breathtaking, 14 April 2003

Elephant IS quite simply one of the finest records you will hear this year. As if Jack's heart was actually plugged into the amp it will take on a roller coaster journey that will leave you exhausted at the end. We are taken back to the rawer guitar sound of De Stijl and with a number of tracks like Ball & Biscuit, Black Math and Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine rocking some amazing guitar work you can see that Jack is really having some fun on this record. The Stripes seem to be enjoying their new found fame rather than resenting it and with Elephant you can see how it's paid off. It is such an accomplished album that will be throttling your stereo all summer.

Elephant proves beyond any doubt that The White Stripes are in a league of their own. All the hype and all the praise wouldn't be enough to describe how important this band are to music. God bless the drums, god bless the guitar, god bless The White Stripes.

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One Of 2003's Top Albums, 31 Jul 2004

By	The Nocturnal Aerial™ (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews

The now anthemic "Seven Nation Army" starts off the album in grand style, and was one of 2003's best songs. It was the song that sparked major interest from myself in this 'cool' band, because the bass is not only so damn catchy, but it just wedges itself into your brain until you'll be humming it for weeks on end. Don't even get me started on the video - nothing short of a masterpiece. "Black Math" opens with a manic bass that completely assaults your ears. Screaming vocals and a catchy beat make this song superb, along with the kind of lyrics that look ridiculous written on paper but then sound as cool as hell when heard. "There's No Home For You Here" is a song that people seem to dislike quite a lot, but I'm quite fond of it. A clear homage to Queen paves the way with a blaringingly blinding chorus and contrasting, subdued verses with the cruel, albeit amusing, lyrics...How cool is that? I think very!

"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" was the second single from the album and had a hot video to counter it! Jack takes this Burt Bacharach composition and makes it completely retro. He means what he's singing, almost in a stalker-ish way. With "In The Cold, Cold Night," Meg responds to this - yeah, she's saying you're a complete nut job, but she's gonna love you anyway. "I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart" sees Jack madly in love and willing to do anything to capture her attention, while "You've Got Her In Your Pocket" sees him display a very cute and inexperienced vocal technique, which stutters at the very end. "Ball And Biscuit" is the album's masterpiece at over seven minutes long. He redefines sex and rock and roll with this brilliant piece as he slurs lasciviously, "Let's have a ball and a biscuit sugar."

"The Hardest Button To Button" starts off with a fantastic beat and some really brilliant lyrics. The beat continues all the way through and the chorus is just inspirational. And the video? You'll be seeing drum kits in your sleep! "Little Acorns" begins with a stereotypical American radio broadcaster (Mort Crim) talking about squirrels and a woman as a corny intro plays in the background. The song then starts with a brilliant beat and some great lyrics, "Take all your problems and rip 'em apart." Fantastic track. "Hypnotize" starts off very much like Black Math with a raging mass of sound and some screechy vocals. Jack wants to hypnotize us, baby, on the telephone. Sounds dumb. It isn't. He sings with confidence, yet with a sense of apprehension, "I want to hold your little hand, if I can be so bold."

It doesn't even last two minutes before the next track, "The Air Near My Fingers," comes blaring in. The lyrics are genius and I love his attitude on this track. The beat sways and his voice is particularly interesting...Up next is "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine" is one of my favourites on the album. The beat is storming and I love Jack's screechy vocals. The chorus is totally catchy in its glorious splendour. I love the verses, where the beat stops and he sings with such gusto...Love it man! The album closes with "Well It's True That We Love One Another," a fantastic and very funny vocal threesome between brother, sister and Miss Holly Golightly. The song has such a British 60's feel and is a perfect way to end the album.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

I don't want to sound like one of those cling-ons that goes along with whatever is going down a storm and considered cool at the time, but if something's causing the feathers to ruffle amongst music industry critics, why not investigate? This is what I did with the White Stripes, and there's no denying that Elephant is a masterpiece of gargantuan proportions. At first I wasn't so sure, but you have to take a deeper listen and put yourself back in time about forty years to experience this in its glory. The bold statement at the back on the inlay "No computers were used during the writing, recording, mixing or mastering of this record" is a testament to this. I look forward to see what the White Stripes have to offer in future. Give this a go, it's worth it in the end.