White Blood Cells

Personally, a classic. So influential was this album to me in high school that Citizen Kane is full of references to The Union Forever, not the other way around.

White Stripes. So massive, so popular and.................. I never understood it. Bores the pants off me

I usually like the white stripes, but this sounded like it was made by a 13 yr old

Look, I think Seven Nation Army is great but there was nothing on this album to get excited about. If some of those noises emanated from your teenage kid's bedroom, you wouldn't be rushing them off to sign a record deal, you'd be asking them to move out. "Little Room" was included just to try my patience.

I'm going to be frank- I hate Jack White's nasally voice. I don't love his composition or guitar skills much more, either. I can't even be very objective about this, but practically everything he touches just irritates the hell out of me, and I had no fun here. At least it's brief- 40 minutes in the CD era is basically EP material. I'll try to meet half way for those who see the appeal and give this an extra star, but it's an F for me, dog.

A perfect album that came out at the right time to prove to the world real rock wasn't dead.

Good record. Out of the context of the time, it doesnt make sense anymore. Not because the record is bad, but because in that moment it was shocking, then everyone else came behind and copied Jack White. It's no longer uncommon to find 100 records that want to be Jack White. But if you can listen with the ears and imagination that this sounds fresh, it's a great listen.

The musical equivalent of supermarket sushi.

By the end it was barely listenable. Hated it. I can hear the good intentions and enthusiasm, but they didn't make up for the bad songs, awful and intrusive drumming, grating vocals, overbearing harsh sounding guitar. I appreciate the idea of a 'back to basics' stripped down sound, but get a producer.

When the White Stripes first appeared in summer 2001, I was initially very keen. However, I quickly found that their songs didn't have staying power - they sound great on first listen, but I don't have a strong urge to revisit. So, this was my first listen to this in nearly 20 years. I haven't really changed my mind - there are some strong singles here, but none that would make my personal playlist, and some of the other songs are one-dimensional. I also particularly dislike his 'proper gentleman' attitude, which I think at the time was mistaken for charmingly retro, but I think in fact is backward chauvanism. Not one I would want to listen to again.

I was somewhat surprised that it was rated one of the 1,001 albums I must hear before I die. I suspect I am some sort of musical philistine, because I could not for the life of me understand why it was unique or important. It had me questioning the merit of the selection committee for this project, though I know it is probably me who is the problem. Nevertheless, it was a heap of lightly smouldering trash.

Solid album. I like the raw, demo feel it has. A lot of songs seem like they could fit into a 90's iPod commercial with the black silhouette and bright background colors. Fuzz. Blues. Garage. Killer.

I love The White Stripes, I'm happy to see this on the list. This is the least good of their albums and it still kicks the ass of almost anything else. Their music is so simple, yet so different, and they always sound like they're having so much fun. I could listen to them all day and have done so many times. Fun stuff, love it lots.

Jesus Christ with this fucking band. "Our drummer is barely competent and we recorded in a bathroom using a dictaphone!" The American music buying public: "YES!"

Blues and bangers coupled with some sweet folk noise. It’s bonkers and it’s fun and dark in all the right ways.

Whilst there are a couple of stand out tracks, this feels more like a collection of songs than a coherent album, so once it finished I was left feeling underwhelmed and unimpressed

2.5 | ¿Qué pasa cuando en un periodo de 3 años sacas 3 discos y 50 canciones? Paja... mucha muchísima paja. Tomando en cuenta que de los primeros tres discos este (merecidamente) es el mejor y el que los hizo famosos es todavía más extraño ver entre canciones brillantes como Hotel Yorba, We're Gonna Be Friends o This Protector tanta... tantísima paja y canciones intercambiables y que suenan 75% iguales entre unas y otras. Creo parte de mi problema es algo que tengo con todo el género, todo ese renacimiento de Rock Garage a inicios de los 2000's, todas esas bandas de The... Strokes, Hives, Vines, White Stripes, Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys etc etc. Todas tienen el mismo sonido de manera general, regresando sí, a un sonido crudo, de producción simple y poco trabajada, inmediato, "relatable", todas logran sonar "bien"... De hecho en muchas ocasiones sonar "muy bien" pero hasta ahí en mi opinión. Terminan siendo muy intercambiables, con algunas canciones y sencillos muy muy buenos pero como para prestar atención a un disco completo terminan en una nube de rock crudo de buen sonido pero indistinto y con un dejo de sensación de superioridad. Hace bastantes años que no escuchaba este disco y me dejó con la misma sensación que la primera vez... Tiene un par de buenas canciones y lo demás cansa.

There is so much I could write in detail while actually analyzing my feelings and thoughts and strangely enough - emotions - about each song, each chord change, the arrangements and each note of this record. Instead I'll keep it simple: I unequivocally and wholeheartedly hate everything about this album. 2/10 1 star.

I'm familiar with later White Stripes, but not this album. This album rocks! It feels a bit like classic 70s rock to me a lot of the time, which is a good thing. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is one of the harder rocking songs. I wouldn't have been surprised to have heard something like this from Bad Company in the 1970s. Great opening to the album! "Hotel Yorba" has a really great jaunty beat and a fantastic chorus. SO so good. One of my favorites. "I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman" is a slower but still awesome rocker with some great organ. Really great organ. "Fell In Love With A Girl" leans away from 70s hard rock and more towards punk. It's another impressive song and makes me wonder how a single person created such a diversity of songs. There is not a song on this album that I don't like or love. "Expecting" has a very interesting stuttering guitar. "Little Room" brings an intense drumbeat with some incredible vocalizations by Jack White. This guy is amazing. "The Union Forever" is a dark, moody rock song and I love Jack's voice with its incredible intensity especially as it cracks on the choruses. Then suddenly near the end has a vocal solo accompanied by a tapping drumstick before lapsing back into its somber melody. Incredible! "The Same Boy You've Always Known" is one of my absolute favorite songs on this album. Again that strong 70s rock vibe with a beautiful vocal performance. This is a perfect rock song. "We're Going To Be Friends" is a really sweet song that is about a school day in the lives of a couple of kids that perfectly captures that infatuation and joy of a young kid making a new friend. It gave me chills in its ability to take me back to the best times in elementary school. "Offend in Every Way" has really great, interesting guitar work and that strong beat that drives so many of The White Stripes' songs. I can rave about all the rest of the songs. But instead I will just wrap up by noting that this is one hell of an album that offers so much. Rock was alive and well at the turn of the 20th century in this incredible album. There is great variety but the album holds together well. Really liked the piano-driven closing song "This Protector." Meg White joins in to great effect! One of my favorite listens in what has been a journey filled with great listens. This is a great rock album!

This is where I came in with them. Saw them on this tour in St Louis. An integral part of the soundtrack to my life and one of those relatively rare instances where the mainstream sucks an indie act into the stratosphere and got it right. Something akin to Nirvana injecting raw energy back into mainstream rock music a decade before.

This album was such a breath of fresh air when it came out. Popular music had really reached a nadir at the turn of the millennium. These two really reshaped things in a really good way. I can remember hearing “Fell in Love with a Girl” the first time and really felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for Jack White I say.

Good stuff - gonna listen to this one most of the day. May be biased because of past two days of bleh albums, but 5*

I have a bit of an annoyance with artists having multiple albums on the list because I think you miss out on many great albums due to this. The White Stripes are an example of this. Personally, I wouldn't put any of their albums on here but I can understand that many do like them so I can concede Elephant getting picked. Get Behind Me Satan has no place on this list, and White Blood Cells is easily the worst of the three. I'm convinced if this album was under anyone else's name nobody would give it any attention, but people on this website see Jack White as the second coming of Christ so of course they'll give it a good rating.

I love the energy Jack Black brings. It always feels a little hillbilly meets hard rock. Sort of carrying the CCR, John Cougar-Melloncamp thread alive.

I truly forgot about this album so it felt like rediscovering an old friend

I usually adhere to the philosophy that everything made after 1990 sucks. And I am usually right, at least in my own opinion. This, however, proves the exception. It didn't suck. Once again I wish the ratings would allow for a half star. This is a 3.5 all day. It falls short of my requirement for a 4, so 3 it is. But a strong 3.

The thin vocals paired with minimal instrumentation somehow result in a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts. I think the Whites could have shaved off 3 or 4 songs to maximize the punch of these particular Blood Cells.

This was a badly needed breath of fresh air when it came out and now I'm pretty tired of breathing it. So stripped down, it brought to mind Billy Bragg and Violent Femmes, at least to me, at least in 2001. Just the way that, without a ton of studio tricks, these songs were compelling. 'Hotel Yorba' is a sentimental favorite and I still like its optimistic view toward relationships. 'I Think I Smell a Rat' is abysmal and I don't want to hear it ever again. That's a big range. A lot of it sounds kind of samesy after a while and fades into the background.

Not quite avant garde traditionalism, but elevated for sure by its commitment to playing fast and loose with its own fidelity to the blues. Barely any of the songs feel like they've been conceived as songs, but all lined up they definitely sounds like they've been conceived as an album. So okay, maybe avant garde traditionalism after all.

this is an example of why i cannot write off an album before i have listened to the whole thing. the first 8 songs were pretty unenjoyable but then “we’re going to be friends” came on which was very enjoyable and i wouldn’t have found it had i stopped listening to the album

hotel yorba is really annoying i hate it i hate this dudes voice i hate it

Really great gritty and bluesy guitar and drums with some of the most annoying wimpy proto-incel lyrics repeated ad nauseum. seriously the amount of songs that come across as 'weird about women ' or 'being a man is so cool and edgy' is too much for me to handle. if there is a deeper critique of masculinity then its buried too deep for me to see

Well this is not very enjoyable. I have respect for Jack White and everything he does for the music industry, namely actually pressing decent quality vinyl records, but dear lord is his voice ever annoying. He’s got this weird whiny early Beatles John Lennon style that I just can’t seem to enjoy listening to. Musically it’s.. fine.. nothing groundbreaking. Meg Whites drums continue to be the bare minimum. The guitar riffs are full of boring powerchords and again, very boring. Full disclosure: I had absolutely no idea that “We’re Gonna Be Friends” was a white stripes song. It’s perhaps the only redeeming part of this record. Delightful little folk track that, despite being overused in every indie movie of the era, is still really fun to listen to! I won’t be listening to this again. 2* but only cuz “We’re Gonna Be Friends” is catchy as hell.

Has the same energy as rice crispies, a static television or a scratched record. Impressive what you can do with just a guitar and drums. Far from virtuosic on either of those instruments but the album has an energy and rawness which you can only admire. I'm a fan of The White Stripes but given a choice of their albums this is not the one I would listen to.

This seems to sit somewhere between one of Alan Lomax's Smithsonian field recordings and the Velvet Undeground's White Light / White Heat. It seems to have been recorded in a barn with the artists standing around a single microphone. If you're looking for slick, shining, perfectly produced, Brian Eno sound then go somewhere else immediately. Guitars scream, voices howl, drums thunder. It's all just a bit glorious. Exactly what those voices are howling ABOUT is open to discussion, but in this sort of thing it's the thought that counts. 40 minutes of pleasure.

It's raw, intense and full of killer riffs and great songs. The White Stripes injected rock and roll full of something primal and made it sound exciting and dangerous again, even when they were singing songs about love or friendship. "Fell In Love With a Girl" is basically a perfect punk song, while "I Can Learn" and "The Union Forever" are other standouts. This album was also kind of a break for the group away from its bluesy-garage roots toward more experimentalism. I think it's their peak.

One of the first real albums I listened to as a teen (rather than child) with something that could be approximated to a music taste. I still like the straightforwardness of the album, and no track really outsyays its welcome. Fell in love with a girl is easy, fast and fun. The same applies to many tracks.

Uspakajająco pozytywny rock :)

Energetic <3<3<3 We're going to be friends

Recording in a studio for the first time did not take the garage out of the rock! Even then it was possible to hear the beginning of what would come later with the expansion of musicians, instrumentation and genres.

Simplicity at its best. They feed off of each other so well that yo I forget there is only 2 of them in the band. This is what brought back rock music after grunge. Sure, Jack White may look like Michael Jackson’s brother at this point but so what, this was long before that happened. 16 songs and only 2 I don’t care for. That really doesn’t matter because this album takes you on a foot tapping journey. This album is so good that your mind can lead you to believe that Meg White is a 10. Seriously. It’s that good. Choice cut: offend in every way

The first half of this album is incredible, the second half isn't quite as strong but still great. More raw than Elephant which I think is mostly a good thing, don't think it's quite as good but it's nice to have a bit of progression in the sound between albums. 4.5.

Very strong start, Dead leaves and dirty ground is excellent. The album as a whole felt complete, nothing out of place, a lot of variety. Cannot fault it

Absolutely influential Early 2000s rock band. Incredible album. No Seven Nation Army though so 0/10

Includes "we're going to be friends", one of my favorite songs. Great variety of melodies, solid album all the way through.

I guess I kinda like the White Stripes.

- Jack White seems like an aggro creep. Yes, he speaks out against the current Fascist regime in the US, but he assaults people and thinks "honour" is a reason to do so, doesn't speak about and blocks people who ask him about his views on genocide, and harassed Karen Elson. So, yet another band to add to the boycott list. - I agree with another review on re-listening to this now that I'm not as young and with the context of him as a person, it all feels very incel. Dude definitely gives narcissist vibes. - The positive: I liked the raw, garage feel to it, and a handful of the songs are catchy. Yeah, he can't hit all the notes, but it works with the feel of the music - polished is definitely not what they're going for. I think the guitar riffs are fun, and I don't have an issue with the drumming - yeah, it's basic, but it doesn't distract me, at all. - I haven't thought about this album in ages because it doesn't really hit as hard after the novelty has worn off. Also, there are a lot of songs that just aren't that interesting to me.

oh you fucking assholes. i muse over how much i *don't* want to get this band and 10 minutes later here i am. stupid. stupid! though in fairness this album is the most full sounding, and therefore the best (by a long shot) of the three White Stripes albums i've listened to. 5/10. I Think I Smell A Rat is extremely annoying. deserves to be one of the 1001? you can pick one. this or Elephant. preferably you pick neither. that's also an option.

Jack White rules. One of the best guitar tones in popular music. It feels like a blanket on a cold winter night.

songs are so contrasting! i didn’t realise we are going to be friends was on here, i really liked this album i felt like koga. union forever was fire, so was expecting, i saved loads of them! love the rock vibes, haven’t even finished it yet as im typing this but im almost done, so good!

Saw the perform on late night tv and immediately headed to buy this cd. It’s been huge in my life since. Absolutely 5 stars for me. Still a regular in my rotation.

REALLY enjoyed, was a surprise

mi yo de 14 le daría cinco estrellas. mi yo de 28 tmb

Monster

Even better than i remembered it to be!

My wife would divorce me if I gave this anything other than a 5

Still slaps

Classic .Best white stripes album .

Great album, 9/10

I like them. So be it.

And to think, maybe one day *I*'ll pretend to be siblings with my ex-wife!

When I first looked over the tracklist, I was convinced I had heard this album at least once before and it just hadn't stuck with me; when I began listening to it on my morning drive, however, I realized I was very wrong. If I had heard this album before, I damn sure would have remembered it. This album rocks. I recently saw The White Stripes mentioned as an example of this rare yet classic band format: one person who plays drums, and one person who does everything else (this is not meant to be disparaging, Meg White contribute more than enough on the the drums to prove her significance to the band). Within this esteemed subgenre, The White Stripes may very well be the best of the bunch, and this albums represents a raw and rough-aroumd-the-edges version of their sound which I absolutely vibe with. Highlights: Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Hotel Yorba, I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman, Fell In Love With a Girl, Little Room, The Union Forever, The Same Boy You've Always Known, We're Going To Be Friends, This Protector

It took me way too long to get fully onboard with Jack White and the White Stripes. I definitely have always liked a handful of songs from this album but it's only been the last couple of years when I started getting more into garage rock that I started to appreciate this stuff. I love this record and there are some absolute classics on it. It deserves all the praise.

One of my absolute favorite records. This one has been with me for a long time. I know every song by heart, I'm certain I've listened to this all the way through hundreds of times. I love how raw this one is. It feels like they got the perfect mix of blues, garage and experimental with this. The instruments (especially the drumming) is so simple, but there is so much going on with every song. I love how creative and wild they get with each song. One minute, you're listening to a spooky bluesy song that breaks into an acapella section, where you're then dancing along to Fell in Love With a Girl. Hotel Yorba is still my favorite song to play on the guitar. It honestly became part of my identity when I was a teenager. Jeremy and I played this song for Chris the night he went to jail. Chad and I played it for Battle of the Bands in High School. Dead Leaves is a perfect opener for an album. I can listen to that song on repeat all day long. The garagey rawness + blues is perfect. We Are Going to Be Friends is one of my favorites (shout out Napoleon Dynamite). Little Room and I think I Smell a Rat are such a rad interludes, while Now Mary, Same Boy, and I Can Learn keep me grounded. This Protector is the perfect book end. This record rocks. I listen to it frequently. Its my favorite album by The White Stripes and I'm grateful its been in my life as long as it has.

LOOVE esp fell in love with a girl omg

Amazing album, fades a bit towards the end, but overall excellent

Absolutely phenomenal album. Best one so far.

Such a beauty

Good

It’s cool. It’s funny. It’s sweet. It’s got variety. And it rocks.

Very close contest between this and Elephant for the best White Stripes album. Lots of diversity in songwriting here. It’s a fun time that flows really well. We’re Going To Be Friends feels like the quaint type of song Paul would have written to slot right in the middle of a Beatles album.

It's a toss up as to whether this or Elephant is my favorite White Stripes album. I like a lot of these songs individually, but the back half of the album I like less. However, even the songs I like less are better than so many other albums on this list.

Any enemy of Trump is a friend of mine. And with songs like Hotel Yorba and Fell in love with a girl it is even easier.

I enjoyed every song suprisingly, this is not a genre i typically listen to. Great album, an easy listen.

amazing

different types of styles of pace, melody and overall sound, I enjoyed. A few that stood out and added to my library but overall 6.5/10

5 stars

Love Meg White’s drumming. Solid record.

Really good album! Heavy than expected to be honest. Had elements that felt very punk rock, White Blood Cells felt very raw and in your face. I knew the popular/mainstream songs off this album but I genuinely enjoyed every track. 5/5 stars!

Pretty good alt rock album honestly. Varied and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Ts is perfect

4.5, rounded up

Bangers, bops, ballads, lots to love on this album, though the latter quarter drags.

Fantastic album, such a unique sound.

One of the best blues rock albums to ever exist. This was early white stripes so the sound is raw but so well put together that it still holds up over 20 years later. This album defined a decade+ of rock music to follow it.

My introduction to the White Stripes. Tons of killer tunes on this one.

This is tough to rate, my heart says 5 but my mind says low 4 so I'll split the difference with a high 4. Treasure trove of white stripes classics

No notes 10/10 Jack White is brilliant.

Banger

Great album, love The White Stripes

Less of a guitar hero record than I remembered, but so stacked with garage bangers that I keep going back to. Not my favorite of their records but probably my favorite vibe from the band. Rounding up from a 9/10.

i remember this one coming out!!

I can still remember when the video to “Fell In Love With A Girl” premiered. All of a sudden, the kids who’d grown disenchanted with the pop schlock being pushed onto us by the very media angle, had a band- a REAL rock band- to look up to and obsess over. And they had grit, unlike The Strokes and various other NY “Neu Wave” bands making their appearance at the time. The resurgence of the Detroit Sound was a much needed breath of fresh air for us middle of nowhere kids still in love with rock n roll. We discovered so much cool music through The White Stripes, and this album was kind of the start of that era. Can’t believe how nostalgic these songs made me, or that I hadn’t listened to them in years before today. It was a nice day to time travel.

Raw, gritty, distinctive. Love it or hate it, this is true rock n roll.

Oh this was class. Some classic bangers here plus some I haven't heard that really resonated with me. Another album that I can't believe I didn't listen to earlier.

My most favourite album ever. It combines the rawness of the first 2 albums but slightly more polished

Really enjoyed the garage rock, low sound quality and pure concentrated focus

eternally iconic i love the white stripes

I’m the right age and have the right tastes that I should have been super into the White Stripes in the 2000s but I just wasn’t. So now, 20+ years later, I’m discovering that I really like White Stripes. This one is a bit more raw than their later stuff, but would still be at home in an iPod commercial in 2002. It’s not a bad thing, iPod commercials used to have some cool music in them.

Forgot how good this one is