ELEPHANT TALK

Detroit duo The White Stripes released their fourth album on the first of April 2003. There was, however, nothing even remotely April-foolish about the record: it was their most successful album to date and remains their biggest seller.

The reasons are not difficult to find.  While staying true to their striking punk-garage-indie-blues sound, Elephant adds new colours and richness to the musical canvas. Jack White uses guitar effects, adds some keyboard touches and really amps up the vocals. The result is an album that retains a rootsy urgency but also displays more sonic sophistication than earlier works. That added variety of sound serves the songs very well indeed.

Musical arrangements notwithstanding, the album kicks off with driving simplicity on "Seven Nation Army", encapsulating the Stripes ur-blues sound perfectly. Jack used an octave pedal on his guitar to achieve the insistent bass riff that kicks off the song. When it is joined by Meg White’s pounding bass drum you can believe an infernal deal was indeed made at a midnight crossroad. "Black Math" kicks up the pace with a classic slab of garage punk before the first real sonic surprise. An extraordinary vocal layering opens "There’s No Home For You Here". How the hell did we get from Howlin’ Wolf to Queen? Talking to MOJO magazine at the time of the album’s release, Jack described it as "twelve different voices of myself all up the scale, all done with splicing tapes. It’s anti-anything we’ve ever done." That adventurousness and willingness to take inspired risks is what raises Elephant to the next level.

A surprising inclusion is the Stripes agonised interpretation of the Bacharach-David classic "I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself", immortalised by Dusty Springfield in 1964. Knowing the story of the failing relationship between Jack and Meg adds power to this tortured performance. Following this lament with the brooding "In The Cold Cold Night"—written by Jack for Meg—provides a stark, hypnotising contrast. There is more than a touch of Moe Tucker (the Velvet Underground drummer) as Meg sings over a simple backing based around a sombre organ line. The introspective mood continues with "I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart" and "You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket", wistful whispers that nevertheless stay close to the album’s proclaimed dedication to "the death of the sweetheart".

All reticence is swept away on the opening track of the second disc of this sumptuous vinyl re-issue. "Ball and Biscuit" is a brooding, surging electric blues that leads into the neurotic Detroit voodoo of "The Hardest Button To Button". There’s plenty more; fourteen songs spread across four sides (A, B, 3, and D) and indeed that is a core strength of Elephant… the songs are very good.

Also impressive is the packaging of this twentieth anniversary re-issue. From the red-white splatter vinyl to the embossed text on the back cover, this is a visually satisfying record where the visual aesthetic aligns with the content. If the early recordings of The White Stripes didn’t quite convince you, take the opportunity to grab this re-issue.

And the title? "The main reason we named the album Elephant," said Jack to MOJO in 2003, "is the idea of one creature representing both Meg’s and my own personalities, whether on-stage or in real life: power, subtlety, anger, innocence, clumsiness, stability." Don’t you forget it.

© Bruce Jenkins—June 2023

SOURCES

Andrew Male "Leaving Trunk" [MOJO: The Music Magazine, March 2003]

Keith Cameron "Carpenter’s Gothic" [MOJO: The Music Magazine, April 2003]

Quotes from "Leaving Trunk" used for review purposes.