14) The White Stripes: 'Elephant'

Everything about The White Stripes is exciting; a band like this doesn’t come along too often. They have released six albums to date and each one of them could probably be in my top 20 albums of the decade. However, in an effort not to reduce this list to a celebration of the works of Radiohead and The White Stripes, I thought it fair I only include one of their albums on my list.

Consisting of multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jack White and backed up by Meg White, The White Stripes were formed in Michigan, Detroit in the mid 1990’s. They remained underground for a few years whilst homing their sound and blasted into prominence in 2002 almost single handedly paving the way for the garage rock revival. Their sound melds punk and blues into arrangements of stunning simplicity, but don’t be fooled, Jack White is probably one of the most talented musicians around right now.

Simplicity is seen not only in their music but also in their aesthetic image of red white and black. Curiosity and mystique constantly surrounded the duo. Were they married? Siblings? Who knew! This deliberate ploy was intended to keep the focus upon the music and not their relationship as a divorced couple.

Elephant was their first album with a proper record label yet thankfully the production remained low key and the end result was nothing short of spectacular.
‘Seven Nation Army’ is a flawless opener with its deep baseline providing a dance floor hit no matter where it’s played. The pace is furious for the next track ‘Black Math’ before we are allowed to catch our breath with the Queen inspired ‘There’s No Room for You Here’. There are not words to describe the cover of Dusty Springfield’s ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’. They managed to bring a possessed and desperate element to the song that was certainly not intended by Bacharach when writing it. ‘In The Cold, Cold Night’ see’s Meg take the microphone and although a good effort is not up to standard as the rest of the album. ‘The Boy To Win Your Mother’s Heart’ and ‘You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket’ are both nice blues numbers and allows the pace to decrease before we are treated to the magnificent ‘Ball and Biscuit’. ‘The Hardest Button to Press’ is as infectious as Seven Nation Army and really delivers. ‘Little Acorns’ is fairly forgettable but then we are treated again to an amazing frantic song, ‘Hypnotize’. The following two songs ‘You Have No Faith In Medicine’ and ‘The Air Near My Fingers’ are solid tunes before we are left with ‘It’s True We Love One Another’ with guest vocalist Holly Golightly, a great way to finish the album. Overall one of the best albums of any time! Here at number 14 is The White Stripes ‘Elephant’.