipment, was dem Album einen rohen, organischen Klang verleiht. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album im Bereich des Garage Rock, angereichert mit Elementen aus Blues, Punk und klassischem Rock. Der Sound ist kantig, stellenweise reduziert, aber stets rhythmisch treibend. Jack White übernimmt den Gesang, das Gitarrenspiel und gelegentlich Bass oder Klavier, während Meg White das Schlagzeug beisteuert. Zu den besonders auffälligen Stücken zählt „Seven Nation Army“, das durch sein markantes Gitarrenriff schnell zum Aushängeschild der Band wurde. Auch Songs wie „The Hardest Button to Button“ oder „Ball and Biscuit“ zeigen das Gespür der Gruppe für eingängige Strukturen mit rauem Charakter. Die Texte sind oft bildhaft und manchmal rätselhaft, was gut zum minimalistisch gehaltenen Stil passt. Insgesamt wirkt Elephant wie eine durchdachte Rückbesinnung auf frühere Formen des Rock, jedoch mit einem eigenständigen Zugang. Die Kombination aus analoger Produktion, einfachem Instrumentarium und energetischem Vortrag verleiht dem Album einen einheitlichen und stimmigen Ausdruck.

Don't need to ever hear Seven Nation Army ever again but thankfully it's at the start and out of the way. Bit long but doesn't drag

What an album. Listened heavily to the singles when the came out but never gave the album a proper listening time until now. Wow. Best tracks: - The Hardest Button To Button - There's No Home For You Here - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - The Air Near My Fingers ...and yes, Seven Nation Army. Little Acorns is also cool.

Simple, powerful and varied. Jack White’s charismatic vocals and cool guitars get me every time.

Outstanding. It's ...thick, wall to wall, amazing riffs and big sound, for such a simple lineup. Great tracks. Love it.

It felt very average, but at least it leant on the side of music that I enjoy.

Apart from seven nation army which is super the rest of the album for me isn't as good

kennt man Seven Nation Army dann kennt man The White Stripes. aber es gibt auch weniger laute musik von den beiden, ebenfalls auf diesem album.

7 Nations Army, die Hymne im Fussball, so was von cool! Und dann der Rest den ich nicht kannte, eine echte Entdeckung

🎸🧍‍♂️🥁🧍‍♀️

Mostly just drums and guitar and it just kills it!

First time listening. Only knew seven nation army. Just ok

Mix between what I'd call "outlaw rock" and Americans, perhaps a bit country-leaning. Seven Nation Army is the poppiest song on the album... and in my opinion one of the weakest. Decent album for traveling. Solid 7.5/10

Love the energy on this one. it’s uniquely them. Definitely creative. But it ends up feeling a bit long. Maybe it’s a lack of melodic vocal range? Still, hard to resist the joy of that guitar.

Oh hell yeah. This album has some amazing tunes on it. There is a reason why seven nation army is still played. Ball and biscuit and Hardest Button are my personal favorites from this album. Great listen!

Eclectic!

Iconic and sounds so much more mature than Get Behind Me Satan. Much more blues rock than just blues. Wouldn’t say it’s a no skip album for me but enjoyed the listen.

4.7

Not as good as White Blood Cells, but still a good entry into the catalogue. He’s polarizing, but I think Jack White is essential to modern rock and roll. Glad he exists.

Artful and tasteful. It's quintissential late 90s early 2000s brit rock at its core and deserves to be acknowledged as such.

Saved one song to mom playlist

Thanks for reminding me how great this band was.

I mean, it ain't my cup of tea. But the song with the dialogue in the beginning slapped. Also seven nation army slay.

The highs were high: dynamic, exciting, intense. The lows were boring and navel-gazey.

9/10

Fun guitar riffs and steeped in southern rock . Great original muisc

Congrats to Seven Nation Army for being one of the few songs overplayed to hell and back that made it back relatively unscathed and still a banger! What an awesome opener for an awesome album. Black Math has always been my favourite White Stripes song...they've got something special there, that raw sound reminiscent of punk. So energetic and lively, love it This listen really gave me a fresh perspective on songs like I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself that I'd previously written off. Glad to hear some of these with new appreciation In The Cold Cold Night is beautifully simple...love to hear Meg's voice and that intense dissonant hum, really unique on this album but one of its best And Little Acorns is crazy, crazy good; another I have previously paid little mind! Seriously disappointed in myself I can honestly get tired of a sound that leans too heavily into directionless bluesy ambling, but time and time again this album proves to be the opposite. I find great satisfaction in the balance of blues and riffs. Iconic bass lines as well... excellent!!!

Peut-être (certainement ?) le plus grand album de la décennie 2000.

Of course, this album kicks off with the classic Seven Nation Army, but for me, the next two or three tracks proved underwhelming, mainly because I didn't like the vocals so much. But surprise, surprise, by the end of the album I was sold. Brilliant guitar work and some nice variety across the piece. It's another addition to my Tidal library and gets five shiny stars.

decent

One of three perfect albums so far with the White album and Rumors

Hard rocking experimental blues goodness. Virtuoso playing from JW. What a duo

Excellent

I love Jack white like a little brother

"Seven Nation Army" is the clear standout, but the rest of the album is solid.

Favorite Track: Seven Nation Army

just perfect

It's fine but nothing stuck out to me.

This wasn’t too bad. I went in with high expectations and I didn’t feel they were all met. Seven Nation Army is a banger and a 5 star song but the rest of the album just didn’t really hit for me. In The Cold, Cold Night was a wonderful surprise and it had me wishing Meg sang on more songs cause her voice is beautiful. Overall a solid rock album but not as good as I thought it’d be.

3,5

RYM: 5.0 | AOTY: 95 | Favorite Track: Black Math —————— God, I love this album so much! It was largely responsible for sparking my interest in garage rock and indie rock. “Seven Nation Army” is an iconic opener, showcasing Jack White’s raw guitar work and Meg White’s minimalist drumming at their most cohesive and compelling. The momentum builds into my favorite track on the album, “Black Math,” which really highlights the garage-punk energy with that amazing guitar solo. After a few more high-energy, garage-driven tracks, the album slows down with several bluesy and folky moments that, while great, drag a little for me. The blues rock peaks with “Ball and Biscuit,” which brings the energy back up and kicks off another strong run of garage rock tracks, especially the fast-paced “Hypnotize.” My only small gripe is the length — there are a few tracks that could have been cut or shortened to make the tracklist tighter. Regardless, I see this as The White Stripes’ masterpiece and essential listening for 2000s alternative and indie rock.

Ja guet - Seven Nations Army - da chammer immer mitsinge. De Rescht na ja.

Eifach sehr guete blues rock i guess

seven nation army kooomplett overplayed aber ebe es rieeese riff text isch geil de jack singt haaammmer. und jo campioni del mondo 2006 jaja. schwarze mathe? hö. nöd soo cool findi. theres no home scho chli meh melodie. uh und strophe mega lislig und jack singt ganz fiin. cool. uuuh de feedback und chor reeecht geil. i just dont know what to do meega coole gitarresound und hübsche song allgemein, burt bacharach gschriebe. findi seeehr geil. in der kalt kalt nacht isch orgul oder? jaaa. findi passt mega. i want to be your boy dings au meega cools klavier finds super? ha weniger taste erwartet bi white stripes ball and biscuit suuuper geile sound super geils riff ich lieb es guets blues riff. little acorns meega geile speech am afang. super super. cools piano au, aha byebye piano. song selber isch etz nüt mega bsunders hald afoch white stripes. the air near my fingers au no herzigs riff aber ch find etz ischs langsam nüm viel neus. oke d strophe mit rhodes isch cool. duuduu oke gnüsses no. girl you have no faith isch SO GEIL HÖÖÖ die solo breaks wie d gitarre hallt irgendwie? huuuere cool. mega energie au

jaa seven nation army hani z vill ghört, dass ichs würkli no chönnt gnüsse, es guets lied ischs trotzdem! oh das isch ja pönkiger als ich denkt hett hmm find bis jz d lieder na cool, mengisch chli e mischig us dem 2000er rock und ältere element iwie? schwierig zum beschriebe in the COCO NIGHT??? hmm es isch iwie recht cool und reduziert mengisch erinnerets mich weirdly ad beatles?? you've got her in your pockets kenni glaquub er het ebe scho gern de DÜRTÜTURÜDURÜDÜRÜTÜRÜ Ball and biscuit isch en rechte boppp little acorns isch funny, recht dreckig gspielt einigi lieder chömmed mier bekannt vor iwie? oaah d orgle am schluss isch super vo air near my fingers schwanke swhr zwüscheme 3 undeme 4

I liked it better before. Now not so much.

Semi-interesting/unique e-guitar heavy alt rock band. Many sounds sound similar, but has the one famous “seven nation army” so it evens out.

I fell out of love with The White Stripes after "Seven Nation Army," but I shouldn't have. So many great tunes here, just Led Zep-level riffs all over the place. Doesn't let up at all.

First White Stripes album I ever listened to. Has Seven Nation Army, the best White Stripes song (Ball and Biscuit if you didn't already know), all the typical White Stripes influence: Blues, fifties rock, folk and rock. What is missing that started appearing on later albums is the slice of American life (Rag and Bone, Icky Thump, Archbishop Harold Holmes) but it's all done with their signature sound and humour and is certainly in contention for the title of "Quintessential White Stripes Album". Five out of five stripes.

Never could dig this band

It's good! Some songs sounded like Beatlesy The Strokes songs. Nothing bad about that, other than the lack of originaltiy.

-seven nation army my beloved. wow nothing will beat the impact that song had on my childhood -the rest of the album is decent… honestly I think I preferred White Blood Cells actually but it had some very cool numbers. I liked the intra-rock genre mixing -Favorites are Seven Nation Army, In The Cold, Cold Night, and Ball and Biscuit

Duhdundundundunuhhhh

Nothing but harsh noise. Sorry not me.

Mes chers lecteurs, mes chères lectrices, mes fantômes du passé et mes acouphènes du futur, laissez-moi vous planter le décor. Nous sommes en 2003, le rock, le vrai, celui qui vous retourne les tripes et vous fait sentir vivant, est aux abonnés absents. Il est mort, enterré, et on danse sur sa tombe. Les radios nous vomissent à la gueule une soupe infâme, un mélange indigeste de Nu Metal pour adolescents pré-pubères en baggy et de pop R'n'B surproduite, lisse comme le crâne d'un oeuf et aussi excitante qu'une notice de montage de meuble suédois. L'heure est à l'autotune, aux clips à budgets de blockbuster et à une musique tellement passée à la moulinette numérique qu'elle en a perdu toute son âme, toute sa substance, toute sa putain de raison d'être. Le rock était devenu un produit, propre, sans danger, calibré pour vendre du forfait téléphonique. Pour un vieux de la vieille comme moi, qui a passé les années 90 à user ses jeans dans les arrière-salles de disquaires indépendants et les studios d'une radio qui sentait la clope froide, cette période était une longue et douloureuse traversée du désert. On se demandait si on allait un jour retrouver cette étincelle, cette urgence, cette sainte trinité "guitare-basse-batterie" qui nous avait fait croire que la musique pouvait changer le monde, ou au moins, notre misérable petite vie. Et puis, sortis de leur garage de Detroit, voilà que débarquent les White Stripes. Déjà avec leur album précédent, "White Blood Cells", ils avaient commencé à faire du bruit, mais avec "Elephant", ils ont enfoncé la porte à coups de rangers. The White Stripes, c'était d'abord une image, un concept. Rouge, blanc, noir. Une simplicité désarmante. Et ce gimmick génial : frère et soeur ? Ex-mari et femme ? On ne savait pas trop, et à vrai dire, on s'en foutait royalement. Ce qui comptait, c'était le son. Et quel son, mes amis ! Un retour aux sources, un grand coup de pied dans la fourmilière surproduite de l'époque. Une guitare, une batterie, point barre. Pas de basse, pas de clavier superflu, pas de choeurs à la mords-moi-le-noeud. Juste l'essentiel. "Elephant" est un monolithe, un bloc de granit sonore taillé à la serpe. L'album a été enregistré à Londres, dans les studios Toe Rag, sur du matériel qui datait d'avant 1963. Pas un ordinateur à l'horizon, pas de Pro Tools, pas de correction, pas de triche. De la sueur, des amplis à lampes qui crachent leurs poumons et une bande magnétique qui enregistre tout, les pains comme les moments de grâce. Le son est brut, rêche, il vous saute à la gorge. C'est le son de deux personnes dans une pièce qui jouent comme si leur vie en dépendait. Pour le disquaire que j'étais, c'était comme retrouver une vieille copine après des années de silence : l'authenticité. Jack White, avec sa dégaine de dandy dégingandé, se révèle être un guitariste monstrueux. Pas un simple technicien, non, un véritable sorcier du riff, un type capable de vous faire sonner sa vieille Kay en plastique comme un bombardier en piqué. Ses solos sont des décharges électriques, ses rythmiques sont lourdes, grasses, imprégnées d'un blues ancestral, celui du Delta, celui qui sent la terre et le whisky frelaté. C'est l'héritage de Son House et de Robert Johnson passé à la moulinette du punk et du garage rock. Et puis il y a Meg White. Combien de pseudo-critiques, de pisse-froid du manche à six cordes, ont pu la dénigrer ? "Elle sait pas jouer", "elle a pas de technique"… Quelle bande de connards. Meg White, c'était le coeur battant du duo. Sa frappe, d'une simplicité enfantine, quasi tribale, était le pouls même de leur musique. Sans elle, Jack White ne serait qu'un guitar hero de plus, se noyant dans des soli interminables. Elle était l'ancre, le métronome humain qui donnait à leur son cette puissance primitive, cette force brute et hypnotique. Écoutez "The Hardest Button to Button", ce rythme est d'une évidence déconcertante et pourtant personne n'y avait pensé avant. Bien sûr, impossible de parler d'"Elephant" sans mentionner le mammouth, l'hymne planétaire qu'est devenu "Seven Nation Army". Ce riff… Un truc tellement simple que c'en est insultant pour tous les guitaristes qui se cassent les doigts sur des gammes improbables. Cinq notes. Cinq putains de notes qui ont fait le tour du monde, qui sont devenues un chant de stade de foot, un jingle publicitaire, un phénomène culturel qui a totalement échappé à ses créateurs. C'est l'ironie magnifique du rock : un groupe underground de Detroit, adepte d'un son crasseux, qui accouche d'un des airs les plus universels du 21ème siècle. Un hymne repris en choeur par des millions de gens qui, pour la plupart, n'auraient jamais acheté un de leurs disques. C'est à la fois grandiose et terriblement cynique. J'adore. Mais "Elephant", ce n'est pas qu'un seul titre car c'est un album dense, varié, qui passe de la fureur garage de "Black Math" à la ballade acoustique poignante ("You've Got Her in Your Pocket"), en passant par une reprise démente et habitée du "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" de Burt Bacharach. C'est là qu'on touche au génie du duo : leur capacité à s'approprier n'importe quel matériau pour le faire sonner comme du White Stripes. En 2003, "Elephant" a été plus qu'un album, c'était la preuve que le rock'n'roll n'avait pas besoin d'artifices pour être pertinent. La preuve qu'avec une guitare, une batterie et des tripes, on pouvait encore mettre le monde à genoux. C'était une bouffée d'oxygène, une baffe salutaire dans la gueule d'une industrie musicale anémiée. Un disque majeur, sans l'ombre d'un doute, qui a sa place les deux pieds sur la table dans ce foutu bouquin.

Great album from beginning to end

Stripped back rock and roll, bit bluesy too. Nice.

Solid, though a somewhat weak end.

Great rock album, solid heavy songs and slow ones too. A mix for any day.

It's hard to know what to say about childhood albums. especially one I did not recognize the importance of at the time. It's weird, it's eccentric, it's heavy, it's vulnerable... as I relisten I think this helped to shape my music taste even more before I was reaching out for things myself. So much character and so much more technique and partnership than I had originally thought. A bridge to the new world

Would rather have listened to Seven Nation Army for fifty minutes.

Hell yes. I love this album. It starts out with "Seven Nation Army," and you feel like the rest has to be a letdown after such a strong opening. Instead, it stays in the groove the whole time. I don't say this often, and this wasn't previously on my list of favorite albums, but I could listen to this whole album any day of the week.

In the cuckold night, the White Stripes Elephant has moments, but it also fundamentally invented modern hipster-dumb. The Record has its moments, and I suppose it was an interesting throwback to Detroit garage rock days, but I don't know why I would listen to this rather than The Stooges ' self-titled record from 1969, where they did it better and originally, with a full band.

Yes please

The rhythmic changes are very exciting. Solid work with dynamics. But would it kill him to add a third chord every once in a while? Not to mention a bridge every now and then? I mean, lotsa people can play a blues riff. But when there’s no soul behind it, everything just sounds the same after a while.

De två låtarna jag hört innan är nog de enda som jag riktigt tycker om, men annars är det ett helt okej album.

Seven Nation Army is one of the most annoying songs ever made.

Tight and cute

Really good! Matched the hype! Also forgot that I knew and liked more by them than Seven Nation Army (Black Math, I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself). Great lyrics: "It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl. But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son" "Let's have a ball and a biscuit, sugar." "The problems at hand are lighter than the problems at heart."

What do you even say. Can I go Kanye and say this is (at least one of) the greatest rock album of all time?

I feel about this album much the same as the previous I listened to: there is nothing that I hate, but there is also nothing that particularly stands out to me. I definitely liked the more slow, stripped down songs the back. A nice listen, but probably not something I’ll return to soon. Favourite tracks: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself, In The Cold Cold Night

I get that the White Stripes were huge in bringing this style of garage rock back to the forefront so I get why it's on the list, but it doesn't feel that special to me. I didn't grow up with the White Stripes and they didn't get me into rock so it sounds like quite standard garage rock to me. Black Math sounds a lot like Wolfmother, though that's largely due to Jack White's voice, which is alright but not amazing. Other parts also sound quite like Death From Above 1979 so it doesn't feel that fresh to me I'm pretty tired of Seven Nation Army, never even particularly liked it that much. Ball and Biscuit is just blues mediocrity, it lacks much restraint and slows the albums pacing right down. Well It's True That We Love Each Other was kind of annoying too As a positive, the guitar tones are pretty excellent. The heavier parts (like Little Acorns) sound like the kind of thing you find in stoner/doom metal which I'm a big fan of. The production overall is pretty good, it catches that dirty sound that fits garage rock very well I feel like I'm being too harsh, I would say I like this album more than I don't. I think I like the presentation but I'm just not too crazy about the writing 3.5 Highlights: The Hardest Button to Button, Little Acorns

Good album

Pretty solid, a track or two I'll come back to. Not really a big punk fan, but impressive nonetheless.

Many of these songs are really top notch, just a few duds hold back the album (I Just Don't Know, Cold Night, Be the Boy). All around a great album though that I'm happy I listened to. 4/5

A seven nation army couldn't hold me back from giving this five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

the white stripes are fine. they're FINE. this album is doing a good job of what it's trying to do, but what it's trying to do is just fine to me. very cohesive vision and execution but extremely a three for me.

over the three-plus decades of my life, i've had such a love/hate relationship with this band (though jack white more broadly is not interesting to me, sorry dude). this is the white stripes doing white stripes stuff, so if you're into that, you'll love this album. the album is of course buoyed by the massive tune that is seven nation army, but the rest here ranges from dull to fine. the hardest button to button is another shining beacon in the otherwise uninteresting sea of dullness, and little acorns is unique enough to be worth mentioning. the rest? meh. favorites: seven nation army, the hardest button to button, little acorns

Really enjoyed this rocky fun album

I really feel like I should like The White Stripes more than I do, but I've tried this album a couple of times now and it just isn't for me. Seven Nation Army is great, but it's cancelled out by how much I don't like the last track.

Amazing album

Classic

This is the album that allowed the band to break through and become the legends they were destined to become. Jack White became the guitar god of a new generation and deserved the status. A hard blues rocking album, but with Jack's twists that gave blues rock a new sound and opened up the ears of the pop-drenched culture. He could be responsible for the vinyl and classic rock resurgence, but also gave hope to many that rock was far from dead. 4⭐️

Einige ganz nette Titel Mein Top: You've got ...

Artier and much more interesting than earlier efforts, the songs here are richer and more dramatic – no more dumbing down just to dumb down, which was the vibe of the previous record. The textures nod to glam and vintage Stones (“I Want to Be the Boy”) and are effective both as homage and on their own terms. Pure raw rootsiness no longer seems the point. One senses authenticity of effort here, a more personal feel, than the rather more contrived predecessor. Definitely still bashes, but with intent and more measured – and thus effective – fashion. Clear, crisp production really brings out the hooks and layers, amping up the impact throughout.

endelig et white stripes album der banger

Bangerparade. Min ven Claus var med i et band som havde en bedre udgave af Girl You Have No Faith in Medicine

Amazing albums. No fillers.

One of the best albums of all time by the best duo band of all time. Showing that less is more and how you can do so much with so little. Just a guitar and a drum kit and they make enough sound to fill a stadium. This album achieves with 2 instruments what many rock and metal bands can’t even come close to with 3 guitarists 2 bassists 3 drummers and 2 singers. Not a bad track on the album and it of course opens with the now very famous seven nation army known for its intense bass beat (played on Jack Whites classic red guitar just down an octave) which is one of those songs you here so much now on the tv and in adverts it’s almost annoying but that just speaks to the reach and effect this album has had.

Fun I enjoyed took me back

the "seven nation army" album the majority of the arrangements on this album ties closely with the white stripe's stripped down aesthetics somehow. and i think because i like arctic monkeys, franz ferdinand and this album, one of my most favourite genre is garage rock revival from now on. 5/5

There's no home for you is such a great song. I remember listening to this album a lot when it came out. Playing along. Jack did something unique with this one. The distortion just needed to be a step below grinding metal, vocals on a slightly higher level than you'd expect. And it all just flowed. Not much in the way of a bass. Glad this one came up and I could revisit.

A progression of white blood cells, another banger. What more can you say, jack white is on the sly one of the leading musicians of this generation really.

Für fünf Sterne hat das gewisse Etwas gefehlt, aber trotzdem ein tolles Album

One of the most loud, abrasive, and aggressive albums I’ve heard that’s still approachable to the average music fan, not to mention they did all of this with just a guitar and a drum set. The same way Nirvana showed that you could be unbelievably loud with just three people, Meg and Jack show on this album that you can be even louder with just two.

I enjoyed this album, although I had to skip Seven Nation Army because it is WAYYYYYY overdone at sporting events. I like the song and even rated it a 4/5 stars on my Apple Music library, but just couldn't bring myself to listen to it today. The rest of the album is great, lots of garage rock fuzz guitar, some definite blues influence and even a hint of Zeppelin on "Ball and Biscuit". Going off of my Apple Music rating for the album, it got a 3.28 score, but I'm going to give this a 4 out of 5 because I'm definitely going to listen to it a lot more.

I'm not sure of this is the most famous album by The White Stripes, but for sure it is their best achievement. Very simplified, just rag and bones music-wise, but it's almost perfect execution. The riff in Seven Nation Army is now legendary, but it's definitely Ball and Biscuit that is their best song here. Simple riffs, amazing solos, recipe for greatness. Great album.

This is such a heavy hitting album. From the seven nation army opening, things just keep going. That also means no surprises, and it's a very long album. The standout tracks are truly great, but there's a lot of filler.

3.5

And so, the first band to give me multiple albums in 2025... is The White Stripes. I've never really kept track of who the first band/artist to give me multiple albums within a specific year was before, which is weird because that seems like the kind of thing I would like tracking. 2023 (my first year) was LCD Soundsystem with the whole two albums in three days moment, and 2024 turned out to be Deep Purple. My feelings on the White Stripes having this milestone for 2025 are kind of like how I felt about Björk being the first artist to give me a third album. I like The White Stripes, but they weren't really the first band I was expecting to get a repeat from within the year. Whatever. Let's move on from that and actually talk about Elephant. It's great! Of the three White Stripes albums I've listened to for the project (which is all of the ones on the list), I think I can safely call this one the best. They're all good, but Elephant I feel is the most well-rounded between it, its predecessor White Blood Cells, and its successor Get Behind Me Satan. The one potential complaint (maybe) I have here is that it could use a bit more Meg White. This definitely feels like Jack's album, but I don't even think that's a bad thing. He's a talented guy. I just like the balance that the two have on the other albums. Still, they both show a considerable amount of talent in this music. It's just that Jack ends up being more at the forefront of the music. The sound is rock-solid. The best elements of the other albums are here together and they're very good. The writing is pretty good. Elephant is definitely a collection of some pretty good songs. The album starts with what is easily the most iconic White Stripes song, "Seven Nation Army." No surprise here, that song is great. It's not very often that you hear a song with an instrumental chorus. I also really like songs like "Ball and Biscuit" and "The Hardest Button to Button." There's even some solid emotional tracks like "You've Got Her In Your Pocket." That's nice. Overall, after listening to three of their albums, with Elephant being the best I've heard, I can say now that I think that the White Stripes are a pretty good band. They're certainly not my favorite, but I have a considerable amount of respect for them and their talent, with this album being a great showing of that. High 4/5.

Each track was similar but decent

Truly an excellent album, a real evolution of the grunge and garage rock of the 90s. Each song is punchy and catchy and worth giving multiple listens. While some may not like Meg White’s more simplistic drumming, it’s hard to not want to stomp your foot to the repeating kick drum in most of the songs. I would heartily recommend this, and I will happily give this album another listen in the future.

Jack white kind of keeping blues rock alive into the 2000’s. The man takes Garage rock with what is a hell of a talent in the studio to get some great arrangements and sounds onto what is a great record. 4 Star.

not for me

8/10 Seven Nation Army is transcendent and everything else is fun to listen to. 2-10-2025

An album I had heard before! The White Stripes were a hufe influence on me in my teenage years. Going back to listen as an adult was a great experience. The Stripes have such a distinct sound that blends simple song structure with hard hitting rocl elements (heavy on distortion). Thr album has many hits and even the less known songs are compelling. Overall- loved it then, love it now. 4.5/5

I am not what you’d call a fan of Jack White, but this album is a Super Sugar Queen.

Some really good songs especially Seven Nation Army and The Hardest Button to Button but there were also a couple of songs I didn't enjoy as much.

Prob their best. It's massively compelling. Raw at times bit still inventive.

Моя любимая строчка этого альбома "Я не могу кончить пока она ходит тут"

ну ебёт чё

First song was epic! Rest was meh unfortunately

Listened

It’s good but gets repetitive after awhile. I’ve always enjoyed Seven Nation Army and their cover of I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself but it’s tiring to listen to the full album. It’d be amazing to hear it live though, they are the epitome of 00’s garage band sound.

I think this is my favorite White Stripes album that I've heard so far. I was never all that into this bad when they were popular, but this album works for me. I love how heavy the distortion is on the guitar. Also, Jack White is a good songwriter. Fine, I guess I like the White Stripes 4/5

amazing album,

Easy 5 stars for me. The best album by one of my favorite bands, and the one where Jack White's guitar playing really hit it's stride. Hardly any wasted space on this album (only the introduction narrative to Little Acorns is potentially a skip). 7 Nation Army gets the most attention, but with the likes of The Hardest Button to Button, Ball and Biscuit and Black Math it's got fierce competition for my favorite on the album.

Groupe et album connu, et second album de WS proposé par la liste. Le tube 'Seven Nation Army' m'avait donné envie à l'époque de découvrir l'album complet. Quelle déception, et quel ennui ! Je n'en est rien retiré d'intéressant à part le tube. C'est peu sur 50 mn et 14 morceaux ... Ce groupe est terriblement surcoté. =>2/5

2003 and this still seems somewhat new to me. I've been stuck in a time warp for years now. This was an album I wanted to get to know & never did make it happen. There are some real standouts here, but some I could be ok never hearing again. Always thought it was impressive that two people could fill the air with so much sound.

Elephant is pretty close to perfection. It’s complex yet simple. Hard driving without trying to hard. The pocket screams for attention, it’s glorious.

Kolme kappaletta, joita haluaa kuunnella useammin. Kaksi vai kolme tähteä? Mennään kolmella, koska muut suositellut ovat olleet niin ei-itseä-varten.

Po pire

Enjoyable ride

Nostalgia.

This is pretty good rock. I put it on during a workout. It wasn't super memorable outside of seven nation army. There were also some weird moments that I don't think landed amazing but it was fine. Strong 3

I’ve never been a huge fan of the white stripes, mostly because every song they write sounds the same. I get that the super stripped down sound is intentional but it’s not for me. It’s fun for 15 minutes but then I’m pretty much done. It’s not bad I just don’t get why people go nuts over this. Maybe it was because it was a nice change of pace from the sea of garbage being made in the early 2000s.

Catchy, punchy, and a shining example of what early 2k indie rock should have sounded like. I'm not the biggest fan of the "unproduced" sound of the band but I get what they are going for. Seven Nation Army (Glitch Mob remix) will still be the only White Stripes song I listen to after this but that's just a personal choice, the band is great, just not my vibe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1fSgSm4hryc&t=0s

I am sick and tired of hearing Seven Nation Army. Yes, a cool song, but too overplayed. The rest of the songs bored me a lot.

If you hear Ball and a Biscuit and don't go "Hell yeah" then I just don't trust you on a personal level.

This type of music is not my jam, necessarily, but I cannot lie it is quite iconic and well made. Everyone knows Seven Nation Army, the other songs are quite cohesive in their sound, but sometimes the vocals are a bit too intense for me.

I wore this one out in college.

Some fine moments.

Basically anything Jack White does is a 5 for me. This is no exception. Some are probably tired of hearing Seven Nation Army, but it’s still played at every sporting event today.

Mejor de lo que esperaba, escuchar otra vez

This was the album was how I discovered the White Stripes. Like how it doesn’t sound so “produced”. It has an authentic, raw sound.

It feels like the groundwork for what a rock album is supposed to be, even though it came out 5 decades after rock & roll became a thing. Jack and Meg manage to fill up the entire sound palette just between the two of them. The songs here manage to be vary different from one another. Tons of rockers on here, really enjoyable album.

If you don’t like this album, you don’t like rock and roll and I don’t like you. 5 stars

A solid set of bluesy bangers. A 2000s garage rock classic full of songs that saunter and stomp hard. Jack and Meg White are such a powerhouse of writing combinations of bangers and soft crooners, and Elephant shows a level of interesting elements, while being just a simple set of 14 songs.

Fantastic album!

Ok. A good album from post 2000. There are some. It rocks. If I don’t have much to say it because it speaks for itself. Seven nation army is superb and really I don’t think Jack white has topped it. But this is a great album with some self indulgent dead spots. 3.5.

I had heard a few White Stripes songs on the radio, but my eyes were really opened when I saw them on TV playing at some big awards show in the early 2000s (maybe the 2002 VMAs) and realizing that they were doing something _very_ different than most big rock bands. They were actually _playing_. It was rough and raucous and unpolished and sloppy and it really rocked, unlike everything else I had seen that night or at any other awards show ever. Now, I see a lot of small bands in small venues, so I recognize real sweaty rock and roll when I see it. This wasn't major-label, airbrushed, produced, domesticated and professional rock; this was a band playing in the moment, consequences be damned. Their performance was gloriously imperfect, which gave it power. I wasn't really paying close attention to 'new' bands and releases around this time, but I certainly heard about the White Stripes. They were already big by the time they made an impression here in Australia. I remember the excitement about this record when it came out, and Seven Nation Army very quickly revealed itself as a classic track. They can capture their live excitement on record, which is no small feat. Jack White is a pretty hot and messy guitar player, and his voice is idiosyncratic at times (that weird warble he does), Meg's drumming is basic, but they play with dynamics and they clearly _listen_ to each other. It's the right balance of tight synchronization between the players, with a looseness that allows them to follow the moment. I really want to emphasize their use of dynamics and space, which is a bit rare these days. They are often loud and noisy, but they can pull back to quite sparse and quiet at the drop of a hat. And on a technical note, they don't over-compress their mastering. Hardly anyone does that these days. The songwriting is catchy, heavily influenced by blues and country, but not actually either when you dig into it (any more than, say, Led Zep is real blues). The highly stylized and constrained aesthetics of the White Stripes -- visually and musically and production-wise -- play to their strengths, which are that immediacy and a real power (even in their constrained inauthenticity). Most record company execs would, I'm sure, list a bunch of weaknesses -- the basic drumming, the simple songwriting, the relatively unadorned arrangements, the noisy recording, Jack's voice, Meg's voice -- but these 'weaknesses' are all strengths. Hell, you level nearly all the same criticisms at the Velvet Underground, similarly despised by record execs but, you know, the Velvet fucking Underground. This is probably the White Stripes' best album; it's got some really classic songs (Seven Nation Army, Hardest Button to Button, Ball and Biscuit). it passes Howard Hawks' rule for a good movie (and a good album): three good scenes and no bad scenes. Playing is powerful and generally tightly edited (later albums can tend to ramble) and Jack is not distracted by fad ideas (whoever left a marimba in the studio for him to experiment needs a firm talking to). But at the end of the day, the most important thing about this album is that it rocks. It's one of the big major label records that does actually rock. Rock as a genre has been unwell since the late 80s, and it hard to think of many bands that have had this kind of major success by playing straight ahead rock. Is this the final spasm of rock as an important genre? Maybe. There are still plenty of smaller bands, especially if you are willing to hand out in dive bars, but I don't think rock will ever be relevant to popular culture in the same way ever again. A last great album for a previously great and important genre, and a great listen.

i continually fail to form any opinion or have any reaction to seven nation army but all these other songs are sick as hell tbh!!! was kinda taken aback by how much i like this, i have no strong associations w/ this band at all but maybe i should. some months back i was talking to a critter more knowledgeable in Relevant Areas than me (pre-60s recorded music we'll say broadly) and she pointed out that blues is typically an extremely loose and expressive genre, and jack white's razor-minimalist take on it is actually rly unusual and interesting. it definitely makes sense to me...lots of hard-hitting stuff here delivered with ruthless efficiency but just enough space for diversity and distinctiveness. just rly admirably attuned for Greatest Impact Possible thru pacing and focus and clarity...could understand this being a Desert Island Pick for some ppl. man i used to be obsessed with that thought experiment i should play around with it again sometime lol. 1/5th of the way there btw wowie!

vemos

Good album, album starts very strong with the very famous Seven Nation Army and is an overall pleasant listen, even though nothing else really stood out for me

Fav: I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself Least Fav: Little Acorns Was hoping I’d enjoy it more, but unfortunately the songs I’d heard beforehand weren’t indicative of the quality of the overall album

kinda noisy, general purpose rock but with great drum/guitar rhythms. Theres a great edge to the vocals and lyrics. Interesting quiet and loud parts. Super suprised by the white stripes. They can write some good songs--emotional ballads to rock anthems.

Insane that Meg’s drumming catches so much flack when this album is mixed the way it is and has Jack White all over it

never listened to this whole thing. great album!

Awesome sound, something very unique in 2003. Love all of Jack White’s projects basically

Good record I don't listen to often enough

Simplistic and fun at parties. I remember very well the music video with the drum kits and guitar amps lining up through the streets.

Holds up really well. Still and excellent album.

Meg White <3 I do prefer Get Behind Me Satan

One of the best rock albums ever made

meh, it all sounds the same. I turned it off after about 5 songs

Overall, I found I liked this album. I am not really a hard core rocker, but I loke the sound of White Stripes. Jack White's guitar playing and sound is a big part of that.

Genuinely one of my favorite records - it was a much needed infusion of simple rock.

Så väl arrangerat! Fyra

Fucking amazing guitar solos

Pretty underwhelming

Haven’t heard this since high school but it was among the some of the first albums I listened to. Good to revisit

i grew up with this album on repeat. it is undoubtedly a modern rock classic, a bold statement that there was still fertile ground in rock n roll to be cultivated. listeners that only know seven nation army (a song that holds up if you somehow haven't heard it in a few years) will be pleasantly surprised by the variety.

Probably the defining album of the whole garage rock revival scene (by some metrics anyways). The way that Jack and Meg do so much with so little is quite impressive. I will admit that the 2nd half is better than the first, but even despite that, this is still a great album. High 8

I bought this album after it came out - never worked out whether it was pretentious or good.

Nice postpunk album, it had its moments

# 397 : They've done a pretty decent job, good album, aside from the obvious Seven Nation Army it didn’t really grab me. Solid but not really a standout, not 5 star material. Favourite track : Seven Nation Army

Yes, yes, yes - I know I'm doing music wrong. But this BORES ME TO TEARS. Undoubtedly one of the most significant acts of my 20s but did absolutely nothing for me. Gets a bonus star for the video to "I Just Don't Know....." though.

Might have to listen again and reconsider rating

I didn't personally enjoy it as much as Get Behind Me Satan, but still an awesome album. How can you not love Seven Nation Army?

My favorite song is “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”. Every OSU kickoff they play “Seven Nation Army” so I have a particular soft spot for that song. It’s a solid album I don’t have much to about it

Not the worst album I heard so far here. But I don't enjoy this kind of commercial "indie sounding" crap. And Seven Nations Army is still over played af. Still trying to get through it. Maybe it will grow for me. Don't know.

18/01/25 The album was better than I remember it.

7.5/10 Highlights: Seven Nation Army The Hardest Button to Button It's True That We Love One Another Little Acorns There's No Home for You Here The Air Near My Fingers

All time song

Raw, clean sounding. I like that, I think it had to do with the recording method, interesting.

This album rocks, top to bottom. Somehow, being able to literally hear Meg White learn how to play drums makes it even better. She even learned how to use a ride cymbal by the end.

It's hard for me to be objective in reviewing this album. It was the soundtrack to my junior and senior year of high school. But 22 years later I can say with confidence, this is not a 'you had to be there' album. It's an all time rock and roll classic regardless of age and era. Time Travel with me back to 2003 when garage rock and The The bands were all the rage. The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Vines, The Hives, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc. These bands and music videos were all over MTV. Who was going to rise to the top? Enter Seven Nation Army. Before the song was ubiquitous, and before it had been co-opted by high school bands and sports teams, it electrified the nation, reminding us how good simple rock and roll could be. That's a hook to remember. And Elephant could have easily ridden that single to the heights it got even if the rest of the album was mediocre. But this is not a single only album. From the other hard rock songs like Black Math and There's No Home For You Here to the softer tracks like You've Got Her In Your Pocket and even the Meg song In The Cold Cold Night, the album covers a lot of ground and does it really, really well. For my money, Ball and Biscuit is the best White Stripes song and can stand alongside the best rock songs of all time. I'm listening to this on earbuds while getting my kids ready for school and having the same visceral reaction to it as I did when I was a 17 year old. That should say something because there's a lot of music I listened to then that no longer hits. The White Stripes rule. Long live Jack White, rock guitar's weird uncle who continues to keep the genre alive decades on.

Any musical “revival” is likely to make me go, ehhh. But a much worse band could have helmed this particular revival (and some tried). Credit due for committing to an aesthetic, cultivating some mystique, and pretending to be siblings well past the point of credulity.

Boner of the month club

what else is there to say? this album rips

Acceptable garage rock. Gets a little pretentious. Jack is too dorky to take seriously. Too many bad memories to ever want to hear this again.

An undeniable classic. One of the 20 albums that would be on Mount Phelpsmore.

The last great WS album, and a formative one for me. I love 60s garage rock, I love blues, obviously Jack does too. Some of the songs get pretty droney, but the attitude and passion and creative guitar playing make the whole record work. The lyrics seemed prophetic when I was 17, now they’re…good I think? I appreciate the variation in style from The White Stripes to Elephant. This record has far more going on than any of their earlier releases. I’ve never hated on Meg’s drumming like some do. It’s simple, it’s effective for the sound Jack wanted. Sure, she was a bit of a puppet in the band, but she does a great job with the task she was given. In 2003, the release of this sort of dirty guitar rock was sooooooo exciting. We still had to buy CDs to find new music! In the streaming era, I can listen to all kinds of throwback garage rock released in the last few years. The whole concept of a new style of music coming to the foreground seems antiquated. Knowing that Jack is an insufferable twat colors my opinion somewhat. Standout tracks: “I Want to be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart,” “Hypnotize,” “Gurl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” Ugh, please no: “Seven Nation Army,” the intro to “Little Acorns” High school me: five stars Old man me:

Overall I enjoyed the album. I like the bluesy songs the best.

Bar seven nation army, not many memorable songs 2/5

I was going to call this a modern classic, then realized it’s 22 years old already 😧. The merger of blues, country, garage rock is effortless. Always a joy to rediscover this.

Pretty, pretty, pretty good. 4/5

Unique, yet familiar sound. Sounds new and old at the same time. Some bangers, but Seven Nation Army is oversaturated , unfortunately

Surprisingly, this album includes one or two songs that are not abusively loud. Unsurprisingly, those songs are ruined by Jack White's nails-on-a-blackboard voice.

What a solid record. Seven Nation Army is one of the most iconic songs and for good reason. Even without that song, this album would be very solid and enjoyable.

How lucky am I that I was consciously listening to music when Seven Nation Army came out? I would put this song on the same playing field as "We Will Rock You" when it comes to rock anthems that literally everyone can get behind. Is it my favorite song by The White Stripes? No. But do I love it and stoked that I can remember downloading this to my computer and hearing it on the radio? Hell yeah. This album is apex mountain for The White Stripes. They're kind of at the peak of their power and from here, it just gets better (until it eventually, unfortunately and inevitably comes to an end.) They're just having so much fun with this album. Bending genres, getting weird, adding samples, having sing alongs, getting more weird, getting normal, getting loud, getting quiet, being sad, being happy, being weird, being silly, being serious. It's kind of all over the place and every song takes you on a new journey without ever leaving the airport. Its never too much, even when it almost is too much. I love how Jack is constantly tipping his hat and playing with genres that he loves and that inspire him. Rock, garage, blues, country, folk. When you break the songs down, they're really just simple blues or folk or country songs, but they're played with such a different energy and sound. I wouldn't call it a "twist" either, its just 2 peoples take on a American Music and what rock and roll means to them. Its carrying on a long and ongoing legacy. Which I highly respect. Something that is often overlooked, is just how damn clever Jack's songwriting is. Its very similar to that of John Prine or Jerry Jeff Walker. It's funny but never really a comedy, its sad but never really depressing. Its just storytelling and commentary on love, loss, joy and longing. I really think every song on this record works. No notes. I love all of them. I've loved this album for almost as long as I can remember.

This takes me back to my middle brother’s high school friends who wore scarfs and interrogated anyone wearing a Led Zeppelin or Beatles shirt. This record makes me think of a teenager wearing a scarf with a t shirt and cargo shorts. It’s wild that this is twenty years old. I don’t think that if I was going to listen to The White Stripes, I would pick this album. The Wikipedia article mentions that Jack White didn’t use any recording equipment made past 1963 twice. Jesus. But, maybe it won’t be so bad. I really wanted to turn it off during the first song. This whole sound and shtick annoys the fuck out of me now. This is music for guys who collect guitar pedals. The stupid vintage radio vaudeville sound on the vocals. I hate the vocals so much. There are some cool guitar sounds and riffs here, but that’s it. The drumming is monotonous and not in a good way. It would probably sound better without the drums at all. There’s no way this needs to be nearly fifty minutes long. The track that’s channeling Neil Young is god fucking awful. This came out at a time when music critics were waiting for the next Nirvana and you can tell. Flaccid dick car commercial rock. Boutique fuzz pedal review YouTube video music. The Hardest Button To Button is good, but then come the vocals. Jesus fucking christ, this dude’s vocals are so god damn annoying. I can feel myself becoming less charitable with each song. And the end? My god. This is the worst album I have deliberately listened to in many, many years.

Excellent