The White Stripes is the debut studio album by American rock duo the White Stripes, released in June 1999 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. It was produced by lead vocalist and guitarist Jack White and Jim Diamond. Musically, The White Stripes features elements of blues, punk, country and arena rock. It includes three cover songs and is dedicated to blues musician Son House.
Distribution of The White Stripes was limited as Sympathy was an independent label, and it failed to chart in the United States. "The Big Three Killed My Baby" was released as the only single and promotional effort. The album was rereleased in the UK and the US by XL and V2 respectively, and in 2013 was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Of the album, Jack said in 2003, "I still feel we've never topped our first album. It's the most raw, the most powerful, and the most Detroit-sounding record we've made."
Background and recording
The White Stripes formed in 1997, and began performing as part of the underground Michigan rock scene, releasing two singles over the next year. In 1999, they signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry and recorded The White Stripes over a week with Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders and Third Man Studios in Detroit, Michigan. Additional overdubs and mixing were done in February 1999. The album was recorded in approximately 6 days.
Because Jack and Meg had separated by the time the album was recorded, Jack's wedding ring was edited out of the album artwork.
Music
Johnny Walker of the Soledad Brothers played slide guitar on two songs: "Suzy Lee" and "I Fought Piranhas". Walker is credited with having taught Jack how to play slide, a technique featured heavily on the White Stripes' first two albums. Walker explains, "[Jack] had a four track in his living room and invited me to come by and do some recording. In return, I showed him how to play slide."
The White Stripes is a blues rock, punk rock, country rock, and arena rock album. It is dedicated to the blues musician Son House, who is an inspiration to Jack.
Songs
Tracks 1–9
"Jimmy the Exploder", one of the few White Stripes songs that begin with Meg's drums, was the first original song the White Stripes ever performed, on July 14, 1997, at the Gold Dollar venue in Detroit, Michigan. As Meg had only started learning how to play the drums two months earlier, and was prone to struggling with the tempo on the song in its early live performances, Jack would often coach her during shows by using counts.
"Stop Breaking Down" is a cover of blues musician Robert Johnson's 1938 single.
"The Big Three Killed My Baby" is about the Big Three auto manufacturers (namely Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler Corporation) who have headquarters in or near Detroit, Michigan. The song is perceived to be a protest song against the auto industry. The song is also a play on the number three, Jack's favorite number. Jack wrote the song for Andre Williams, but he declined it and thought Jack should do it instead. Jack also considered it for his former band Two-Star Tabernacle, although it didn't fit the country genre that the band peformed.
"Suzy Lee" is one of two songs on the album to feature Johnny Walker as the additional guitarist. Her character would later appear in "We're Going to Be Friends" and the band's fifth album, Get Behind Me Satan, was dedicated to her in the liner notes. She also appears in the children's book version of "We're Going to Be Friends". In the studio version, Meg did not perform a full drum beat and the knocking sound comes from Jack's guitar (although in live performances of the song she played the drums and the knocking sound effect was taken out).
"Wasting My Time" is said to have been inspired by Bob Dylan, due to its similarities to "One More Cup of Coffee", a Dylan cover which is the 13th track on the album. It was also compared to the work of Van Morrison.
"Cannon" interpolates "John the Revelator", a blues and gospel song performed by Son House. Sometimes "John the Revelator" was performed on its own, such as in an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2003 and sometimes, Jack would add "Electric Funeral" by Black Sabbath to the song, as the riffs are similar.
"Astro", inspired by Jack's pet Jasper, is a generic reference to "anything you do that no one knows about". It mentions inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.
"Broken Bricks" was co-written by one of Jack's older brothers, Stephen. The song is possibly in reference to the abandoned buildings of Detroit, Michigan.
Tracks 10–17
"When I Hear My Name" is one of the top 10 most-performed songs the White Stripes ever did and its riff was likely inspired by blues musician John Lee Hooker.
"Do" was written about a year before the album was released, having first been performed at a local fair in July 1998. The lyrics depict an extreme case of social anxiety and alienation.
"Screwdriver" was written spontaneously about a random screwdriver that happened to be sitting in the attic of the Whites' home during a rehearsal. The band performed it during their first nationally televised appearance (The Late Late Show in 2001).
"One More Cup of Coffee" is a cover of the fourth song on Bob Dylan's album Desire. Critics consider it one of the best Dylan covers.
"Little People", the first in the "little" series of songs by the White Stripes, had an alternate title of "Big Girl". "Slicker Drips" was rarely performed live and never performed after the year 2000, though it was the first song they ever used as an encore.
"I Fought Piranhas", which features Johnny Walker on guitar, was likely written before Meg started playing the drums and was recorded in the Whites' living room. The song's original refrain was "I Fought the Boar".
Bonus tracks
"Let's Shake Hands" is the band's debut single, recorded at their home; its B-side is "Look Me Over Closely", a cover of a Marlene Dietrich song written by Terry Gilkyson. It was often used as their first song during concerts. Some editions of their third album, White Blood Cells, featured "Lafayette Blues" on a bonus DVD.
Outtakes
Outtakes for the album include "Red Bowling Ball Ruth", "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?", "Let's Build a Home", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", and a cover of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book". "Red Bowling Ball Ruth" would be released as the b-side for the album's single, "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?" and "Let's Build a Home" would be included on De Stijl (2000), and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" would be included on White Blood Cells (2001).
Critical reception
The White Stripes received generally positive reviews but only gained local attention on release. Norene Cashen of The Metro Times said the LP "serves better to remind us that [Detroit's] local identity has more options than a membership card to the latest cliché...or a one-way ticket to the coast." Much of the media feedback came two or three years after its initial release, following the duo's fame spreading beyond Detroit. It has sold 300,000 copies in the United States.
BBC DJ John Peel first spotted the album in a record shop and said, "I just liked the look of it and I looked at the titles – you develop an instinct, d'you know what I mean? And it looked like the sort of record I would like, so I took it out and I did like it, and started playing it." His endorsement was key in heightening the band's popularity in the UK.
- "Cannon" contains an interpolation of Son House's "John the Revelator".
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
The White Stripes
- Jack White – vocals, guitar, piano, production
- Meg White – drums
Additional personnel
- Johnny Walker – second slide guitar <small>(tracks 4 and 17)</small>
- Jim Diamond – co-production, engineering
- Ballistic – cover
- Ko Melina Zydeko – photography
- Heather White – photography
Charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2004)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (Official Charts Company)
| 142
|}
Certifications
Release history
{|class="wikitable"
!Region
!Date
!Label
!Format
!Catalog
|-
|rowspan="2"|United States
|rowspan="2"|June 15, 1999
|rowspan="2"|Sympathy for the Record Industry
|LP album
|SFTRI 577
|-
|Compact Disc
|SFTRI 577
|-
|rowspan="2"|United Kingdom
|rowspan="2"|November 26, 2001
|rowspan="2"|XL Recordings
|Compact Disc
|XLCD 149
|-
|LP album
|XLLP 149
|-
|United States
|June 11, 2002
|V2 Records
|Compact Disc
|63881-27131-2
|-
|Japan
|March 19, 2003
|V2 Records Japan
|Compact Disc
|V2CP 148
|-
|United States
|November 30, 2010
|Third Man Records
|LP album
|TMR-042
|}
References
Bibliography
External links
- Official album page