LP Record review:
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

Band: The White Stripes Title: White Blood Cells Rating: Release Date: 15 April, 2003 Media: LP Record Tracks: 1: Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground 2: Hotel Yorba 3: I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman 4: Fell in Love With a Girl 5: Expecting 6: Little Room 7: Union Forever 8: Same Boy You've Always Known 9: We're Going to Be Friends 10: Offend in Every Way 11: I Think I Smell a Rat 12: Aluminum 13: I Can't Wait 14: Now Mary 15: I Can Learn 16: This Protector

Editoral Review Big radio players layer thick slabs of studio shine on their albums, while back-to-the-basics rockers keep the sound so raw it rubs calluses on your ears. Rock & roll is constantly splintering into multiple personalities. The White Stripes fall in the latter category. The duo strips down to the fundamentals of Meg White's simple drumbeat and Jack White's garagy guitar and pleading vocals. While the elements are sparse, the Detroit act create a noisy, hip-grinding batch of punk R&B, displayed again on White Blood Cells, the Stripes' third full-length. While it's hard to pick favorites from such talent, this band only gets better with time. White's vocals were sounding like a young Robert Plant on De Stijl--definitely not a bad thing--but on Cells, he's developed his own persona. He throws musical fits on "Fell in Love with a Girl," gets almost loungy on the piano number "This Protector," and keeps the blues vibe running on "Now Mary. " The album is so rich with basic variations on a simple theme it's hard to believe such soulful energy comes from just two people. White Blood Cells is an amazing piece of work, a benchmark that ought to inspire new legions of garage rockers for years to come. --Jennifer Maerz .. You can see a complete list of all The White Stripes discography, or go back to the The White Stripes tabs