195. The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan (2005)

Love or hate him, Jack White might be the preeminent rock musician of the 2000s. Over the course of the decade, the man pumped out four albums as one half of the White Stripes, two Raconteurs records, at least one Dead Weather record, a producer’s credit on a critically acclaimed Loretta Lynn album, and probably the high-pitched vocals on Electric Six’s “Danger! High Voltage”, although I think he’s still not owning up to that last one. His warped, skeletal guitar sensibility, those highly distinctive vocals, the weird anachronistic blues fetishism… Jack White isn’t only synonymous with the rock of his decade, he’s the decade’s earliest indie crossover star.

Often derided as the Stripes’ weakest record, Get Behind Me Satan was the victim (benefactor?) of a series of very unusual sonic choices on White’s part; after four records of the same formula (quick, bluesy, drums & guitar), Jack and Meg went sideways on Satan, stirring some new ingredients into the stew. The weird, eerie “The Nurse” is marimba-led, as is the strangely catchy, slow-burning “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)”; “My Doorbell” and “The Denial Twist” are identical soul-flecked piano stompers; White tries piano-led torch songs with “White Moon” and “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)” and even a hoedown with the addictive, silly “Little Ghost”. It’s easily the most varied, experimental record of the Stripes’ discography, and that’s precisely what makes it so compelling.

It’s not that it ever feels like Jack and Meg are betraying their core sensibility. Jack still writes so-simple-they’re-brilliant ditties based on classic American styles, rooted in an undeniably retro sensibility, led by Meg’s now-patented no-frills drum stomp. Even though they only sound like the White Stripes of, say, White Blood Cells once or twice here — particularly on the grinding, raw rawk of “Instinct Blues” and the apocalyptic Led Zep-worshipping “Red Rain” — Satan still thrives with the raw, spontaneous urgency of their best work. Much of it, in fact, numbers among their best work: there’s no way the propulsive, angular opener “Blue Orchid” isn’t the most thrilling two and a half minutes in their entire catalogue, and “My Doorbell” is easily their most perfect pop number.

It’s late in the game by the time White tips his hand; as White nimbly navigates a busy acoustic guitar line for “As Ugly As I Seem”, it becomes abundantly clear that he could have been an alt-folkie a la Sam Beam or a freak-folk maven like Devendra Banhart as easily as he became blues-rock’s professor emeritus. The message is simple: Get Behind Me Satan may deviate from the formula, but the formula becomes unnecessary when you’re as adept at simply writing good songs as White is. That’s why Get Behind Me Satan is ultimately a success — it takes a sharp left into uncharted territory and emerges unscathed.

Playlist Track: Let’s go with “My Doorbell”, a groovy, catchy enough track to score head-nods in most scenarios.
Next up: Barroom rock, dense mythology, and Catholic imagery: together at last!