Get Behind Me Satan

I know that one song by The White Stripes. Now I know a lot more and they were mostly really good. This album is right up my alley. There was a solid variety of songs as well, whether it was loud and heavy or soft. I will definitely come back to this album after listening to their other albums whether they are featured on this list or not. The White Stripes could become one of my favorite bands.

Better than Coldplay

Enjoyed this one more than White Blood Cells, but I still find that their music just doesn't stay with me, apart from the singles I already know. My Doorbell, Blue Orchid, Denial Twist and Take Take Take are all great, but the rest of it I can take or leave. I think Meg White gets too much hate as a drummer, she's great and gives them a very recognizable sound.

good Album but not my favorite White Stripes album

The Good: We’re in front of satan…
The Bad: I’d rather be able to see what he’s doing…
The Ugly: …

What? Marimba?
There are those who view The White Stripes as godlike, which probably explains why the album is named as it is, and then there are those who don’t…

Not that the album is bad… it’s actually pretty good for the time frame.
However, if you compare this to rock albums by those who ruled rock when rock ruled… well, then this is just another rock album that somebody has plastered on a 1001 list…

3*

My high school kids’ band is better than this

I hate it when great musicians make music that sucks. Worse still is everything these two make sucks.

⭐⭐

Too many songs feel like pastiches of better artists' songs: I hear Paul McCartney, (lots of) Led Zeppelin, and even Tom Waits- lending the record an identity crisis. Just go full alt rock, or full blues, or full "marimba rock" or whatever those first few songs were. Blue Orchid makes for a great opener, though. This is ultimately Greta Van Fleet-core with better production.

White Stripes have always been one of those bands i like the singles of, but not them more generally. I really like Jack White’s solo stuff and his work with the Raconteurs, but just not the White Stripes.
I’ve suspected my issue is Meg’s drumming and this confirms that view. She makes the majority of the songs sound the same, which is why other than the singles ‘As Ugly As I Seem’ and to some extent ‘red rain’ (although the drumming nearly ruins the latter) due to her more limited contribution .

I never got into The White Stripes when they first came out (I generally liked my dose of Jack White in the form of The Raconteurs instead) so had only heard the singles from this.

Songs like The Nurse are a weird experience wearing earphones - Meg frequently sounds like she's in a different room off to the left, playing a completely different song. I don't like the production on a lot of this album - it sounds quite empty and the tone on the drums is very thin.

Highlight for me is My Doorbell, mostly due to the piano. I can't say I really love anything else on this album. And much has been said of Meg's drumming, but it pales in comparison to her singing (I hope she's happy somewhere well away from the spotlight living her best life).

Should be 2.5 but...

2/5

For as good as they were at it, the first 4 White Stripes albums had a pretty simple thing going on. Their powerful, scuzzy and loud interpretation of blues rock simply rocked *hard* (and their impeccable eye for aesthetic didn't hurt). As such, Get Behind Me Satan feels like a very intentional series of left turns and odd tangents. We kick off with Blue Orchid which very much feels like a normal White Stripes song, and a particularly good one too. It is catchy, groovy and heavier than you'd think, and starting here feels like a very intentional play to lull the listener into a sense of security. Immediately afterwards, we get The Nurse, which is *very* far removed from a normal White Stripes song, maybe more-so than anything else here. This song is built around a marimba part which is occasionally punctuated with a noise freak-out, and I think it's awesome. My Doorbell jerks us once more, into a piano and percussion led song with some incredibly catchy vocal melodies. With these songs, we experience most of the territory Get Behind Me Satan Takes us to. And this was probably a good idea, by defining a ball field to play in with these new textures, The White Stripes still give us a really cohesive sounding album. Not to say there aren't surprises from here on out. Little Ghost is pure, earnest Americana executed without an ounce of cheese and it's a highlight here. White Moon and I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet are pleasant, well written piano ballads. Also, there *are* some more conventional White Stripes songs here: Instinct Blues, along with Red Rain, and the aforementioned Blue Orchid are all highlights. The scarcity of this sort of song here makes me think they made sure that any they attempted hit. And these three songs *hit* especially surrounded by chiller sounding material. I think these songs along with a lot of material here honestly, are really held together by Meg. Her thundering stomp really gives this album some impact. I think every song here is pretty great, and aside from some minor nitpicks and maybe a song or two I could have done without, there really isn't much for me to complain about here, and I could see myself spinning this again. The White Stripes played around a little here, but I think they really stuck the landing.

4.5 stars.

I'm not sure why I was never more into the White Stripes when this album came out. I liked the singles, but the songs were 'just' good - they didn't have that extra special something to really draw me in. Revisiting this album in 2025, however, is different because I can really appreciate how good the White Stripes were, especially as compared to a lot of current popular rock bands, who don't much appeal to me.

These songs are relatively simple, with only a few parts at any given time, and many of them end abruptly - nothing here is unnecessary. The drums are crisp and clean, there's a great range of vocal styles from Jack White, and each song just comes together easily.

This is the kind of stuff that reminds me that music can be innovative and exciting without a million tracks building on each other or using overcomplicated song structures. It's the type of stuff that makes music feel open and accessible and makes me want to make it myself.

Yeah, I'm already a White Stripes fan. This five star rating is, naturally, biased as hell.

Never been a fan of this band. For me it's rock you hear in commercials. It's not bad but I just don't enjoy it.

Nice. Perhaps not the best album by them, but its good.
'As ugly as I seem' is fantastic.

Maybe the best White Stripes album I have listened to...I appreciate the weirdness. Never been a huge WS fan though...always felt they were really overrated. 3.5/5

the "less electric guitar" album. blood cells, elephant, and de stijl may be superior, but this was still realer, weirder, and better than most music coming out at that time, and frankly, most since. they still had the juice, baby.

plus, we know what not having the juice sounds like because we have jack’s solo work since, oh, let’s say, lazaretto. his most recent album got some plaudits, but it didn’t stand up to my bullshit detector.

the shambling piano, acoustic guitar, vibraphone, and mandolin of side one make the midpoint "instinct blues" hit harder. then these two sisterbrotherhusbandwives put all that innate satanic horniness behind them (“even the strawberries get it, so why don’t you?”) with a side two collection of mostly sweet and mostly acoustic songs, the relapse of "red rain" excepted.

i don’t care that this has been dropped from the list because this list is sometimes dog crap, and i don’t care that there are perhaps better white stripes albums on here. this wasn’t some death knell where they outpaced meg’s abilities. every song hits, and it’s nice to have a fully formed change of pace from one of the greatest bands in my lifetime.

A handful of hits are mixed in with what sounds like b-sides. It’s quite exciting if this is the worst The White Stripes record because it’s really not that bad. Makes me want to get more familiar with their discography. I especially like how skittish and ridiculous My Doorbell is.

Really did not care for the instrumentals on here.

The White Stripes have made some great albums … and some average ones.