De Stijl

**Intro**The White Stripes are disbanded now, but they produced seven albums through their career, and this was their second one. They weren't as famous back when they produced this album, but I would say that that wasn't because their music hadn't fully developed yet, it was more like their fans hadn't found them yet or gotten used to their unique style. While I do like some of their later albums a little bit better, this one is certainly worth getting.**The music**You will find catchy rhythms, electric guitar solos and accompaniment, and Jack White's characteristic raspy, bright tenor is right there in your face throughout the album. Meg's drums have this interesting characteristic in that her rhythm isn't really all that good, but that kind of contributes to the "casual jam in a garage" sound that makes The White Stripes good, and gives them a classic rock, non-intimidating, and slightly goofy feel.Jack White's lyrics tend to suggest the topics of love and relationships, nostalgic thoughts for a simple childhood, being troubadour, and losing friends to death. As one of my friend's once said, his rough textured voice makes you believe that the hardships and adventures that he's singing about are real whether they are or aren't, in a similar way to how Bob Dylan's voice also does this.Finally, don't forget that Jack White is a really, really good guitar player. The tone effects on his guitar seem perfectly selected for the personality of the music. Sometimes it is super nasal, some times twangy, other times more acoustic, and yet other times operating in a more percussive role and teamed up with the drums. The shapes of every guitar chord and note are always artfully done. There just seems to be a lot of emotion in his guitar, and this was already accomplished in this fairly early album.**Conclusion**I'm not sure if this is **the best** White Stripes Album, but it's certainly respectable. Buy it if you want to collect all 7 albums, or if you are looking to explore how they developed over their career. If you are into buying separate M3P files instead, you should definitely preview the album and pick out the ones you like. Enjoy!

"De Stijl" is a stunning album that yanks the listener back to the roots of rock and a simpler era when guitar gods walked the Earth. It is to the genre what a backyard barbeque is to cuisine: a back-to-basics affair whose simplicity in no way diminishes its exquisiteness.Throughout the album, Jack White dishes up drippy slide guitar like stacks of smoked ribs, while drummer Meg White hammers out beats like bite-sized sides of coleslaw or potato salad.The album pays direct homage to a couple of blues greats - Blind Willie McTell and Son House, whose Delta classic "Death Letter" is reworked here in one of the best blues covers by a rock band since Led Zeppelin.Zep's influence can also be detected when Jack breaks out his ferocious slide on tracks like "Hello Operator" and "Little Bird", where the string-bending hits a level of intensity rarely seen since Jimmy Page tore it up on 1975's "In My Time of Dying".The influence of stripped-down classic rock permeates other songs as well. "Apple Blossom" recalls The Beatles. "Sister Do You Know My Name" and "A Boy's Best Friend" evokes The Rolling Stones circa the "Beggar's Banquet" era. "Let's Build a Home" and "Jumble Jumble" remind me of The Kinks. Other listeners will doubtless pick up many more references. The album's closing tune, "Your Southern Can Is Mine" pays homage to the bluegrass and roots elements of blues-driven rock.Of course, saying that "De Stijl" simply borrows from the past diminishes the album's significance and the talent of its creators. The genius of The White Stripes has been to dismantle rock down to its fundamental constituents and then bolt together something completely fresh and timeless.

I don't even know where to start with this album. Is it blues-punk-garage-retro rock? There are lots of diverse elements here, but suffice to say that it somehow manages to take completely anachronistic sounds and make them sound fresh. Those oddly rustic guitars, the boyish vocals, the simple drumming, it all sounds out of place in this era, as if Jack and Meg White stayed under a rock for a quarter century and then came out and started making music. And then on track four, "Apple Blossom," they throw in a piano? What's going on here? Somehow, though, the album's stripped-down sound and lo-fi production just work. Jack White combines his acoustic guitar strumming with lots of bluesy licks and riffs, and Meg's insistent drumming propels the songs forward effectively. The vocals are another high point, as Jack comes out sounding like Mick Jagger on "You're Pretty Good Looking," and at other times sounds boyishly innocent. The album does start to slow down a little during the middle, but just then it comes back to life with hard-rocking numbers like "Let's Build a Home" and "Jumble, Jumble." Music made by two people, sounding like it was recorded in a garage, has no right to pack this much of a punch. But it does. The conviction the White Stripes bring to their music alone would be enough to give them a listen.

This vinyl edition is nicely packaged and seems to be heavy weight (180g). The vinyl is dead quiet and songs played with no skipping. However, I felt like I was listening through an AM radio. I can only describe the sound as compressed - definitely lacking low end bass. Not even sure my two subwoofers turned on. So I streamed the album to the same stereo through iTunes and there was definitely more range. This leads me to believe this just master from a CD which will never sound as good as vinyl can sound. Unless you need this on vinyl or don't care about sound, I'd find another medium. I only bought it for the album cover.

Loved this album, didn’t realize how great they were. Happily surprised.

I only really got into the white stripes over this last year, and gradually bought everything Jack white has ever done for a good reason, I think all his stuff is strange, unique, and beautiful in it's own way.

not reviewing the music although it's quite good and well produced.the vinyl is quiet and well pressed. very good dynamics. they obvioulsy took pride in the recording.

Raw, good stuff as I expected

Very Good !!

Pour moi grand adorateur de ce méga. par le succés mais mini Groupe de par leur composante de 2 ou le talent de Jack n’a d’égal que la candeur extraordinaire de son ex. femme Meg .Ce rock dynamique épuré et basique qui ressurgit de Detroit à l’aube des années 2000 avait de quoi surprendre mais c’est encore et tjs. diablement efficace .Ce deuxième essai expédié dans le salon du couple (ex.) en quelques jours seulement , expéditif et efficient (un peu comme les californiens des Pixies sans le côté hurleur de Franck Black et sans la basse naïve de Kim bien sûr …).De Stijl fais partie du top 3 de leurs meilleurs disques est pour moi indispensable.A noter que le pressage third man records appartient à Jack white et presse des galettes de trés bonne qualité en 180 gr. ce qui ne gâche rien.Offrez vous ce shoot de rock , il mérite une place de choix dans votre discothèque.

La semplicità della musica dei White Stripes fa la differenza, poi ascoltandolo più volte capisci la genialità di 3-4 accordi che all’inizio possono sembrare scontati ma che poi non ti mollano più...