This is what AllMusic wrote in their review: The reviews for Get Behind Me Satan are largely positive. I think Meg White’s percussion is as brilliant as ever, and it is a shame she did not get the same vocal opportunities she did on songs (from Elephant) like In the Cold, Cold Night, and Well It's True That We Love One Another – that would be rectified, slightly, by the time Icky Thump arrived. To go from Elephant and create what he did on Get Behind Me Satan is a brave move! Jack White could have repeated that genius album, but he was more curious and ambitious than that. I have always loved Jack White as a songwriter, but I think he hits new heights on Get Behind Me Satan. I think Get Behind Me Satan is one of the most nuanced and rewarding albums from the duo, and one that I keep returning to. It is sad that some people ignore it, and not that many people rank it alongside the White Stripes’ best. I love the fact that Get Behind Me Satan stands on its own and doesn’t really sound like any other White Stripes album. In some ways, the duo would return (to an extent) to Elephant and earlier albums on their final record, Icky Thump, though there are elements of Get Behind Me Satan on Icky Thump. Get Behind Me Satan is a wonderfully varied album with no weak spots and so many different ideas working alongside one another! There are some great riffs on Get Behind Me Satan, but they don’t always come from the guitar! Rather than trade on shorter songs that pack a punch, The White Stripes’ fifth studio album, I feel, is underrated. If that wasn’t enough, there is Jack White investigating a red-haired star (possibly Rita Hayworth) being hassled by an over-eager fan on Take Take Take White exasperated at a lover who is not being more ‘willing’ – unlike every animal out there – on Instinct Blues a rare Meg White vocal in the all-too-brief Passive Manipulation, and we get the beautiful ending of the funny-yet-touching I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet). From the Garage and Rock that dominated The White Stripes’ work pre-2003, here we get marimba on The Nurse, a jaunty piano on My Doorbell, and Country sounds on Little Ghost, and White Moon. I love Get Behind Me Satan as it is the band’s broadest album, and I love Elephant, but I think it was a bit too simple in terms of sounds and genres. It is a great introduction that leads into the strange The Nurse. The White Stripes always came in hard with album openers, and Blue Orchid is a mesh of ragged, tussling guitar strings and Jack White unleashing his brilliant falsetto. I think some fans wanted the directness and anthems of Elephant and, when people asses The White Stripes’ cannon today, they sort of see Get Behind Me Satan as great, but inferior to albums such as Elephant, De Stijl, and White Blood Cells – brilliant, but nothing as memorable as Fell in Love with a Girl, Seven Nation Army, or Hotel Yorba! There are numerous reasons why I think Get Behind Me Satan is as strong as Elephant. Songs such as My Doorbell, and The Denial Twist are stompers that are more Pop in tone compared with Elephant’s Rock and Blues. The biggest difference between Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan is that the crunch and dominance of guitar has been replaced, in some part, with piano and a lighter mood. Get Behind Me Satan retains a lot of the guitar leaning, but it sounds very different! One cannot compare a track like Ball and Biscuit, and Black Math with, say, Red Rain, or Instinct Blues. Recorded in England, the album is guitar-heavy and features some of The White Stripes’ best material. I did hear a few people grumble in 2005, as 2003’s Elephant is seen as the band’s crowning achievement. Although 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan gained some big reviews and was applauded, not many people speak about the album when they think of The White Stripes! The duo never released a bad album in their career, and Jack White’s songwriting was sharp and agile through Get Behind Me Satan. Normally in this feature, I will write about an album that was given short shrift by critics or did not get the respect it deserved when it was released. He is a genius and one of the hardest-working artists of this generation. It was The White Stripes’ Jack White’s forty-fifth birthday earlier this week, and I put together a playlist that brought in his solo work, stuff with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather. I am going to assess a truly underrated album: Nelly Furtado’s Whoa, Nelly! This week, I am looking at an album from a brilliant duo that did not get the same focus as albums like White Blood Cells, and Elephant.
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