#174
The White Stripes - De Stjil (2000, Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Even though a vast majority of White Stripes fans, myself very much included, didn't get around to hearing this album until after they officially blew up a few years later with "Fell In Love With a Girl", this album was nonetheless the band's first big statement. Even though I think they've made better albums (well, only one was better actually) and this doesn't contain many of their very best songs, there is something about De Stjil that makes it the ultimate White Stripes statement. Of course you have the obvious blues influence, including their absolutely stunning take on Son House's classic "Death Letter" (a performance so fantastic that it alone backs up any and all of Jack White's claims to blues legitimacy), but you also get detours into everything else that makes the band so interesting. You've got the songs built entirely around killer guitar riffs ("Why Can't You Be Nicer To Me", "Little Bird"), the surprisingly touching nostalgia trips ("Sister, Do You Know My Name?"), the lo-fi garage fuzz ("Let's Build A Home"), and even the simple throwaways that become essential and endearing over successive listens ("Jumble, Jumble"). But what really makes this album complete are the detours that don't slot nicely into one of the Stripes' trademark genres. The melodic acoustic guitar line that leads off "I'm Bound to Pack It Up" puts me in the mind Led Zeppelin III, while the steady back porch cadence of "A Boy's Best Friend" reveals just how well this band can arrange a tune. Meg and Jack would reach higher peaks later in their career, but I think this will always stand as the most concise record of the band's aesthetic.
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