Icky Thump - The White Stripes
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39
view
per page
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    Despite all the distortion and teeth-shivering riffs, Icky Thump rivals White Blood Cells in accessibility. [22 Jun 2007, p.68]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    Playing at world, at heavy, at soul, [Jack White] arts it up plenty and protests a little.
  3. The A.V. Club
    91
    If nothing else, this record is fun.
  4. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    'Icky Thump' is brilliant, there's no way around that.
  5. Dot Music
    90
    "Icky Thump" is really a very odd record indeed, but then, oddness of a particularly bravura nature comes naturally to them.
  6. Playlouder
    90
    As White Stripes albums go, 'Icky Thump' is a goodie, and there's no resting on of laurels either.
  7. Blender
    90
    It's the sound of a band not stretching out so much as digging in: burrowing deeper into loamy soil they know well. [Jul 2007, p.109]
    All this publication's reviews
  8. Paste Magazine
    90
    Such arty, at times enervating, digressions highlight Icky Thump’s curious weight; whereas Elephant’s dinosaur-rock stomp got cut with fragile acoustic turns, there is little reprieve here.
  9. musicOMH.com
    90
    It's eccentric, it's exhilarating, it is, in parts, absolutely insane. Yet it's never less than absolutely compelling, which is what makes The White Stripes one of the greatest bands of modern times.
  10. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    With Icky Thump they have proven, yet again, that being musically sound in both songwriting and craftsmanship, while knowing how to exercise instrumentation is key in making a solid album in today’s day and age.
  11. Lost At Sea
    82
    At 48 minutes, Icky Thump has enough genre-hopping, rip-roaring tunes to get even the 70s rock purist nodding his head again.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 199 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 120
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 120
  3. Negative: 6 out of 120
  1. DavidR
    9
    Brilliant Album, from the funky yet experementive icky thump, to conquest with its spicy mexican influence (first performed by Corky Robbins) its trumpets are also exquisite. However tracks 6 & 7 which feature a bag pipe do not do it for me, it reminds me of irish folk music, not my type. But little cream soda ignite the white stripes flame with is heavy rock stripped down feeling and its succesor 'rag & bone' another hit, all tracks up to effect and cause are then pure garage rock at its best and white stripes at their best, i would give it a 10, but the big pipes are just not doing it for me, its left me quite shocked. However i believe the best tracks are icky thump, conquest, little cream soda & rag and bone.… Full Review »
  2. Ricko
    7
    Solid final album from the blues rock duo. It's not got any songs that are complete magic, which is not something you would say about the 3 records previous to this, and that is where it loses out. It's a consistent record, mostly full of bluesy rock, typical ofwhat we've come to expect from Jack and Meg White. Opener and title track Icky Thump is by far the most interesting thing on it - and by White Stripes standards could be classed as experimental. After that they play it safe for the most part. Bone Broke is the other standout track for me. Not the worst record you'll hear but Jack White has put his name to far superior records.… Full Review »
  3. hydrawithears
    8
    Now, this is my favourite album by The White Stripes. It has the harshness of Elephant but is also lovely in its oddness. The cover image showing Jack and Meg as Pearly King and Queen and the title (the correct spelling is â… Full Review »
See all user reviews »