Reviews (page 5 of 13)
I once saw someone criticizing the documentary “It Might Get Loud,” saying that Jack White didn’t deserve to be in that lineup. It’s a frankly baffling take. When teaching my guitar students songs by the White Stripes, I try to point out that the sloppiness is the point. It’s what makes The White Stripes The White Stripes. Meg White’s simple but powerful drums are just as much a part of it as Jack White’s guitar and vocals. It rocks. What more can be said?
This album holds a significant amount of nostalgia for me. As part of my project of listening to each of these albums daily continues, and I want to exercise and grow in my music-critical writing abilities, I realize that I am going to have to do some deeper grappling with the conflicts between feeling nostalgia and observing music in an objective manner, at a some point. When White Blood Cells came out in 2001, I loved it for the catchy songs, and for the social energy that this album created for me and my friends. A whole lot of feeling without me needing to be critical of anything. Given the rather shallow (but enthusiastic) entry this album made into my life, it feels like a good one to listen more closely to, and step into, in order to criticize and qualify the music it presents. This album is a hallmark of rock and roll simplicity. It forefronts catchy songwriting hooks with minimalist instrumentation. I appreciate that more now than when I first heard it. I'm impressed how a few guitar tracks, some piano/keys, and simple but pronounced drumming can carry a catchy hook and let it shine. There are some snoozers on the album though. Given it's place in the tracklist, I wonder if "I'm Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman" would have shown up better not being sandwiched between "Hotel Yorba" and "Fell in Love with a Girl". On the other hand, I was blown away on listening nearly 25 years later to "Little Room" that it wasn't a 2-3 minute song. Under a minute, it carries Big Room weight. The distortion and effects textures are amazing. Spread across multiple guitars, drum tracking and vocal tracks, it give a lot of sonic territory for a listener to explore, while still not masking the underlying playing of Jack and Meg. Listening in 2026 gives new sense of how well recorded this “lo-fi” album is. Is it even lo-fi? More like secret hi-fi. What is fidelity outside the objective? What is fragile in concept of what makes something objectively standard to fit in with the hi-fi production canon? I hear in this album meticulous attention to detail in recording quality, but the presentation isn't as concerned with lush string layers, or deep harmonies being accurately represented. Instead, the music is completely blasted through overdriven tubes and comes out the other end as rich and full as many moments on the White Album.
I guess the algorithm heard me a few days ago and decided to make my comment about preferring to listen to the White Stripes a reality. This album was actually my first real introduction to Jack and Meg, and I've lost count of how many times I've listened to it before getting it here. Needless to say, I come into this review with a pretty strong opinion on it already. It has probably been a few years since I've listened to WBC in full, but I seem to remember pretty much all of it from going through it again now. It has some of my favorite White Stripes songs on it and plenty others that I think epitomize their sound. This album really showcases the garage blues-rock style that brought the band to the popularity/appreciation they attained. It's about as no-frills as you can get for a post-2000 album. Really, that's probably one of the reasons it deserves to be on this list. At a time when things were undergoing more production manipulation and impacted by using pop stylings into other genres, they basically recorded an album with as little rehearsal and studio manipulation as possible. Instead of being refined for radio, they wanted to be rough and abrasive. It clearly worked, given their lasting impression on music. It helps the album stand out as something different and interesting compared to most others from that time frame. One downside of the random generation here is you don't get these albums with much context of their era, and this one probably suffers a bit for that. At the time, punk was often more pop-punk (Blink182, Green Day, etc) than Ramones. Radio stations were playing Britney Spears and John Mayer. Popular rock was more Creed and Nickelback. You had to dig for something more diverse and interesting. The White Stripes helped change that, or at least felt like they did to my tweenage ears. (That's not meant to be a knock on any of those artists, necessarily, but just an example of what I mean.) So, yeah. To me, this a pretty good album. There are issues with it, most stemming from the rushed nature of the compositions and lack of polishing. I can see why plenty of people might dislike it or find it unimpressive. Some of the song topics aren't all that engaging or make the lyrics feel like an afterthought. Some of them feel like the beginning of an idea that never got fully realized. Even so, I find that it all comes together to make a really interesting, memorable album. At the very least, it never gets boring. I can't say this one is an all-time great, but, in my biased opinion, it is a pretty good one. I'm glad I got to listen to it again. Overall: 3.75/5
Great album!
Liked this album, pretty easy listening. Good flow through the songs too, unique sound from Jack White
The return of classic rock. A raw and stripped down powerhouse. Highly recommend.
Stripped down Garage Rock reminiscent of early Black Keys with some Outlaw Country mixed in.
Modern rock masterpiece. Has the soul of 20th century blues but with a screaming guitar and the drums bashed in incredible force. Old sexism, straight from the bluesmen's book. Indomitable women paired with angry young men, the underdogs, disillusioned and possibly withdrawn (in reality might be control freaks) whose romantic flings are passive aggressive power struggles. Women are a constant point of interest as puzzles to be resolved or even admired for their chaos.
I like the beat of the songs and how the vibes would change sometimes. And the album was a pretty good one.
Classic garage rock. Great riffs, big fan of this. 8/10
So good
Another one from my teenage years. Its also another one that I was eh on back then that I actually enjoy now. The sound is definitely raw but its folksy, rocky, and soulful.
been fond of it for years. not particularly well-structured, but the songs hold up.
One of my GOAT albums. Absolutely no skips for me. The guitar licks on Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground changed my brain chemistry when I was a kid.
we’re gonna be friends is such a cute song i love it so much 🌻
Awesome raw treat!
Delivera alltaf!
Þessi fær fjórar fyrir fjölbreytni. Hvert lag lætur mann pæla í því næsta.
That was good.
Of course this record is a frenetic rootsy blues romp. Definitely remarkable, so I can't deny a 4. But it's like a bombastic tech demonstration - think of the abdomen agitating audio "Woooooooom!" demo for Dolby/Imax before a film. Or like hold music on meth, or like reading "Lorem Ipsum" text. Yes, it's impressive, but there's not much of a story there. The presence and the lyrical imagery are detached somewhere in the autism spectrum of human connection, like Wes Anderson films. Amusing but absent.
I’m somewhat familiar with the White Stripes from a few of their songs (Fell in love with a girl, seven nation army, we’re gonna be friends), so I’m not going in completely blind. 😛 Dead leaves and the dirty ground - strong start, like the instruments getting ready in the beginning, good rock sound Hotel yorba - more upbeat, sounds fun 😛 kinda sounds like a muppets song or smth Im finding it harder to be a gentleman - reminds of the pixies a little bit, I think the voice maybe 🤷♀️ Fell in Iove with a girl - already knew this one but I still like it, short and sweet but still rlly catchy Expecting - more heavy and slower which was a nice change Little room - veryyyyy short, very simple tho, just drums and voice The union forever - a little mysterious, I like the synths in the background, it rlly does sound like the pixie’s damn, I like the break in the middle, adds a nice breather 😛 The same boy you’ve always known - classic rock kinda sound, was gonna say this doesn’t speak to me as much but then the guitar solo interrupted me rude We’re going to be friends - I already knew this from Napoleon Dynamite, which is one of the best movies ever, so not biased but this song is rlly sweet and comforting to listen to Offend in every way - this one was still good but didn’t stand out to me as much 🤷♀️ I think I smell a rat - now he sounds like Jeff Buckley at the start, #shapeshifter Aluminum - ok experimental, lowkey like it, completely instrumental except for some aahhhhs in the back, but it’s kinda a vibe I can’t wait - lowkey Now Mary - these 4 songs I can learn - kinda blended This protector - into each other (or I wasn’t rlly paying attention 🤷♀️) OVERALL: there were lots of songs, but they were all quite short so it made up for it, sometimes they flowed together rlly well that you couldn’t tell that the song changed 🤷♀️, the style and vocals lowkey reminded me of the pixies a lot (I like the pixies 😛). Rather enjoyed this album if I do say so meself ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
Still holds up
Some good stuff! 3.8.
I prefer Elephant, but this one is pretty good too. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
solid album throughout, VERY strong middle section, want to learn guitar part for "We're going to be friends"
Excellent record. Super garage, raw, direct, very fuzzy. Love it in the 2000s and love it now.
Hard to describe how I feel about this album. The aesthetic, production and instrumentation on this album is what I identify the White Stripes with, moreso than the previous 2 albums that were more raw. I don't think their sound progressed much in later work, this is their sonic peak. I feel much the same way about the album as I do about the band. Some great/listenable tracks (e.g FILWAG), but I find the style maybe grating after a while -not sure if its Jacks voice or the heavy distortion etc. Songs are lyrically strong but I feel that I dont appreciate the lyrics because of the production/sound. The strength of the album is in its range, with punky garage tracks to Hotel Yorba and WAGTBF.
Very new to me. A change of taste!!
Excellent rock album. Innovative, raw, fun, eclectic in the best way. Has a very pure, experimental, yet classic sound. Some blues and even gospel elements thrown in. I especially like songs like Hotel Yorba and I’m Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman. Certain stretches get a little long or sound like basic rock.
Classic, definitely heard before. Good stuff.
Crec que és el que més m'ha agradat de tots els que m'han sortit fins ara. Em sonen d'haver escoltat abans algunes cançons d'aquest grup, apart d òbviament conèixer seven nation army. M'han agradat tant que em sembla que els escoltare més, a part de que moltes de les cançons d'aquest àlbum me les he posades a playlist. A més a més és un àlbum d'aquells que fins i tot la portada és maca, m'encanta.
Got it already
Another good one from The White Stripes.
Me and this album are going to be friends
'All they got inside is vacancy.' Like all rockers, Jack White is a romantic as well as a Romantic. At bottom, he's a gentleman, w/ the proper etiquette and a feel for civility, but he also has an itch for self-expression at all costs: 'Maybe I should carry you / Then you said "You almost dropped me" / So I did / And I got mud on my shoes.' Jack and Meg are more than economy, and certainly more than rock revival, they're good sense + the stewardship of rock 'n' roll decorum. The songs that comprise this record, arguably the best of their tenure, are neither cool nor uncool, unusual nor prosaic: they exist on the plane of rituals and mores. Jack knows he's just a fella: 'I'm coming thru the door / But they're expecting more of an interesting man.'
3.5
3rd album in, fav so far Seven Nation Army
Solid, stripped down rock.
It's got some rythym 🎉💃 we're going to be friends is nothing like the other songs in the albums 💀
Great straight forward garage rock n roll
Some really fantastic music but just a little bit too unpolished
For me, The White Stripes' 2001 album, "White Blood Cells", while perhaps not reaching the arbitrary status of "essential" listening, is a very good collection of songs. The defining characteristic of "White Blood Cells" is its striking simplicity and raw, guitar-driven sound. The instrumentation is intentionally sparse, yet powerfully effective. The album is dominated by Jack White's guitar work, which ranges from driving, rhythmic passages (sometimes feeling percussive in nature) to moments of thick, sonically fuzzy distortion. Meg White's drumming is a lesson in simple but effective percussion. Her playing is distinctive, providing the perfect, often rudimentary, backbone that serves the songs without ever overcomplicating them. Jack White's distinctive vocals are also central to the album's identity. His delivery is often 'strained' but this perfectly suits the music, and the vocal melodies are consistently well-crafted and engaging. The tracks pull from a compelling blend of influences, rooted firmly in garage rock but incorporating touches of country, folk, and blues. This eclectic mix gives the album a broader sonic palette than its minimal setup might suggest. A hallmark of the album is its brevity. Many of the tracks are concise, punchy statements, contributing to the album's energetic pace and reinforcing the "less is more" ethos. This structural simplicity adds to the fun, playful atmosphere that surfaces throughout, perhaps most notably in tracks like "Little Room." The individual songs on White Blood Cells vary in quality, but at their best, they reach an "Excellent" level of raw, stripped-down rock. Even the "fine/good" tracks contribute positively to the overall feel. It's an album that commands respect for its uncompromising vision and influential sound, successfully proving that musical power doesn't require complexity. It may not be essential (IMHO), but it is a fun, enjoyable listen. Four stars. Standout tracks - "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Fell in Love with a Girl", "The Same Boy You've Always Known" Side one 1 "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" (5/5) 2 "Hotel Yorba" (5/5) 3 "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman" (4/5) 4 "Fell in Love with a Girl" (5/5) 5 "Expecting" (3/5) 6 "Little Room" (3/5) 7 "The Union Forever" (4/5) 8 "The Same Boy You've Always Known" (5/5) Side two 9 "We're Going to Be Friends" (4/5) 10 "Offend in Every Way" (4/5) 11 "I Think I Smell a Rat" (4/5) 12 "Aluminum" (3/5) 13 "I Can't Wait" (3/5) 14 "Now Mary" (4/5) 15 "I Can Learn" (4/5) 16 "This Protector" (4/5) Total - 64 Average - 4 183/1001 100/183 albums reviewed were new to me.
BYD, München, Deutschland. Leckere Scheibe.
Great
The beginning of an era.
This is the best White Stripes record but it is close. The first three - with this being the third - on Sympathy for the Record Industry, are what made White Stripes great. Here White Stripes are the embodiment of garage rock. All attitude and rock history woven through these tracks which sounds full despite their being no bass. Fell In Love With a Girl is a perfect pop song and the standout on this record. But it is close. Opener Dead Leaves and the The Dirty Ground has a great riff and Meg’s drumming is simple and perfect and is a close second to Fell In Love With a Girl for timeless performance. Hotel Yorba has endless potential as a tempo change could give the song new meaning but on this version, played as hootenanny favorite, the energy is powerful. For a record costing $4,000 to record, the production is perfect with the sounds crisp, the vocals clean and the energy between the two palpable. Sure, there are a couple of throwaway tracks but in revisiting the album, Aluminum and I Smell A Rat somehow are a bridge to the rest of the record and keep the record a little experimental- like a couple of B-sides added to fill out the experience. Some will say that Elephant is the better record, but in my not too humble opinion, this is the record that is the perfect mix of garage and pop with the rough edges on this record distinguishing it from the overproduced Elephant record. 24 years on this is the album I still play precisely because it is not all sugar. Jack and Meg together are The White Stripes and this album, recorded after their divorce, demonstrates Meg’s commitment to Jack. Listen to the Union Forever and tell me that Jack isn’t more alive with Meg a presence across the drum kit. How does Jack let his emotions run rampant with the woman he just divorced a few feet away? This record is clearly a personal record about the end of his marriage and where Jack stands in relation to Meg. In short, it’s a compelling listen. Same Boy You’ve Always Known is perhaps not quite the truth but expressive and heartfelt. We’re Going To Be Friends seems to bring resolution to the grief of a breakup to an approach to move forward. White Blood Cells is still raw after all these years and a worthy addition to a list of 1001 albums. It belongs not because it is inventive but rather because it is a masterclass in execution.
Nearly a perfect album. Toward the end it starts to get a little filler-y, but otherwise a great record! Once I’m done with my personal Zevon dive, The Stripes might be next!
Is this the best album by the band? If you’d asked me before today, I would’ve picked Elephant or Get Behind Me Satan. But this is really a contender! The band truly found its sound here, and so many of the songs—especially the first few—are outstanding.
While this was good, it felt a little forced at times. Somewhat pretentious
Fav: Hotel Yorba Least Fav: Aluminum The best White Stripes album
They could never make me hate you, The White Stripes, but this album probably could have had several tracks removed. It is an excellent garage rock record overall, though, and it does experiment with a range of sounds I enjoyed.
I completely understand why this album is recommended to listen to before you die. I’ll definitely listen to it again. My favorites: - Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground - Hotel Yorba - The Same Boy You’ve Always Known - We’re Going To Be Friends - Offend In Every Way - I Can’t Wait
Das erste was ich von denen außer 7NA höre
I enjoyed this album was never into the white stripes before I prefer the longer songs with more continuity
This is a banger, I a starting to really love White Stripes
Fantastic bluesy/garage rock. Two genres I generally am not huge on, but The White Stripes knock it out of the park. Well deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And I'll defend Meg White's drumming until the end of time. Sure, she's not technically the best drummer, but she is exactly what The White Stripes needed. Put any other drummer in her spot, and the band would be demonstrably worse, and it'd be worse by many factors. Hit after hit after hit with great deep cuts like The Union Forever. Great record.
I think that this is probably the perfect distillation of what The White Stripes offer at their best even though I do think the highs in _Elephant_ are high! There’s a raw energy here that they start to late from this point but the tunes are also undeniable. Probably my fave of theirs which is not something I would always have said
Probably my favourite White Stripes album. Not got the snarl of Elephant, but a fun one to go over, and one of theirs that I find I need to be less "in the mood for" than, say, Icky Thump. Musically Jack White's doing his thing on the guitar. He's a great guitarist, but I'm always amazed by how simple most of his riffing is. Man just understands how to make the guitar sound musical (in a scuzzy, tube-amp, blues-rock way). Meg does great work with the rhythm section in a similarly sparse, amateurish way. The best of their American-Gothic-garage-rock is fully on display here. Lyrically they always remind me a lot of the Pixies. They've got a similar fascination with the Midwest, and the violence, weirdness, anger, and sexuality lurking in the suburbs. Their songs often seem to inhabit some sort of cross-over universe of "Napoleon Dynamite" and "In Cold Blood" (with maybe a bit of Texas Chainsaw mixed in for good measure). However, this one has some more innocent, wholesome moments than their later albums do. Less screeching about using voodoo dolls to make babies stop crying, and some genuinely vulnerable moments sprinkled in. Still, not a five for me because, as with all their stuff, this does have a bit of a "nice to hear it every once in a while, but not regularly" feel.
SO GOOD!
Some real bangers
I like this more than Elephant. Many bangers on here. 4 Heard before? Some songs Owned: No: 29/116 (25%) Will I get?
Their best album?
Just a great album
Love the distorted mic and guitar, makes them sound like The MC5 or The Animals. Also love that this was probably an album about divorce when reviews for the albums were still calling them siblings. Listened to this a few times throughout the day and was looking forward to re-listening every time.
The timing on this was amazing considering they just got inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame, and honestly I get why. This album is wall to wall bangers. I think the Jack white solo album I listened to for this was a little more consistent, but the highs here are undeniable, and it’s just a blast. Favorites: Fell In Love With a Girl, We’re Going to Be Friends, I Think I Smell a Rat
Good stuff. I prefer The Raconteurs but this is an iconic duo and a trend setting LP.
Legendary album from a 2025 Hall Of Fame Band. It's not perfect but it's damn close. Dead Leaves, Hotel Yorba, Fell in Love With A Girl, We're Going to be Friends, etc... This is a great album.
We're taking it back. Back to high school. This album is made of nostalgia and good feels. I liked it because girls liked it. The Stripes had the purity to shine through the cracks of my moody metal playlists. Some of it's a little more corny than I could manage back then. Kinda still is. But Jack is an understated guitar pioneer and him and Meg together have the magic talent multiplier that makes them far greater than the sum of their parts.
I spent a lot of years not particularly liking The White Stripes. I think their whole mythos just really turned me off and I couldn’t get past it. Now I can recognize that they are extremely talented musicians. This album is drenched in Led Zeppelin influence. Meg’s drumming is bad ass. Jack’s guitar playing is crazy good. The lyrics are solid. Turns out I like this album a whole lot. These lyrics give me meat to chew on and I love it. “If I could find emotion to stimulate devotion” is pretty damn good. All of I’m Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman is so good.
White Blood Cells Im a fan of the White Stripes since high school. I loved the hits back then. I only really knew the singles from this album and watching the videos on Swedish websites with dial up internet. I blossomed into proto-hipsterdom. As an adult I’ve gone back farther and listened to the whole discography. This the album where Jack White figure “it” out. He went from a messy rock student borrowing blues riffs into cultivating his own distinct sound. From artist to auteur. This is Jack going super Sayian for the first time. There are more levels to come. Instead of saving Namek this is Jack injecting his messy blues and some Detroit grime into the zeitgeist. A howling voice, lyrics scrawled in crayon underneath upholstery, $60 Japanese guitar, and a drummer who can’t actually drum. It’s Jack finger painting with primary colors and making a master piece. I think Jack is driving things like an old school stock car racer. He knows when to hit the gas and give some volume and aggression, he tails it back and goes quiet to not skid off the road, he feathers the wheel to take maneuvers that would send lesser drivers careening off a cliff. This album fucking rips. The aesthetic rips. The music videos all rip. This is band fuckin rules. Jack White is a keeper of the flame. Hell yeah.
So much to love about The White Stripes' stripped back sound and vocals, not to mention their general esoteric reflections on life ...
I really loved this in a nostalgic way. I knew at least “I can tell that we are gonna be friends” before this listen but definitely came across other tracks at some point. It really has that 2000s indie rock sound.
Very good album. It kickstarted the return of blues rock and had some real bangers. Its probably not their best, but worthy of inclusion on this list.
I like that it’s minimally produced and consistently well-done guitar riffs. Easy listen.
Love love.
Solid album throughout. I would listen again and enjoy.
Not my favourite White Stripes album, but still solid
Random thoughts: * I remember "Fell in Love With a Girl" when it came out. I don't remember if I bought this album before or after Elephant. I think I probably bought it after Elephant when The White Stripes became huge. * It's great to hear and see the garage rawness of the Stripes before they added more sound and sheen to the palate. * I have several tracks that I like on this one: Dead Leaves, Hotel Yorba, Fell in Love, Little Room, We're Going to Be Friends, and I Think I Smell a Rat. * 2 really classic all-time songs on here with "Fell in Love" and "We're Going to be Friends". It's really hard to believe this track is a White Stripes track. It feels like it must have been a tough decision to put this song on this album. * Overall great album where you hear the Stripes start to move from their DIY garage days to a more polished sound that would come on later albums.
Solid early 2000s alternative album.
Fun! Fave is Hotel Yorba.
Really enjoyed this album. Can’t go wrong with “we’re going to be friends”, but other songs were also lovely to listen to and such an enjoyable time all the way through. Didn’t need a break I flew right through this and listened twice just for fun.
Better than i thought. I used to think i didnt like these guys
Brings me back to the olden days of rock/indieclubbing in the early 00,s. Strong nostalgia.
The White Stripes were very very very good and this album is front to back proof, simple but great songs. 4.7/5.0 Best Song: We’re Gonna Be Friends
Its good stuff isnt it, this must have been so much fun when it came out. It is maybe the most 2001 album. There are so many good riffs generally i do enjoy the vibe of this album a lot, i think it lacks a bit of quality on the 2nd half of the album though. Best Track: Fell in love with a girl, obviously.
listened to again absolute classic, especially We're Going to Be Friends
top album
Pretty cool garage rock vibes. Very much what I expected from The White Stripes, but there's some catchy numbers here. My favourite record of theirs on this list so far. Favourite tracks: Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman, Fell In Love With a Girl, Offend In Every Way, I Think I Smell a Rat.
I knew this album well already. 👍Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Fell In Love With a Girl, We're Going To Be Friends
Great album. I’ve already heard and liked a couple of songs from it and loved them. There were a few “meh” tracks, but overall, it was a brilliant listen.
Cultural shift when this record came out. Still so listenable, good rock and good heart. Share with most.
Late to the game with this album in early 2000’s but has been timeless ever since, always finds it self periodically back in rotation
Love it. Lo-Fi, guitar and drums but such great songs. Fav: Hotel Yorba
16 songs in 40 mins. If you get fed up of one just wait 30 seconds.
The thing I loved about White Stripes was how much they pissed off the Metalheads in school: ‘jAcK cAnT sInG’ ‘iTs JuSt TeH pEnTaToNiC sCaLe’ ‘mEg CaNt EvEn PlAy TeH dRuMs’ ‘tHeY dOnT eVeN hAvE a BaSsIsT lMaO’ All these things are true. It doesn’t stop them being the ultimate ‘better-than-the-sum-of-their-parts’ band. So STFU and go back to listening to dragonforce and wanking over orcs, Dan.
As a fan of The White Stripes, revisiting White Blood Cells is always a treat. Jack White's raw guitar work and distinctive vocals are front and center, delivering a sound that’s both gritty and captivating. Meg White's drumming complements Jack perfectly, providing a simple yet powerful backbone to the tracks. Songs like "Fell in Love with a Girl" and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" showcase their ability to blend garage rock with blues influences effortlessly. It's definitely worth revisiting!
Genuinely surprises by how many hit singles on this thing there are. The White Stripes are Foo Fighters if they were better and Queens of the Stoneage if they were worse. I definitely prefer Jack Whites solo stuff l, still good though. 7/10
It's The White Stripes; of course it's a great album. I just wish it was a tad better. Favorite Track: "We're Going To Be Friends".
Рокккккккк! Лучшая песня - Fell in Love With a Girl.
Great 4/5
this album defines that early 2000s blues rock sound that helped connect the dots from classic rock to modern music for me. As zak said, easily the best song about childhood ever with WE'RE GOING TO BE FRIENDS. Caught me off guard and made me a little emotional as I was able to relate to it now as a father. time moves too fast. Would be a 5 for me, but I feel like there are a few too many forgettable tracks on the B side. So a 4 will do.
I knew the hits and a couple others. Really an all around solid album. The very last couple of tracks were a bit weak though, especially the rest of the album. Love the garage sound. Don't care that the drums are basic. I like Jack White's voice.
rock clasico, simple, directo. 4.5
"Dead Leaves on The Dirty Ground" was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. I think when it comes to The White Stripes, White Blood Cell and Elephant are near perfect records, and an argument could be made that either is better than the other. I was so into this record in high school. Listened to it constantly, bought it on iTunes. The guitar work is simple, and the drums are simple, and it just rocks. This is some of, if not the finest garage rock of the last 30 years. Unapologetically Detroit. "The Union Forever" is the reason I became obsessed with Citizen Kane for a bit there. 17/19
Girl drummer!?!? Now I’ve heard it all.
It's interesting how if you have seen Jack talk about what music he likes how clearly you can see that in his music on this album.
This experiment has shown me a lot and one of the things is that I really like Jack White and The White Stripes
Mixing the majestic power chords of early Led Zeppelin and The Who with the peculiarities of the Pixies and you essentially have the driving sound that defines The White Stripes' breakthrough third album 'White Blood Cells'. Considering its only Jack and Meg White making noise on guitar and drums respectively, along with Jack's zany voice, 'White Blood Cells' has a surprising arena rock-ready sound that makes you forget there's no bass on this record. With barnstorming rockers like 'Fell In Love With a Girl', 'Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground', classic garage tunes such as 'Hotel Yorba' and even some tender moments in 'We're Going to Be Friends' and the piano-driven 'This Protector', The White Stripes produce a simple yet effective sound that defies convention for a two-piece band. A lot of this owes to Jack White's outstanding guitar tone. There's so much dimension and character to his guitar that evokes a heartfelt tribute to 70s rock, while also befitting of the DIY garage rock revival taking place at the turn of the millennium. Yes, their next album, 'Elephant' , made The White Stripes megastars, and 'Seven Nation Army' became simultaneously the favourite song of beginner guitarists and bane of music store owners, but 'White Blood Cells' is almost certainly the better record: a raw, punchy affair that introduced the world to the best looking musos in red, black and white since Eddie Van Halen! Best songs: Fell In Love With a Girl, We're Going to Be Friends, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Hotel Yorba
Cells, ya know!
Nice album, fitting into the timeframe it came out into. The voice of Jack has always been mesmerizing to me and the song 'We're Going to be Friends' was a nice throwback to a song I have long forgotten. All in all, the album falls well short of a perfect score, but is way better than mediocre. 4/5
The hookiest punk band ever?
Really enjoyed this album. Not a bad song. Jack and Meg have an almost minimalistic sound that is somehow funky and full-bodied at the same time.
Honestly peak, some of the songs are mid, but theres some bangers, and mostly good songs
I like it...
Fun to relisten to this one.
Great album enjoyed it a lot vi liked the more pink vibes
Solid stuff. I knew a lot more songs than I thought I would. However, sometimes it gets a litle old, but still a great album.
This album rocks, Jack white during this time period was such a revival of the spirit of the guitarist. So simple but so strong at the same time.
A great, distinctive album. Makes an impressive about of sound for a duo. Not an album I listen to very often, but easily seem to be an important, very good album
I think this might be their best? They definitely did good work after this, and White for sure blossomed into a solo talent, but the limited instrumentation and kinda janky sound quality is hard to beat. Has that Flat Duo Jets/garage feel to it that the (slightly) more polished follow-ups lack. Three cheers for little rooms.
Never heard of these guys before, but they’re really OK
Had fun with this one
Extra point for nostalgia
Very solid stuff.
We're Going to Be Friends :)
Been a while since I’ve listened to this in its entirety but enjoyed revisiting it and it holds up well, probably because it’s sparse and not over-engineered so not very much to have dated. A lot of criticism is/was directed towards Meg’s drumming but it is absolutely fitting here and gives space for the guitar and vocals to shine. I see this as having been a catalyst for some of the indie/garage rock revival that we saw at the start of the century.
Jack White, & by extension White Stripes are in my top three favorite musicians…I wouldn’t say multiple White Stripes albums need to be on the list. & of all their albums this is the only one I’d give a four. Songs that I like I love extensively. But there’s a few tracks on here I’m not hot about.
Solid album
It’s a total vibe, but lacks a beat. And that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it, but it makes it harder for the songs to stand out to me. Still an album full of classics.
I can't say I love this entire album. I love the concept of the White Stripes and their overall look, feel and sound. But in terms of this album, their foot in the door commercially, it becomes a bit stale near the end. It starts off really good, stays that way for a while, and then after I Think I Smell A Rat, it drops off for me. Elephant is the greater effort in my opinion, but this is still good (7/10, 4/5 on this scale)
I love the energy Jack Black brings. It always feels a little hillbilly meets hard rock.
Apesar dos momentos pouco inspirados e com excesso de eletricidade de faixas como "Fell In Love With a Girl" e "Expecting" o disco cresce a medida que evolui melodicamente para canções como "The Union Forever", "The Same Boy You've Always Know" e "Offend In Every Way", onde prevalece o lado melódico de Jack White tão presente em seus discos solo e com os Raconteurs. Ótimo álbum!
I'll admit that I was mostly familiar with Elephant, I had never listened to anything outside of the usual hits. However, this was a rather enjoyable listen. A musically stripped down record, where it feels as though it is literally two people just banging out some rough tracks in the studio, with tracks like "I think I smell a rat", "Hotel Yorba", and "We're going to be friends" being personal favorites. I could see myself coming back to this one later on, but not nearly as frequently as other albums I've listened to so far.
Dope
Best Track - "Fell In Love With A Girl"
8/10 I like how raw this is. They got a bit more fancy later and branched out, but this always gets me bopping my head. 9-16-2025
This is the band's highpoint, a perfect balance of raw guitar scorchers and experiments. The rock tracks rock, whether it's because of the riffs ("Expecting") or the general rawness ("Gentleman"). "Fell in Love With a Girl" is the song every new throwback rock band have been trying and failing to write for the last 20 years. The attempts to switch things up, like the beautiful "Friends" or the upbeat "Hotel Yorba" provide a nice respite from the rock tracks. The band tried these kinds of detours on other albums but they never worked as well as they did here. The quality dips a bit by the end and I think it could have been even shorter than its brisk 40 minutes, but it's good enough to not feel feel like it overstays its welcome.
Rock 🤘🏼
Some good tracks
Still holds up, but prefer the first nine songs on the album. :)
The White Stripes are a kind of breed of their own. For me they are a rare, but sometimes true part of my own music life. I know they are simple, even kind of basic, but they are ... I love this band. Brother and sister just rocking out. Amaze. They have like a rebellious edge that never gets boring, even as the music is so simple. I think I am a member of a cult with them. Yeah, that's it. I am one of their minions! Rock on!
Said it once before but it bears repeating now; The White Stripes create vivid imagery through their lyrics. Strong start, fades and bottoms out with I Smell A Rat and Aluminum, then bounces back for a decent finish. White Blood Count is (3.7*s)
I quite love the White Stripes, but I prefer the next 3 albums more than this one because they have just enough more polish to make them re-listenable. Now, I get why some people like/prefer this. It's raw and almost punk-y in places. But without a little production, Jack comes off as a howler, a bit of a screecher sometimes. I cannot abide. I have come to like "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" quite a bit, as I think it's the most "mature" sounding song on the album. "Hotel Yorba" is pretty good, but I wish he wasn't quite so whiny. "Fell in Love with a Girl" could be great, but he seems to be channeling Johnny Lydon here and it's off-putting. "We're Going to Be Friends" is listed as a Kid's song on many lists. Ok. But this shows that Jack can sing without being annoying. And the last song I'll point at here is "Little Room" Who would let Jack do this abomination?? While it's not my favorite White Stripes album, I have come back to it a couple of times and it's grown on me. Congratulations to all of the A&R folks that saw greatness in unpolished bands. I would have passed on the Stripes if all I heard was this or, god-forbid, the previous albums first. But then the world would not know the joys of their later albums and Jack's solo stuff. 4 out 5
I am probably the only one here that is not able to listen to an album a day ;) An advantage is that this gives you a good catalogue of music to choose from, depending on your mood. „White Blood Cells“ recently appeared on my list and I was craving to listen to it: Simply, as the punchy White Stripes Sound can energize me most of the time. Yes, some songs might be a little lazy, but its the good lazy as in ‚we are free on what to do‘. There is a 5/5 record further down their discography, but this record still has the iconic White Stripes sound and asthetics. Highlight: „Aluminum“ is the noisiest track here and has Jack White as a kind of siren - my highlight!
I didn't realize that we are gonna be friends is by the White Stripes! I love that song! Otherwise I thought it was okay, a little too emo for me at times but overall a good album. I typically enjoy when albums have shorter songs and more of them so this definitely scratched that itch. I don't think this is as good as Get Behind Me Satan but it's still quite good. 4 stars just for the one song.
I remember the first couple of white stripes albums being very exciting at the time. De Stijl probably edges this one out for me. Though the songwriting is top loaded, it still captures the excitement of just rocking on some power chords on a crunchy electric guitar.
Exactly what I needed
77/100. White Blood Cells is the album that pushed The White Stripes into wider attention, and it’s easy to see why. It’s lean, loud, and confidently rooted in garage rock and blues. While it might not reach the ambitious heights of later albums like Elephant, it's still a well-executed and consistent record.
We were blessed to have the White Stripes among us while we could.
Jack White strikes again.
This is the second White Stripes slbum in a fortnight and i much prefer this album to ‘Get behind me Satan’. The tracks feel far more varied on this and suit the limitations of Meg’s drumming far more (avoiding songs sounding identical). I enjoy the rawness of the sound and thr off kilter vocals. The first four tracks are definitely a strong introduction but generally this is just a really solid album
This is for the teenage me who used to dance to "Fell in Love with a Girl" in the lounge. . This album is alright, quite innovative at the time, but not the best of White Stripes. I can be too long and with random tracks just rocking out, and White's voice can be tiring...but it still rocks. 4/5
People seem to forget about this one when it comes to the most influential albums of the ‘00s and I get that far more popular Elephant was such a short distance away, but I will say this is still the more influential album.
This takes me back. I remember when Fell In Love With A Girl came out, and saw them play at a small gig in D.C. At the time they sounded retro, but on this listen it was almost post modern. Timeless appeal. Jack White us a musical genius!
I am not the biggest Jack White fan but I do like the sound of a lot of his records. This album sounds excellent. There is a lot of space in the mix, perhaps not surprising as we are essentially listening to guitar and drums and voices, with a little bit of organ thrown in in places. It is garage blues-rock and you can hear the garage... Both Jack's guitar and Meg's drums are simply played but the production on both is really clear and roomy. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Hotel Yorba" and "Fell in Love With a Girl" all stand up to repeated listening.
This is the third White Stripes album I've encountered on this list. I like the White Stripes quite a lot but you have to say that this is too much. Their albums are neither individually that influential nor that different from each other. The list really needs more breadth. Anyway, none of that is a review of this album, and in itself I enjoyed it. I would say that this particular album is worthy of its place. Fell In Love With A Girl I knew before, I liked it a lot. Little Room was not worth committing to vinyl. Union Forever is musically cool, dark psych-metal, and the repurposed lyrics from Citizen Kane are interesting until the wholesale theft of the birthday song. We're Going To Be Friends was a very nice, sweet, simple song. A cut above the albums I give three stars. This also sounds like an album which the creators enjoyed making, which is not always the case.
Love the guitar tone, great record. Maybe gets a bit samey.
4.5
There is an awful lot to love here. Pretty much across the board the songwriting is just excellent. Songs are catchy, and surprisingly varied given the duo's limited instrumental breadth. We've got a lot of love songs here, but also songs about childhood, Citizen Kane, breakups, and maybe Edgar Allen Poe? Fell in Love with a Girl is, for my money, one of the best songs ever written. Dead Leaves is a banger, Friends is an absolute classic, and the whole album flows really well from rock anthem to country bop and back again. Is it as good as Elephant? I don't think so, but I like it more!
Favorite tracks: Dirty Leaves and the Dirty Ground, We're Going to be Friends I'm always blown away that they're only two people, and how raw they sound (which feels fitting come out of the grunge era). I love the constant shift from soft vocals to a wall of sound. This album feels a little bit more experimental than their later albums that I'm more familiar with. Still a solid album and would gladly listen to most of these tracks again! Also love the Toledo shout-out in Expecting, and am choosing to believe it's in reference to Ohio and not Spain
Me and my friends used to make fun of them back in the day... But it's incredible how well it aged. What seemed to be annoying 20 years ago, doesn't sound bad at all. Still not a fan of more alternative moments, but there's more of classic rock in it that I remember. How could they be hated so much? A lot of innocent exciting loud fun there. Meg's drumming is cool
Very good, very classic rock, very alt
This is my favorite White Stripes album. I guess it's kind of the inflection point between their lofi garage sound and their more full and fleshed out sound when Elephant blew up. The chemistry between Jack and Meg is unbelievable. The songwriting is fantastic-- simple ideas over classic progressions that just work and feel timeless. It's essential listening.
Sometimes feels like a collection of songs rather than a true album but still, a great collection of songs.
Great album. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again for every White Stripes album they give me. Meg White is a criminally underrated drummer.
love the white stripes
These guys still rock. Glad it wasnt Seven Nation Army
Important garage rock, reshaped the early 2000s. Straight up, no messing, they definitely found their formula and stuck with it
That tone…. This was so good. I need to listen to White Stripes more than I do
A great garagerock record. The white stripes are killing with all around vibes and an surprisingly versatile tracklist. Definitely one to go back to.
White Stripes 4
Loved this album when it was released and still do. Great reminder of how long Jack White has been rocking
I never listened to White Stripes back in the day and my belated plays since Blunderbuss have left me underwhelmed. This was heading the same way but Union Forever won me over and after that I was into it Was good to hear them being both influence (Fell in Love with a Girl - Arctic Monkeys) and influenced (Aluminum - Sabbath).
Loved this. Strong throughout, and plenty of variety on there.
Very enjoyable, heard a few good ones I didn't already know
This is a very good album … but it somehow feels too long even though it’s quite short 🤔
Fresh take on a vintage sound. Incredible the amount of sound just two instruments can make.
Forgetting everything I thought I knew about rock duos and richness of sound. Also thought Jack and Meg were siblings, not wildly well-adjusted divorcés. (Did they inspire Lena Dunham to write Marnie and Desi—to their discredit?) I can totally get why they feature so prominently in Meet Me in The Bathroom: equal parts ‘what’ and ‘yes’. Here's to a dozen more listens.
They have 3 albums in the book. I think 3 White Stripes albums is too generous. They're not that different. I would only include Elephant, because it's their most popular album and it has their signature song. This is the oldest in the book and the 3rd one I got. I like this one best. It sounds the most sincere. It doesn't have any filler. Favorite song: fell in love with a girl.
Like the first half more than the second. Didn't listen to the whole live set. Will definitely go back to this.
Awesome
I like The White Stripes.
Great album some very catchy tunes and classics, a few songs let it down from becoming a five stars.
Älskar White Stripes! Men några småsega låtar drar ner betyget lite grann
Nosade på en femma faktiskt vilket jag inte väntade mig (THE sportlåt Seven Nation Army är ju inte ens med) men kändes som att albumet tappade lite mot slutet.
It's a classy album heading into the pop rock we know now.
The White Stripes are one of those bands where I could name loads of their songs but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an album of theirs in full. I really liked this one, there wasn’t a bad song on here. In saying that apart from Fell In Love With A Girl there wasn’t nothing I would say was that spectacular.
Another album by The White Stripes. Again kind of pleasantly surprised. Added one song to the playlist, one I even knew before.
Great album like most of the tunes
7/10
Spare and stripped down, but the essence of a good blues/rock
I remembered listening to this album a lot back when it was fresh. Yet it turns out I was mostly listening to side A. And it was on CD, so there was something about that first half that felt cohesive and brilliant. The whole album holds up, with Jack White getting right in there with streaming-era short short short songs. My favourites tracks are the Citizen Inspired "The Union Forever" and the pleasingly dramatic "This Protector"
I love The White Stripes. I only knew 4 songs on this album, but it had my favorite White Stripes song (We’re Going to be Friends). I liked all the songs on the album. This is my kind of music.
Great flow, great sound, at times it reminded me of a Robert Pollard album. I really enjoyed this one. Sounds like a bunch of friends cutting a record in their basement.
4.5 honestly
So close to a 5 star, there's just other White Stripes albums I like better.
3.5 The beat White Stripes album, probably. They went with the killer and ended with the filler though, so it very quickly ran out of steam. Could have been half that length, but then it would have been more of an EP. Not really fussed about these guys either way.
Tasty lo-fi goodness. Some pretty good songwriting, too. They've got a bit and they stick to it. Goes down easy.
For a 2 person band this is awesome, his voice has alot of bluesy punk and the guitar work is fantastic. Haven't heard much of White Stripes but will definitely check out their backlog now.
I think this holds up well. They sound both very identifiable as a turn of the century band and very much just themselves.
This and The Strokes gave us hope in the darkest days of Britney and N*Sync. Fell In Love With A Girl on MTVu in the college cafeteria brings back the memories.
That was better than I expected.
some good songs and the guitar sounds great. I don't love his singing. 3.5
White stripes will always be a good listen. Some of the songs are skippable and others like We're Going to be Friends are classics
It was classic white stripes - can't hate it
It’s crunchy and loose, like garage rock should be, but still tight enough to land its punches. It’s messy in a way that feels real. Pretty damn easy to enjoy. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground - Hotel Yorba - Fell In Love With a Girl - We're Going To Be Friends
Another album I had heard before- this is one that I've always enjoyed. The White Stripes have the ability to strip rock music down to its most basic elements, and then produce songs which are lyrically driven and captivating. Overall- really liked it with fresh ears.
A really enjoyable white stripes album, but didn't love every track, 4* Highlights: fell in love with a girl, we're gonna be friends, dead leaves on the dirty ground
Still as good today as it was in 2001.
It's probably about time for a White Stripes reconsideration. Fifteeen years or so since they came to a halt, the band still stacks up. The music is timeless, raw and sincere. But no reunion please. Keep the myth alive.
I dig the minimalism. 3.5 rounded up
Classic
Cover 7 Like the guitar. Funky.
Better than Coldplay
4.5
4.4 - I like Jack White, gets me going
We're Going To Be Friends is a song I've only become familiar with recently thanks to the Conan podcast and I bloody love it. It's such a jam. Fell In Love With A Girl is clearly the most popular of this album - it's also a great song, but weirdly, I didn't recognize it. How can this tune have evaded me all this time? A solid rock album. The White Stripes have provided pretty consistent happy moments along this project.
It’s like cilantro, you either love it or you’re an idiot.
Hadn't heard this whole album before, enjoyed it very much. Great riffage and playing, just as good if not better than "Elephant."
I still dig the raw, low-fi aesthetic and the expressiveness of Jack White's voice. Fun and fearless.
Jack White has his whole head up his ass but this is not a bad album
Jest to porządny rockowy ale kameralny album. Ma w sobie coś szczerego, jak pierwszy szkic, jak zespół z garażu. Nie porywa mojego serca, ale uważam że naprawdę jest konkretny i szczery. 7.5/10
⭐️ We’re Going To Be Friends
Catchy tunes. Folk inspired rock fusion.
So authentic and sounds like live music almost. Fun to walk through what seemed like a broken romance. Good off beat album.
Really enjoyed this. Stand out track for me was , We’re going to be friends. Lyrics absolutely sum up the experience of making friends at school , and here we all are !!
A good record with glimpses of really good songs though a couple of tracks where it didn’t quite keep hit the mark. Certainly a lot better than the previous WS offering we had and much more listenable. Probably about a 3.75 rating so will have to round up to a 4.
Boss level Jack White not quite yet unleashed. Given I haven’t listened to this in years it definitely feels a bit different from later affairs; understated, slower, less showy, more serious. Something like that. Either way it’s still a great listen, bit like the calm before the storm that was to come.
Very good. A funny thing is that several times I thought I heard "I recognize that"... but from completely different songs. I think many have stolen music from this album.
Only not a 5 because it isn't Jack White's best work.
This mostly feels like they were searching for the identity they eventually found in Elephant but weren't quite there yet. Not awful but idk if I'd probably cut it from the list personally.
On first track already appreciate this album more than Elephant. Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground has good riffs. More garage-y than Elephant. Also more variety, seems more memorable to me. Best track - Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground or We're Going to be Friends or I Think I Smell a Rat 4 stars
This was super. A bit heavier than their last album on the 1001, but a few stripped back songs slipped in too. I think more or less every song had me engaged and I always appreciate the clarity of the vocals, you never have to struggle to make out what Jack White is saying. Just good crisp rock music. Enjoyed some of the nirvana/soundgarden/audioslave vibes on parts of the album.
I just like ALL the songs. Rare on an album. They manage to smash 2 instruments and somehow take a band you imagine at the school rock show and make it polished. Critical listening I could hear great vocal range. From straining in the "union forever" to gibbering like possed in "Little room" to soft calm songs later scattered about. Mostly never straying far away from the core garage sound yet giving you pretty much everything. "Expecting" - The weakest song in the pack but the album is just so good to have such depth. Also reminds me of such a good time for more garage like music coming out in the 00's. Black keys, strokes, queens of the stone age, the hives and then any group Jack played in. I realise on reflection how much I enjoy that genre of music and probably played a significant part in my musical formation. I just forgot how much I loved the Vines too so off to listen to that now! Close to wanting to give a album a 5!
Love them but this is one of their weaker offerings. Good but not great and slightly annoying at times. 3.5 rounding up
The rawness of the sister and brother combo is outstanding. I think this is before they divorced!
Simple, effective, and catchy as hell. I think I might be a White Strips fan.
Highlight Song/s: Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Expecting, Aluminum and I Can't Wait This is some pretty nifty garage music, I was expecting this to be a bit bad; but no, definitely not bad. This album has some cool riffs and I like how they use the noise (like you'd hear on noise rock songs,) on some of the tracks. The drums always have this catchy rhythm going on. All in all, it's a good one.
"White Stripes", "Red Stripe", "Three Stripes" Stripes, what else!
Skemmtilegt og öðruvísi. Áður en þau fundu meistarastykkið sitt. Hrárra en það sem kom á eftir.
Frábær plata. Hrátt og skítugt. Dalar aðeins á köflum.
Classic garage rock. Great riffs, big fan of this. 8/10
vier (minus) Fell in love with a girl We're going to be friends
White Stripes somehow take Jack’s raw/garage (but excellent) guitar, kind of shouty sort of high pitch vocals and Meg’s lazy slightly off / behind beat percussion and marry it to make an oddly beautiful baby. I’d like to give it a 5 but it’s just shy of brilliant.
Dead Leaves and Fell in Love are both great songs. A good listen.
Det har en lo-fi lyd over sig og bragte det til mainstreamen. Det er lidt sådan noget garage revival rock. Det lyder sgu meget godt.
Honestly this is pretty on-par with Elephant for me. Both albums have their highlights and I don't really feel like one is much better than the other. If I had to pick I think I would go with Elephant but they are very close. Favorite track: Fell in Love with a Girl
This album gave me some nostalgia. I definitely listened to a lot of these some in high school.
Who knew they made a whole group out of the Weird Al song CNR? Good album
Buena vibra, influencia old school con sonido moderno
Great initial offering
Excellent. Strong song writing, direct tunes, great voice. Enjoyed immensely.
Sledgehammer-blunt yet mysterious, clearly classic yet sharply modern (at least by 2001's standards), the White Stripes are hard to pin down. This is probably their most quintessential recording, so as someone who loves the band, I love the album. Best song: Fell in Love with a Girl
If it didn’t know better, I’d have sworn this was British grunge/pop rock (complimentary).
Definitely a fan of this one. Has some noise music elements but overall a good listen.
I was listening to some White Stripes music the other day, and I came to the conclusion that they are a band from the 70s, who released their albums in the 2000s. It's hard to find something as raw and visceral as this in this decade in terms of production and sound (I'm not talking about Nu metal). It's nothing spectacular, compared to others from the same era, but this style of laid-back, carefree, naked and visceral blues rock is contagious! 4 stars is fair.
8.5 - I’ve heard this many times and really love this album, but the last few songs are the weakest. Really groundbreaking at the time and still holds up today.
Not at consistently good as elephant, but keeps the same wild and enjoyable energy
The White stripes have the uncanny ability to transition between soft, playful, school tunes like “We’re Going to Be Friends” and face-melting rock/punk/blues a-la “Fell In Love with a girl”. The a capella numbers like “little room” and the break down in “The Union Forever” are a very cool touch. This album would be a five if it stopped at “Aluminum”. The final four tracks struggled to keep my attention and sounded like more of the same.
Favorit The Union forever Were going to be friends I think I smell a Rat This protector Offend in every way
Consistently good melodies and arrangements.
4.4
This is the best White Stripes album, IMO. Fell In Love With a Girl, it's like the first post-punk rock song, a return to rock. I can tell that we are gonna be friends? Yes, yes I can tell. Because the world needed that song, and it's innocent and so relatable.
Solides Rock Album mit durchschnittlich bis ordentlichen Sounds, insbesondere der Song „ We‘re Goong To be Friends“. Gerne mal Wiederhören.
I’ve heard of the White Stripes, but never listened to them. Very good garage Rock. Meg is 🔥🔥🔥 I be will adding to my rotation for sure. Good shit.
bom sim!
21/05/2025 Happy for this album.
Good fun and eminently listenable. I think I prefer Elephant though. Sounds raw - like ‘proper’ music - I appreciate that. Not produced or tweaked to hell.
Classic album, my first introduction to The White Stripes. Always a fun listen.
Why use many drums when few do trick
good rock album. 4/5
I just love Jack's guitar playing, so raw and punchy. This is basic rock and roll at its best.
2000s US rock. Really good rock album with some lovely songs.
Overall: 8/10 The best thing about The White Stripes is their simplicity. Jack wrote these short, rocking songs that just kick ass and leave you wanting more. The drums are so basic that they're borderline laughable (sorry, Meg). It's just a really fun album and there's not much else to say about it. Fav Song: Fell in Love with a Girl Least Fav Song: I Think I Smell a Rat
Nice collection of songs, love the sort of raw garage rock sound
A great album that came out at the right time to prove to the world real rock wasn't dead. 4⭐️
Love this album. It has high highs and low lows, but overall its always a fun listen. Playlist Track: Fell in Love with a Girl
Love it. Punk energy with a nerdy blues obsession. Love the early WS, but this is a band (or really just Jack?) where they found out they could create other sounds. Plus it was sooooo much cooler than the other stuff coming out at the time. Not quite a 5-star classic because of a few clunkers like Expecting, I think I smell a rat, Aluminum. Not terrible songs, but certainly going just on attitude rather than quality writing. I didn’t see Citizen Kane until after I was obsessed with this record, some of the songs then made more sense…
Not my favorite White Stripes album, but a damn good one with great tracks.
Best described as rollicking. Very fun listen that packs a lot in 40 minutes. Fun to remember some of these videos from my MTV days. Also some great soundtrack cuts on here. Well worth a listen.
One of the better White Stripes albums. A lot of classics on here. Some weirdness too, but that’s them.
I don’t think this is as consistent as Elephant, but it is the album that got me into this band, and I love it.
Some of the finest garage rock revival you’ll get. Head banging rockery with tender moments, all to the beat of the unreservedly maligned Meg White. The singles still hold up, and there’s no shortage of great album cuts. A bit bloated at 16 songs, but I won’t complain.
Fun, catchy and to the point. Good stuff. Highlights: Hotel Yorba Fell In Love With a Girl We're Going to be Friends
Great early album. Raw, intense and short songs. Lacks mega hits, but feels genuine, not manufactured.
Mes amis, avant le tremblement de terre, il y a toujours des secousses, des signes avant-coureurs. Avant le coup de tonnerre qui a tout fait péter en 2003 avec "Elephant", il y a eu, en 2001, ce premier grand craquement dans le mur de la médiocrité musicale. Cet album-là, "White Blood Cells", c'est la première fissure, celle qui a laissé passer la lumière et qui a foutu une trouille bleue à tous les VRP du son formaté. En 2001, le paysage était toujours aussi désolant. La radio puait le désespoir et le manque d'inspiration. C'était l'âge d'or des casquettes à l'envers et des guitares à 7 cordes accordées si bas qu'elles sonnaient comme des câbles d'ascenseur en train de lâcher. Le rock était devenu une caricature, une posture sans le fond, un spectacle de gros bras sans le coeur. Et au milieu de ce marasme, The White Stripes, qui avait déjà sorti deux albums plus confidentiels, a décidé de foutre un grand coup de latte dans la porte. Avec "White Blood Cells", ils ne sont plus un secret de disquaire. Ils deviennent, comme le dit si bien le bouquin, les porte-étendards d'un renouveau, les mecs qui ont rallumé la lumière dans le garage pendant que les autres comptaient leurs millions dans des bureaux aseptisés. Cet album, c'est l'ADN des White Stripes à l'état pur. Le son brut, sans gras, sans fioritures, un mélange détonant de minimalisme et de puissance, la formule magique qu'ils perfectionneront plus tard. La guitare de Jack White est partout, une véritable furie, elle grince, elle sature, elle part dans des larsens jouissifs. Les riffs sont d'une efficacité redoutable, des crochets du droit qui vous mettent KO en moins de trois minutes. "Fell in Love with a Girl", avec son clip génial en Lego qui a tourné en boucle sur MTV, en est l'exemple parfait : 1 minute et 50 secondes d'urgence punk-blues. Et pour tenir la baraque, toujours Meg. C'est sur cet album que le monde entier a découvert son style, et que les débats stériles ont commencé. Son jeu, qualifié de "primitif" par les pisse-froid, est en réalité le secret de la puissance du duo. Loin d'être une faiblesse, son approche est un coup de génie. Elle ne cherche pas à remplir, elle crée de l'espace, un espace immense et vibrant que Jack peut ensuite dévaster avec sa guitare et sa voix. Sa frappe métronomique, centrée sur l'essentiel – grosse caisse, caisse claire, cymbale crash – est le battement de coeur viscéral qui ancre chaque morceau dans le sol. Sans elle, le groupe ne serait qu'un courant d'air. Avec elle, c'est une tornade. Et cette voix... Mon Dieu, cette voix, aiguë, nasillarde, toujours sur le point de se briser. La voix d'un gamin fiévreux qui aurait piqué le micro à un vieux bluesman du Delta. Certains y ont vu un jeune Robert Plant sous hélium, et l'idée n'est pas si conne. C'est une voix qui ne triche pas, qui porte en elle une tension dramatique incroyable, qu'elle hurle la rage sur "The Union Forever" ou qu'elle murmure une comptine douce-amère sur "We're Going to Be Friends". "White Blood Cells" est plus varié que son successeur et on sent que le groupe explore encore. Il y a du pur garage rock, bien sûr, mais aussi des touches de country folk déglinguée ("Hotel Yorba"), de l'indie rock qui fait taper du pied et des ballades d'une simplicité désarmante. C'est un disque plein de couleurs, d'idées qui fusent dans tous les sens. Alors, pourquoi un 4 sur 5 ? Pourquoi ce disque, si fondamental soit-il, n'atteint pas les sommets stratosphériques de son successeur, "Elephant", que j'ai noté 5 sur 5 sur cette même page ? Parce que "White Blood Cells" est un plan magnifique, alors qu'"Elephant" est un monument achevé. C'est un album encore un peu sauvage, un peu éparpillé dans sa brillante créativité. On sent une énergie folle, celle de la conquête, mais pas encore la maîtrise et la confiance absolues qui transformeront "Elephant" en un roc de granit. "White Blood Cells", c'est le disque qui a tout déclenché, la première charge héroïque. "Elephant", c'est celui qui a gagné la guerre. C'est la différence entre une étincelle géniale et un incendie parfaitement maîtrisé. Ne vous y trompez pas : ce 4/5 est un signe de profond respect. "White Blood Cells" est un classique moderne, un disque indélébile qui a changé la face du rock des années 2000. C'est la première baffe, celle qui vous réveille, avant le KO magistral qui allait suivre. Un disque fondamental, à écouter fort, et qui sonne comme la plus belle des promesses, la promesse que le meilleur était encore à venir.
Cool cool cool
Not my favorite white stripes but still great
I like the White Stripes and definitely enjoyed this album. Admittedly it tails off towards the end but the first few songs include some great tunes.
We’ve had quite a few The White Stripes records by now. You can tell this is the earliest of the ones we’ve had. If you listen to their first records, they are very blues inspired while here we still have some blues elements but they are more and more heading towards their own style. The main attraction as always is Jack White’s guitar playing, just the tone of the guitar makes you want to listen to it. If the tone isn’t enough there are plenty of good riff like in “Offend in Every way” There is surprising breadth of this album with good songs in all directions. From the folksy “Hotel Yorba” to the punk rock “Fell in love with a girl” to the children's song “We’re going to be friends”. All good songs in their own right and impressive they are on the same record. The 40 min runtime feels like a bit longer. It is however a good record, not as good as Elephant though. Weak 4.
Great stuff - as we should expect from Jack White. Even Meg's semi-shotty drumming give the White Stripes something special.
I probably wouldn't actively put on this album to listen to as a whole, but I wouldn't be bothered if I had to listen to it again. Some nice songs, 1 iconic one, some average ones. Overall a nice sound.
I don't really know The White Stripes well, outside of Seven Nation Army. Was surprised at how many tracks I knew on this album - Hotel Yorba, I'm Finding It Harder To Be a Gentleman, Little Room, We're Going To Be Friends. I really enjoyed how experimental a lot of the album felt - like they were releasing creativity and seeing what worked. Most of it does indeed work. Loads of peppy, short tracks. Not convinced by the drumming.
Guess this would've been my first exposure to the white stripes. Hotel yorba and fell in love with a girl were pretty big. This isn't anywhere near as good as elephant, but it's a very high bar. My favourites are fell in love with a girl and we're gonna be friends. 4
Twijfelde wel over 3, vind die stem gewoon een beetje meh, maar wel hard
The White Stripes just sound so fucking cool, and Jack White brings it with the rock star attitude, vocals and guitar. Just irresistible rock’n’roll. 4.5 bordering on 5
big album in a little room
apr14/25
Vannak hype számok, kicsit szar az énekes
The white stripes are back and I'm digging it! I enjoyed this album better than the last one.