Icky Thump
by The White Stripes
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 247 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 221 out of 247
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 247
  3. Negative: 8 out of 247

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  1. Tmz
    Jan 3, 2020
    9
    Sujo, brilhante e ousado
    White Stripes traz mais um álbum incrível, é tão estranho como o álbum é tão sujo e ao mesmo tempo tão polido
  2. Mccusky
    Mar 17, 2018
    10
    I hadn't really listened to The White Stripes for about ten years and I was a fan but didn't think they were particularly good songwriters but this album is on a whole other level to anything I have heard, the ear bleeding guitar is jaw dropping, riffs are ridiculously good! Its a beautiful sound and there are some classic songs, I would say its a classic rock album. Wow
  3. Rooniedoo
    Nov 7, 2015
    8
    Meg sounded like she was bored of drumming during most of this album, rag and bone and conquest were great songs, so was Icky Thump. The album is good, just Meg sounds like she's done with the band (Which, she was)
  4. alecvl08
    Oct 14, 2014
    6
    This album isn't a masterpiece, but it definitely has more character than some other White Stripes albums, so I'm ok with it. I just don't get The White Stripes' style at all. Favorite track: Catch Hell Blues
  5. Ricko
    Jun 28, 2012
    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 -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.… Expand
  6. hydrawithears
    Nov 2, 2011
    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
  7. j30
    Sep 22, 2011
    6
    This might be my least favorite White Stripes album. You get the feeling they're losing their importance in rock music. There some good songs here and there, but nothing compares to their earlier work.
  8. jAbMaN
    Apr 13, 2011
    10
    I love the title of this album's song "Icky Thump". It kicks ass and The White Stripes are an awesome band. Too bad they broke up though.
  9. dude
    Oct 8, 2010
    9
    I think they are getting more danggoures each album....!!! and this one is just weird ,peculiar,brave and also unique & brilliant ......but some times i wish there was some place to settle down...i mean some country tracks or something...but because this is pretty awesome i dont mind...! i mean common this is Rock & Roll...!! what ells do you need...!? and if you dont compare it withI think they are getting more danggoures each album....!!! and this one is just weird ,peculiar,brave and also unique & brilliant ......but some times i wish there was some place to settle down...i mean some country tracks or something...but because this is pretty awesome i dont mind...! i mean common this is Rock & Roll...!! what ells do you need...!? and if you dont compare it with "elephant" you will see that it definitely has it`s own moments that dont let you down.… Expand
  10. KlausV
    May 27, 2008
    9
    Icky Thump may be the only album with any substance that's come out in recent history - beacuse of the songwriting. While most bands substitute good songs for clean musicianship and flashy reverb-filled solos, The White Stripes somehow have managed to be actual rockn'rollers in this absurd modern age of music.
  11. JonathanH
    Feb 15, 2008
    8
    Not their best, but damn it all if this album is not proof that throwing the "here, this is how to make an album" mentality out the window is a spectacular thing. There is no concern or worry whether or not mariachi trumpets and bizarro rock bagpipes will fit in the same album (let alone being seperated by one song). Rag and Bone is pure ballsy rock fun, and who else could title a Not their best, but damn it all if this album is not proof that throwing the "here, this is how to make an album" mentality out the window is a spectacular thing. There is no concern or worry whether or not mariachi trumpets and bizarro rock bagpipes will fit in the same album (let alone being seperated by one song). Rag and Bone is pure ballsy rock fun, and who else could title a Metallica-esque stomp "Little Cream Soda?" Very, very few people… Expand
  12. spencerp
    Feb 6, 2008
    10
    Best of the year...probably. The band's most consistent offering to date and the best guitar work you'll hear this side of LedZep IV. Less favourable reviews in a few places, probably because they've dropped the punk of Elephant in favour of a snarled, mashed up blues that fuses Page/Plant with elements of rap (Icky Thump), Beefhart/Waits(Rag and Bone) and loads more Best of the year...probably. The band's most consistent offering to date and the best guitar work you'll hear this side of LedZep IV. Less favourable reviews in a few places, probably because they've dropped the punk of Elephant in favour of a snarled, mashed up blues that fuses Page/Plant with elements of rap (Icky Thump), Beefhart/Waits(Rag and Bone) and loads more besides. Drop you preconceptions of what the band should be, open your ears, and marvel!… Expand
  13. Tyler
    Nov 19, 2007
    10
    Best album I've heard in 2007. Another great album from a great and original band.
  14. Oligami
    Sep 11, 2007
    6
    It's too much of a slightly above-average thing.
  15. DanielC.
    Aug 26, 2007
    10
    VERY highly recommended.
  16. MarekK
    Aug 24, 2007
    9
    Very good album to me. I'm not a rock fan, like more jazz stuff, but White Stripes' new album is very strong, even after two weeks listening. I also listened their older stuff and maybe I can understand some of negative comments here. This new album is really different sounding (but best album for me), I like how it lives, it rocks (but not in classical way - this is positive Very good album to me. I'm not a rock fan, like more jazz stuff, but White Stripes' new album is very strong, even after two weeks listening. I also listened their older stuff and maybe I can understand some of negative comments here. This new album is really different sounding (but best album for me), I like how it lives, it rocks (but not in classical way - this is positive aspect for me). And ... this simple drumming and clear quitar playing is exactly how it sounds good. Most 4-8 people rock bands just sound too messy, too oversounding, too nonnaturally ... White Stripes is simple, its streightforward ... but its not bad I think. Catch Hell Blues, Martyr For My Love For You and Rag and Bones are highlights, maybe Bone Broke is the weakest song here, also I think Conquest is halfly done - its not bad, but I feel, its weakly done. I listen very many styles and really think that White Stripes is not overrated. Maybe to serious rock fans it does just too different sounds.… Expand
  17. JamesH
    Aug 23, 2007
    9
    My favorite stripes album was De Stijl, mainly because I loved the guitar, songs like "Little Bird" even their cover of Son House's "Death Letter" was pretty crazy. But songs like "Bone Broke", "Catch Hell Blues", and "Little Cream Soda" made me love this album. I have trouble listening to it as a whole, like I could with some other albums, but it was worth my money.
  18. ToddW
    Aug 10, 2007
    9
    It cracks me up to read some of the Minicritic reviews concerning the newest offering from the White Stripes. People who appear to be ambivalent about their new offering still manage to find a way to attempt to write the Great American Record Review in its wake. I ashamedly admit to being one of those who, like a cliche hipster with an unearned yet large dose of self-importance, kept this It cracks me up to read some of the Minicritic reviews concerning the newest offering from the White Stripes. People who appear to be ambivalent about their new offering still manage to find a way to attempt to write the Great American Record Review in its wake. I ashamedly admit to being one of those who, like a cliche hipster with an unearned yet large dose of self-importance, kept this group at arm's length despite two fine albums in White Blood Cells and Elephant. Simply put, Icky Thump is one of the best guitar rock albums of this or any other year. The has-beens in Aeroshit, Immobile Stones, The Who(?), and Van Noiseland need to go to school on these two. Think about it, much of the music on this album is made by just TWO people, and it compares favorably with the best of any guitar rock of any era. If that alone is not enough to give you pause, well, put on your headphones and crank up your so-called classic rock which has been beat beyond dog food on the airwaves of our country. It and you have grown beyond tiresome to the rest of us. Mad props to Meg and Jack for playing anywhere and everywhere in an attempt to get their art before a persnickety public. Elementary classrooms, busses, fishing boats, it doesn't matter; there's not an icky bump in their road. May they keep on rockin'.… Expand
  19. BlakeT
    Aug 6, 2007
    9
    Possibly Their Best Accept it just lacks the variety of get behind me satan
  20. BrendanD
    Jul 31, 2007
    6
    If I have to hear one more person call Jack White a genius, I might have to puke. That being said, Jack White is a genius (barf). One listen to the way he deftly appropriates pesudo-Celtic music on "Prickly Thorn, Yet Sweetly Worn" and "St. Andrew" will leave you breathless, wishing you were surrounded by the Scottish Highlands or the Northern-Irish Giant's Causeway. The title track If I have to hear one more person call Jack White a genius, I might have to puke. That being said, Jack White is a genius (barf). One listen to the way he deftly appropriates pesudo-Celtic music on "Prickly Thorn, Yet Sweetly Worn" and "St. Andrew" will leave you breathless, wishing you were surrounded by the Scottish Highlands or the Northern-Irish Giant's Causeway. The title track is a fun romp through White's typically Zeppelin-meets-Dylan bluesy charade -- nothing new, nothing as deep as "Blue Orchid," but entertaining nonetheless. And "You Don't Know What Love Is" is the best non-freakout song the duo has done since "Hotel Yorba" off their third record. Those four tunes, plus the weird half-song/half-sketch "Rag and Bone," save the album from being a completely rehashed disaster. Seriously. If not for the Celt-inspired tunes in the middle of the record or the two "true" rock tunes that start it off, you'd be reading a very different review. The problem here isn't that the songs aren't any good on their own; they range from decent to brilliant, as I've said. But they don't form a cohesive record. What made "Get Behind Me Satan" work so well was that it committed to the freakout-country mode that Loretta Lynn put Jack into during the recording of "Van Lear Rose." "Elephant" worked because Jack just wanted to do Zeppelin. But on "Icky Thump," he never finds a cohesive message. Listen, for example, to "Conquest," and explain how you get from that to "Prickly Thorn" in a matter of two songs. That might work on the mixtape your little brother made for you before you went away to college because he was just throwing on everything that you might like to listen to on your drive from suburban Seattle to Berkeley; but in the midst of a single record, it seems more jarring for the sake of being jarring, as if Jack's just tossed on a bunch of ideas, rather than molding them into a cohesive work of art, as he's done so deftly before. "Icky Thump" is experimentation for experimentation's sake; and while that's a laudable goal, the end result is, unfortunately, the worst project with which Jack White has ever been associated.… Expand
  21. Sophie
    Jul 31, 2007
    10
    Great record - a lot of fun, some amazing tracks, and not a weak spot on the album. I definitely need to check out more of the White Stripes =)
  22. RyneS
    Jul 31, 2007
    10
    Unbelievable!!! Every song is good. A great guitar album with a bunch of songs capable of single material
  23. MikeD
    Jul 29, 2007
    9
    Terrific record. If it's not quite the stone classic that White Blood Cells or Elephant are, it's damn close. The greatness of this band lies in their complete sincerity and seemingly total lack of pretension in what they do. They're clearly not afraid to explore different styles of music. But more importantly, they understand that ultimately what matters is great songs, Terrific record. If it's not quite the stone classic that White Blood Cells or Elephant are, it's damn close. The greatness of this band lies in their complete sincerity and seemingly total lack of pretension in what they do. They're clearly not afraid to explore different styles of music. But more importantly, they understand that ultimately what matters is great songs, and if that means primarily the garage and blues rock that were used to from them, that's OK, too. Possibly the record of the year, so far.… Expand
  24. seand
    Jul 29, 2007
    8
    pretty damn good, more rockin than get behind me satan and a little weirder too, they have yet to disapoint
  25. ixata
    Jul 27, 2007
    9
    not as good as get me behind me satan but aa great album when it stands on its own
  26. aaronr
    Jul 27, 2007
    8
    Now with what most would consider 6 great albums,ranking lowest white blood cells which says a lot, the white stripes are zeppelin status in my book. (what did they do past physical graffiti of significance when one thinks about it?) thank you jack for keeping my interest in new music.
  27. DecepticonPom
    Jul 26, 2007
    8
    Thoroughly enjoyable, actually!
  28. Jorenv
    Jul 24, 2007
    10
    this is THE best album of the white stripes!! it just kicks ass!! the lyrics of the songs: conquest, about a player who becomes played by a girl, a martyr for my love about a boy who walks away from a girl because he knows he will hurt here! and so one!! all the songs kick ass, except the two Scottish songs. (sorry jack)
  29. JoshuwaeE
    Jul 22, 2007
    10
    Took me 3-4 listens - WOW I am SO hooked. Previous albums had great tracks - but this album is complete and has no 'shallow' spots. This album takes me on a great journey - an homage to emotion-driven rock music. My favorite overall album from the Stripes. My favorite track initially was Rag & Bone - but now everything else has now become my favorite "45 minute track!" Wow!
  30. JosephB.
    Jul 16, 2007
    10
    Great cd. Jack White is a throwback who's ahead of his time.
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Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best Album of 2007
18
#18 Most Discussed Album of 2007
47
#47 Most Shared Album of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39
  1. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    This is a heavyweight album in every sense of the word.
    Read full review
  2. Drowned In Sound
    70
    This is by far The White Stripes’ most peculiar record.
    Read full review
  3. Uncut
    80
    A compellingly weird experience. [Jul 2007, p.92]
See all critic reviews »