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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Elephant
EMAILPRINTby The White Stripes
Universal acclaim
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 229 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: V2
Release Date: 01 April 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
For their major label debut (and fourth LP overall), the Detroit-based duo of Jack and Meg White offer up 14 new tracks, all recorded in London and (fortunately) showing absolutely no trace of major label production values. Meg White takes a rare turn behind the microphone on a couple of tracks, as does guest Holly Golightly on the closing "It's True That We Love One Another."
Also By This Artist: Get Behind Me Satan Icky Thump White Blood Cells
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers
Also On The Web: Fan Site Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Rolling Stone
It is a glorious thing to hear. It will be one of the best things you hear all year.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
All the elements of previous White Stripes records surface again, but in weirder, more intense strains that don't break with Jack and Meg White's past, yet don't slavishly adhere to it, either.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Each album, from the White Stripes to De Stijl to White Blood Cells, has shown their evolution from Blind Willie McTell cover band with a pop sensibility to full-fledged, honest-to-goodness rock 'n' roll gods, a status finally reached on their latest disc.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Laced with enough blue-eyed longing to make the most diehard Gram Parsons fan weep with wonder and the sort of verbal acuity that would give even Dylanologists pause for thought, Elephant is where the tabloid phenomenon of summer 2001 prove they are no flash in the pan by making a truly phenomenal record. [May 2003, p.94]
Spin
This is not garage rock; this is art rock. And that's a compliment. [May 2003, p.107]
Magnet
It's what the British Invasion might've sounded like had it come after punk rock. [#58, p.109]
Mojo
Where Elephant does differ from what has gone before is in terms of quality. It's just better all round. [Apr 2003, p.88]
New York Magazine
It is stranger, thornier, and meaner than anything in the band’s past.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
A follow-up album that not only meets expectations, it blows them away.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A record sufficiently impressive to suggest that White Blood Cells caught Jack and Meg using only a fraction of their talents. [Apr 2003, p.98]
Billboard
Never has the pair sounded more fresh and self-assured; nor has it delivered such a fully realized work before.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
The eloquence, barbarism, tenderness and sweat-drenched vitality of 'Elephant' make it the most fully-realised White Stripes album yet.
Read Full Review >Drawer B
Elephant is a startlingly dark and consistent record, incorporating frequencies never before heard on a White Stripes album.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Elephant overflows with quality -- it's full of tight songwriting, sharp, witty lyrics, and judiciously used basses and tumbling keyboard melodies that enhance the band's powerful simplicity.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Elephant isn't one of those albums that'll change your life, or your tastes, or even the face of your music collection -- it's just a strong and consistent collection of powerful rock songs.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
So the news is good. They didn't sell out, they didn't run out of ideas, and they were able to find still more places to yell "Whooo!" Go buy this now.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
The duo have refined their sound until it is shatteringly effective. Nevertheless, Elephant sounds suspiciously like the White Stripes' apotheosis.
Read Full Review >Blender
They break their own rules, even adding expansive guitar solos, to keep themselves interested and fans off-balance. [May 2003, p.123]
Playlouder
'De Stijl' is just about better song for song, but the sheer vitality and energy of this one alone makes 'Elephant' their most accomplished record to date.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
A baby elephant still, bigger, brighter than its two siblings, but it's in your kitchen, and it ain't leaving anytime soon.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Not that there aren't hints of greatness on Elephant.... That said, ''Elephant'' also flaunts everything that's contrived about the band -- the gimmicks for which they've become better known than their actual music.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
The second side is the dullest sequence they've put together since tracks five through 11 on their debut.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Therein lies the contradiction of The White Stripes. How do you combine the shit-hot with the "twee?" Elephant's shortcomings suggests the enterprise is futile.
Read Full Review >Stylus Magazine
From its opening bars of stop/start low end, to the motivational tape samples, to the aforementioned multi-tracking, Elephant just screams and begs to be viewed as a departure from the Stripes’ well-known approach. The problem is that in between all this commotion lie the same vintage jams that the group has trafficked in for years.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
In the end, it just feels like Elephant is the culmination of the group trying to please absolutely everyone and it instead feels like sort of a mess.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 229 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Patrik D. gave it a0:
Sucks, three chords worn out so called rock N roll !
Will S gave it a10:
Very good album, but did anyone notice that "There's No Home For You Here" sounds almost exactly like "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"?
Emuke gave it a10:
This album wasn't a change for a broader fanbase-it was a change for self-discovery and experimentation. The mellow and cold vibes from Elephant hit all the right notes-- and Meg's vocal escapades are captivating and give promise for more trial and error from the duo. Songs like I Want to be the Boy, You've got Her in Your Pocket, In the Cold Cold Night, and I Just Don't Know What to do With Myself are preformed ingeniously; the vocal drive audible give energy and soul to the tracks while the subtle yet strong guitar-and-drum team set a sexy, intimate, overall appealing mood. Five stars, rating of ten, one of the best albums of the year, if not decade.
Steve gave it a10:
Proof that mixing rock and art isn't all pretension and exclusive. one album that is indeed a landmark in rock.
Mitch gave it a10:
Just a flawless album. I'm sorry, but even though the drumming is essentially one-dimensional, Jack White has produced some of the coolest guitar riffs since Zepplin 2. Every track is more compelling than the last. The lyrics are edgy, potent and all around interesting. Even in "In the Cold, Cold Night" and "I Want To Be The Boy", you can feel the energy radiating from this record. Their best album. Period.
Francesco B gave it a0:
Pessimo!
Nicole gave it a10:
I absolutely adore this album.
