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| Icky Thump | 
 enlarge | Artist: The White Stripes
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $11.99 (63%)
New (56) Used (26) from $4.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  182 reviews
Sales Rank: 678
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 162940
UPC: 093624996712
EAN: 0093624996712
ASIN: B000OYC3J8
Release Date: June 19, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Another solid album from TWS June 20, 2007
12 out of 18 found this review helpful
Jack White has a lot to live up to. When your band is hyped as the best group of the decade and you are declared your generations' greatest guitar player, you better have the music to back it up. Fortunately for the White Stripes (Jack and drummer Meg White) their new album is mostly great.
While "Icky Thump" has a loose 70s rock feel in places, TWS branch out a bit, throwing a bit of blues, rock-a-billy and folk into the mix.
The album opens with the politically charged "Icky Thump," tacking immigration. The title track sounds a tad reminiscent of "Seven Nation Army" from the band's "Elephant" (2003) album. A great opening, this mid-tempo rocker is filled with great off-beat solos that sound a bit Tom Morello-esque. The infectious, groove-laden "You don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as you're Told)" wouldn't have sounded out-of-place on the Raconteurs album. The subdued "300 M.P.H Torrential Blues" is laid-back but intensifies when the solos kick in. The Spanish-flavored "Conquest" with its horns and off-beat harmonies may not be a contender to use as a single, but sounds great none-the-less. The hard-rocking "Bone Broke" is effective, but not really anything that special. The listener is thrown another curve-ball with the excellent Celtic "Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn," complete with bagpipes. "St Andrew (This Battle is in the Air)" continues the use of bagpipes in an off-beat instrumental which is basically like this album's own "Revolution #9." Another rocker, "Ice Cream Soda" has some impressive solos but sort of plods along and rather aimless. "Rag and Bones" is more by-the-numbers WS but is effective enough. The kitschy dialogue between Jack and Meg White is kind of lame, but not without charm. The slow-rocking "I'm Slowly Turning into you" is good, if not great. The melancholy "A Martyr for my Love for You" is really cool, but doesn't really grab hold-of you with just one listen. The bluesy, almost rock-a-billy "Catch Hell Blues" is pretty out-there, but interesting. The low-key, stripped-down "Effect and Cause" is a good way to round-out the album.
While "Icky Thump" doesn't see The White Stripes reinvent themselves, they still manage to make another fine album. They are doing what they have been doing for nearly ten years and are still doing it well. Fortunately, while using the same tried-and-true formula, they still manage to mix things up a bit and throw some new ideas into the mix, and everything works, pretty much, in the end.
 Just Go Ahead and Vote "No" June 25, 2007
12 out of 23 found this review helpful
Back in the early 2000s, garage rock was going to be the "next big thing" after the forthcoming decline of pop-punk and Britney Spears. You had The Hives, The Vines, and perhaps most importantly, The White Stripes. Perhaps it was their mystique (Are the brother and sister? Husband and wife?), or maybe it was Jack White's amazing ability to take a single guitar and make it sound like anything he wanted it to, but The White Stripes have hung around long after all those other bands faded into "Oh, who sang that one song?" territory. For better or for worse, The Stripes have stuck to their guns, staying true to the music that got them rich and famous. But should we still care?
If the title track is any indication of what's coming on the rest of the album, the answer is a resounding "yes." Unfortunately, it isn't. "Icky Thump" is a raw channeling of classic rock 'n' roll with some added Stripes flair. Jack White is at his absolute best here, utilizing his singing, half talking method of delivery that has helped in their rise to fame. At the same time, some of his lyrics are just absurd. Take, for example, "White Americans want nothing better to do. Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too!" Umm, sorry Jacky boy. That's not exactly how it works. Stick to the guitar and save yourself the embarrassment that is sure to accompany your haphazard political statements.
"You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)" has a more traditional southern rock sound to it. In my initial listen to the song, I wasn't too impressed. However, I was surprised to find its melody stuck in my head later in the day. Still, we've heard this all before from the band, so it is more of a guilty pleasure than anything else. "300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues" is a really great song, despite the fact that it's one of the calmest songs on the album. The guitar riff that runs throughout the song is absolutely infectious, and the screechy, chaotic solos are just as impressive. When Jack sings, "One thing's for sure; in that graveyard I'm gonna have the shiniest pair of shoes" I chuckled a little bit and though that it could very well be the coolest ending to a song that I've heard in a while.
Perhaps the most impressive song on the album is "Conquest," a cover of Patti Page's 1950's battle of the sexes classic. The song has a very south of the border feel to it, complete with mariachi trumpets and Jack White's belting of "Coooooonqueeest!" It is a very stylish, and cool song. "Bone Broke" has classic White Stripes written all over it. Jack's vocals are completely thrashed with distortion, and there are hints of "Fell In Love With a Girl" all over it, despite it's toned-down nature.
There are very few notable tracks throughout the album's second half, which is perhaps the biggest flaw of "Icky Thump." Most of the songs end up bleeding into one another, sounding unbearably similar. In fact, the only thing really worth listening to are the things Jack does with the guitar. "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" and "A Martyr for My Love for You" both feature impressive guitar parts, the latter of which is actually a fairly decent song. "Effect and Cause" closes the album out nicely. A simple acoustic guitar song, Jack's vocals are impressive, and it's nice to hear the band trade layers of distortion for a relatively calm feel.
"Icky Thump" is truly hit and miss. While there are some impressive tracks on the album, the band really brings nothing new to the table. Of course, when you're a two-person band and one of your members really can't play their instrument, it's tough to evolve. The White Stripes may have stuck around long after all those other "The-bands" fell off the face of the planet, but their music is just as stale. That may be a harsh assessment, but six albums into their career, The White Stripes have not progressed at all. Though it's nice to hear a little rock 'n' roll every now and then, these guys aren't saving the genre. They're choking it to death.
Recommended for long-time fans of The White Stripes, and to anyone who likes classic rock but find themselves asking "Who are the White Stripes?" You'll find them refreshing.
Key Tracks:
1. "Icky Thump"
2. "300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues"
3. "Conquest"
4. "A Martyr for My Love For You"
5. "Effect and Cause"
5 out of 10 Stars
 Great Album, really bad quality June 29, 2007
12 out of 27 found this review helpful
I'm at work so I can't get into much detail how I feel about this album. I would just like to say that its honestly one of their best to date. I would give it 5 stars but the quality of the sound, the drums in particular is TERRIBLE. You guys should have stayed with your roots and kept using that vintage recording equip. instead of the "new-fangled" garbage utilized on this one. PLEASE JACK WHITE IF YOU'RE READING THIS ISSUE A RECALL OR AT LEAST GIVE THE FANS AN OPTION OF SENDING IN THEIR CRAPPY COPY FOR A WELL MASTERED ONE. You honestly can't turn this album up without the distortion and crackling of meg's bass drum killing the whole song. This garbage completely ruined the album for me, and I consider myself a very big and dedicated fan. The White Stripes are ment to be listened to LOUD, this is simply not possible with Icky Thump and I hope fans all over the world once they finish reading this will NOT purchase this album and wait for a re-release once the duo actually listen to their own monstrosity. VERY disappointing guys VERY
PS. this is not a CD by CD occurance, they are ALL like this. :(
are you serious? December 8, 2007
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
$100 for a cd that costs 10 bucks on this same site. And the flash drives have hardly any space on them. Why bother?
Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one? December 9, 2007
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
Offering the album on a USB drive is a neat gimmick, but for a hundred bucks this is just ridiculous. You can buy the album for 10 bucks, a 1 gig USB drive for under 10 bucks... so we're supposed to pay $80 for stickers?
Give me a break!
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