• Record Label: V2 / XL
  • Release Date: Jun 7, 2005
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. The New York Times
    100
    It's an album so strong and so unexpected that it may change the way people hear all its predecessors. And that's just a start. Listen long enough, and this album might change the way you hear lots of other bands, too.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    100
    One of the most fascinating things about the Stripes' fifth album is that on first listening it is likely to baffle fans of the Detroit duo as much as it will eventually delight them. [5 Jun 2005]
  3. Alternative Press
    100
    Remarkably cohesive. [Aug 2005, p.176]
  4. The finest album of the White Stripes’ career.
  5. White's commercial success has nothing to do with de Stijl or da blooze--just a strong, emotive voice delivering simple yet distinctive songs, which are fairly numerous here.
  6. If you happen to be a rock band, and you don't happen to be either of the White Stripes, it so sucks to be you right now.
  7. So put aside your disappointment at the lack of squealing guitar solos and take Get Behind Me Satan for what it is - another massive step forward in the evolution of a truly great band.
  8. The songs on Get Behind Me Satan are sturdy.
  9. Another remarkable White Stripes album.
  10. Get Behind Me Satan may confuse and even push away some White Stripes fans, but the more the band pushes itself, the better.
  11. Get Behind Me Satan marks the point where The White Stripes music has finally become as charismatic and mysterious as its creators.
  12. This is a subtle record that rewards what you're willing to put in.
  13. Both more deeply melodic and somehow more resigned and melancholy than his previous albums, White’s latest may just be his best.
  14. Get Behind Me Satan is the strangest and least focused effort by these unlikely garage rock superstars to date. It's also their finest, an Exile on Main Street-ish mish-mash where the sum is greater than the parts.
  15. Uncut
    90
    Hardly an alienating, experimental listen... White hasn't written such an accessible set of songs since 2000's De Stijl. [Album of the Month, Jul 2005, p.88]
  16. Q Magazine
    90
    Very possibly, an even better album than Elephant. [Jul 2005, p.108]
  17. A very strange album, which shreds the old White Stripes rulebook (no bass, just guitar and drums) and pushes into territories way beyond the blues and rock of their previous four records.
  18. The real revelation here is their ability to show a more varied and at times vulnerable side to their sound.
  19. Blender
    80
    When a guitar hero abandons guitar, it can be because he's bored or because he's a provocateur, or, in the case of Jack White, likely both. But he pulls it off. [Jul 2005, p.113]
  20. It isn’t until you’ve given it your full attention that the album starts to reveal its true depth and worth with songs that stick and get under your skin and make you come back for more.
  21. The White Stripes continue to surprise and entertain simultaneously.
  22. Under The Radar
    80
    Though it might not be their biggest or best album, The White Stripes might never make a bolder one. [#10, p.114]
  23. Spin
    75
    Like an art film that ignores narrative, there are moments on Get Behind Me Satan when the motion seems stationary. [Jun 2005, p.101]
  24. Even with a generous handful of tracks that easily rank alongside the White Stripes' best work, Get Behind Me Satan remains a confounding record, one that wears its "transitional album" tag like a heavy peppermint-striped crown.
  25. We've been waiting over two years for a follow-up, and in that context, "Get Behind Me Satan" is disappointing.
  26. Get Behind Me Satan is the first White Stripes album that sputters because it’s the first White Stripes album that tries to sell their image instead of their music.
  27. Not everything clicks on Get Behind Me Satan -- sometimes it’s too timid and freaky -- but enough of it is so unique, even within the Stripes' own canon, that it succeeds regardless of its faults.
  28. Get Behind Me Satan lacks the confidently muscular (if sonically overreaching) ambition of Elephant, the raw, bruising intensity of White Blood Cells and the appealing hooks of De Stijl.
  29. Filter
    68
    A record with a few inspired moments that is otherwise uneven, incomplete, a little muddled and sonically hollow. [#16, p.86]
  30. [Will] leave White Stripes' fans divided.
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 283 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 19 out of 283
  1. Oct 20, 2011
    10
    The White Stripes, like The Strokes are a band who can completely change their sound for one record and it will be just as good as their otherThe White Stripes, like The Strokes are a band who can completely change their sound for one record and it will be just as good as their other work. It's a strangely relaxing album and is a breath of fresh air from 21st century **** Full Review »
  2. Apr 10, 2020
    5
    No doubt my least favorite album of The White Stripes. A few songs on here are memorable (My Doorbell, Little Ghost, and The Denial Twist) butNo doubt my least favorite album of The White Stripes. A few songs on here are memorable (My Doorbell, Little Ghost, and The Denial Twist) but most of it is bland. Full Review »
  3. Tmz
    Jan 3, 2020
    8
    É um grande álbum, com músicas realmente boas, mas há algo que parece faltar quando comparamos com Elephant, talvez seja porque Get Behind MeÉ um grande álbum, com músicas realmente boas, mas há algo que parece faltar quando comparamos com Elephant, talvez seja porque Get Behind Me Satan seja o álbum menos ousado ainda que o uso de instrumentos diversificados seja louvável Full Review »