The seventh installment from Detroit rock duo, The White Stripes, comes to us in the form of a live album recorded on their 2009 Canadian tour. Entitled Under Great White Northern Lights, the album is everything you would expect from this well established band.
This album is ideal for a first time listener to the alternative rock sensation. If you haven't already heard of the band, you've obviously been hibernating under a rock since their 2003 breakthrough hit, Seven Nation Army.
This album is, for all intense purposes a greatest hits collection from The White Stripes. This is 17 tracks of everything a diehard fan of the band, or anybody looking for a taster of one of the most talented recording artists to date.
It's fronted by Jack White, who often carries "drummer" Meg White along like a hefty rucksack during this selection of songs. His guitar hero riffs and stylish distortion truly are the things rock and roll legends are made of.
The interchange between songs is seamless, making it hard to believe that the album was actually cut back in Tennessee, rather than just being a recording from one amazing night on a cold Canadian road.
Jack's powerful and emotional voice cuts through you with every verse. There are a few minor sound hiccups and playing about with his effects pedal, which can only be expected from any live gig.
This is by far one of the best albums the band has come out with in their 13 years together. The audience can be heard throughout the album, and in some cases this can ruin the feel of the music. This record is produced to perfection by Jack White himself, so although there is background noise present, you almost feel like part of the raging crowd.
There is a definite feel of being drawn into the venue, particularly when I'm slowly turning into you begins, it's hard to resist the urge to start clapping and singing with the gaggle of fans.
There's nothing particularly different about the music, but why should they change something that works so well? It is just what you would expect from The White Stripes, with massive amounts of feedback, distortion and overdrive that they have become renowned for. In any case you could (if you were being cynical) describe it as a rather mundane album from the multi-platinum selling artists. However, this is only because fans have come to expect so much from these two rock stars.
One thing that does stick out on the album is a cover of Dolly Parton's song Jolene. This is a classic song with a White Stripes sticker planted firmly on it. With Jack White's raw emotion and passion for the music that he's playing, and the lyrics that he's singing, it is easy to forget this song was written for a female vocalist.
I challenge even those who detest The White Stripes not to have spine tingling shivers when listening to this song.
Although it is slightly irritating, knowing that there is a distinct lack of new material from the band in recent years, there is a sense of fulfillment when you listen to the final song, the illustrious Seven Nation Army, and realise that this is a rare collection of truly great music by a truly great band.
Even with Meg White moronically beating on a drum kit in the background, like a child with a new toy, this is an album that can be played over and over again being enjoyed for exactly what it is... a brilliant piece of rock and roll.
