This album is just simply wonderful.

Now they did it all right: guitars!

The best album of the white Stripes!Brilliant!Wonderful!

A solid rock powerhouse of an album. Great soloing, lyrically rich, and stylistically deep. Jack White uses horns and bagpipes on this record, as well as incorporating some pseudo-acting into the heavy blues track 'Rag and Bones.' This deviation from the typical White Stripes style has proved to be one of Jack's best albums.

Unfuckingbelievable. Album of the year. Jack White is my god.

The best White Stripes to date, a combination of what makes them original, rock'n and confident. Each song is better than the last and the lyrics are at there best, can't wait to see them play live on new tour.

Each time The White Stripes put out an album, it outshines its predecessor, and this remains true with Icky Thump. This record manages to maintain energy and momentum even after the powerhouse duo of "Little Cream Soda" and "Rag & Bone"; undeniably a difficult feat. Also, unlike certain previous White Stripes records, Jack does not falter once, nor does the solidarity of drummer/vixen Meg White. This album will exceed the expectations of even the most hopeful of fans. This is truly one for the ages.… Expand

One of my top 5 rock albums of all time.... Absolutely brilliant...

Their most pompous album so far, ranging from flamenco to garage-rock. I heard some Led Zeppelin, some R.L. Burnside with some Stooges on the side with a topping of those weird Zappa-solos. Something for everyone, including bagpipes. Not their most inventive singing melodies, but certainly some of their most stomping riffs!

Weird. But heavy, rockin', and contains several moments of downright awesomeness.

Wonderful album, elaborated, very well mixed, neat sound, fine heavy guitars and new experimental instruments, but wait a minute, were is the white stripes incredible sound style? the one that make all of as love them when the white stripes first appear. I know groups can’t stay playing the same music always, otherwise they wouldn’t sound fresh. But I think that if this label keeps making them sound so different, we’ll miss the rough ,simple , out of tune, 2 minutes, white stripe styled songs… al leas I will. Broken bones, Catch hell blues, my favourite songs.… Expand

Wonderful album, elaborated, very well mixed, neat sound, fine heavy guitars and new experimental instruments, but wait a minute, were is the white stripes incredible sound style? the one that make all of as love them when the white stripes first appear. I know groups can’t stay playing the same music always, otherwise they wouldn’t sound fresh. But I think that if this label keeps making them sound so different, we’ll miss the rough ,simple , out of tune, 2 minutes, white stripe styled songs… al leas I will. Broken bones, Catch hell blues, my favourite songs.… Expand

Y'all hear Icky Thump!

The White Stripes understand that the way to stay on top isn't to try and figure out what their audience wants, but to make what they want and force us to want more.

the worst album of the stripes...

Maybe the best Stripes album out there because of the way it pulls pieces of everything from their past (as well as the past of rock and roll in general) and also takes rock in new directions that can only be good for it and us as listeners.

Fantastic album, every track, with the exception of St. Andrew is very well thought out and perfectly executed. Great mixture of their unique "live" recording, and studio production. My favorites are Little Cream Soda, Rag and Bone, Martyr For My Love, and Catch Hell Blues. All and all their best album to date, and that's saying something.

While it is truly an artistic and original album, Icky Thump is not without flaws. While it is an amazing piece to listen to, Icky Thump veers far off from the band's roots. The raw power of guitar, piano and drums has been added to with Synth, bag pipes and horns... this isn't a bad thing, but the new direction can be a lot to swallow for any hardcore stripes fan. Personally the new sound is a welcome change to me. The lyrics however are not, the single "Ickt Thump" is about immigrants... not exactly the regular stripes outting. Jack seems to have lost his lonely, love obsessed side, which is understandable considering his recent marriage. Still The album is number three in my book, behind Elephant and Get Behind Me Satan. If this is thier new sound then great!.. sounds amazing, but I'll take a while to get adjusted.… Expand

Fantastic album!

Great move after exquisite Get Behind Me Satan. They're in better form than Led Zep after 5 albums. Don't you think that Icky Thump's main riff resemble a bit the one form "Moby Dick"...?

A modern masterpiece. Somehow Jack White is able to hone the blues, bluegrass, metal sounds without sounding derivative., Beautifully crafted album, exquisite song writing..and very honest. Martyr for My Love For You is a brutal ironic ode to teenage insecurities an anguish and Rag and Bone is just pure fun. Effect and Cause will be the most overlooked song yet contains a style of song writing the music industry hasn't heard since Dylan. Finally, Jack's guitar virtuosity- playing rythm and lead with Megs Bonzo-esque drumming make this due as loud and powerful and any band in the past 20 years. Bravo!… Expand

Very disappointing. I've always loved the White Stripes unique sense of style and their great sonic approach, but this album is definitely not up to par. Notably, the catchy melodies of 'Satan' and 'Elephant' seem to be missing. Maybe it will grow on me, but for now, Im let down.

Wow! What an album!!! My faiourite songs are; 'A Martyr for My Love for You,' 'Effect & Cause,' 'Rag Bone,' 'You don't know what love is,' '300 MPH' and 'I'm slowly turning into you.' The other tracks are gret too...!

After 5 albums and still going strong. The stripes never fail to amaze me, I can't stop listening to this album, much like their other albums in the past. Pure White Stripes goodness.

these guys just keep proving how the best music often comes from not taking oneself too seriously.

Very nice, feels like a showcase of all their previous albums. I highly recommend it.

Jack White's "White Album." Brilliant ramshackle mess.

just f-in awesome. like always. f-in ridiculous.

not the return to form it's said to be, nor brilliantly fresh either. i was more irritated with the album than anything. the best of the stripes still remain locked in everything up through white blood cells.

Simply awesome.

Along with Fountains of Wayne, they are incapable of making bad albums.

A brilliant album. Jack and Meg have outdone themselves again. Conquest, You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just do as Your Told), Icky Thump and Little Cream Soda are brilliant songs. Unlike most albums this one was worth the wait AND the hype.

A brilliant album, the best white stripes Album even better than De Stijl and Elephant!

fun and ferocious

Easily their most accomplished and fully realized sounding album to date. As always, the band delivers in spades. Not a single bad album to date...if you still don't respect them then you can eat it.

Another overrated release from an overrated band.

Best White Stripes Album since Distijl!! A huge sigh of relief after Get Behind Me Satan! Would have been a 10, but "Prickly Thorn" and "St. Andrews" didin't quite do it for me.

Absolutely incredible. A return to a more bluesy sound while incorporating the eclectic elements of Get Behind Me Satan.

Listened to the album all week on the MTV website. I was slightly disappointed but the first 4 songs are great.

More lyrical than their other albums. This is Jack White's soul put on display for everyone to hear. I don't like the Conquest cover so much, but the other songs more than make up for it.

How can a group be this good so long into their career ? Meg and Jack define all that SHOULD be great in music and put all those overproduced chart whoring wannabes to shame.Icky is brilliant ....listen and appreciate .

Always sonically interesting, Jack White rarely disappoints. I certainly would not classify "Icky Thump" as a disappointment, but it just slightly misses the mark. But even his slight misses overshadow every crappy rock tune currently on the radio. It's good, but is it great? No. Is it interesting and original? For sure. Will I listen to it over and over again? Most definitely. Will it be as good as "Elephant" or "Get Behind Me Satan"? Nah. But it's still worth listening to.… Expand

Holy crap, this album is awesome. Plain and simple.

This album is fantastic

the best and most diverse album i have heard in a long time. For those who dont think just listen to it a few times, front to back and then write your new review. Rock is alive and well and kicking ass and taking names

I really enjoy this CD a lot. The beat is really easy to get stuck into and the songs just sound very original. My favorite tracks would have to be Conquest, Rag and Bone and Bone Broke, although Icky Thump and 300 MPH Blues are also great tracks. The only gripe I have with this CD is that there are often softer, bluesy tracks that will for no rhyme or reason break into a squealing guitar solo (300 MPH Blues is a good example of this). Also the bagpipes are a little unnecessary, but still okay by me. In fact the only track on this CD that I consider weak and is one I will be skipping over is St. Andrew, and even it isn't horrible. Overall this is just a really great, hard hitting CD from a great band. Definitely will be one of my favorites for the year, and maybe longer.… Expand

the fact that this album has garnered such amounts of critical acclaim is a sheer mystery to me. The first two songs are great but none of the remaining material have something resembling melody..and the selfindulgent noodlings of mr. white is fast becoming rather tiresome!

Good to hear the Stripes rocking again, they're consistently one of the best bands around.

The White Stripes prove again that rock is still alive

Their second best record. Unusal, but still catchy, and smarter than it first appears.

Surprisingly decent. A definite improvement on the last two albums, at least in terms of consistency. It's not as self-consciously wacky as any of the previous records, but that may actually be a bad thing - Icky Thump occasionally strays into normality. No matter what, as somebody once said to me: "The Stripes may be good or they may be bad, but at least they play ROCK AND ROLL." What other currently popular band does that?… Expand

Icky Thump is the White Stripes' most engaging album yet. "Prickly Thorn" is the most memorable song on the album for me and how could you listen to "Catch Hell Blues" and rate this album anything less than an 7? Everything about Icky Thump was well thought out and while a couple songs definitely seem less inspired than the rest, Jack has returned to reclaim his title as one of the great guitarists of today.… Expand

A surprisingly weak album. I've listened to it many times, and it just doesn't match up to previous efforts. Perhaps recommended for the hardest-core fans, but beyond that it's not got much to offer.

YAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To me this is their best album yet..........he has gone back to his amped up Son House/Blind Willie McTell style blues..........also adding a few surprises which he always does.....this is a solid listen straight through.........no weak spots imo......get you some!

The album sounds very different from their previous releases. Still, it s the same old White Stripes to enjoy. Now it's not as much low-fi sound which made it an uneasy listen, but now it's more accessible and still raw at the same time. Great work

Good overall album but not great, probably their 3rd best offering behind Elephant, White Blood Cells, and right there with Get Behind Me Satan. Nice to see the band progress with new and experimental sound elements but it seems to lack the listening simplicity that made their previous albums great. Lyrically not as fulfilling as previous albums.

pretty damn good. the village voice review is sort of sad--an airing of the author's own issues rather than anything useful or interesting about the music.

Rolling Stone and Spin have become such douchebags. RS only gave them their INFAMOUS 3 and a half stars because they felt the Stripes hype was fading and Spin has needs to grow a pair. They've turned into Rolling Stone's bitch. This is one of the White Stripes very best.

tubs of fun & energy.. what's not to like?

i duno what it is about white stripes, i just cant stand their stuff... i think they are so over rated. i love alot of bands classed as "simular" to white stripes. but for some reason the white stripes fail to do it for me... or anything for that matter.

Whats with the one reviewer calling it prog rock. Guy has apparently never heard prog rock and prog rock is great anyway. Another great album by this band, maybe the best to date.

Great follow up after Satan and sets them up to do more "Satanish" work on their next album as well. They needed this album to keep the fans of "White Blood Cells" and "Elephant"

Bam!

Really love the White Stripes so whatever, but I had some healthy skepticism with this album. Seems like the gig should be up, the act pushed as far as it goes, but here I am unable to look away once again. This band just builds a relationship with the listener, and every album is like falling in love again with someone you think is your type but not instanly familiar. Dont know how they do it, but it works, it works very well.… Expand

worst album ever

Bliss.

This album is so fresh & nostalgic at the same time. Amazing!

I think the critics are sorely underrating this album. It's the best rock album released this year, by far.

Good, but not great. It seems to be all over the map musically, touching too many genres without really clicking on any of them. Still a generally enjoyable album, though somewhat disappointing.

Great Album

A truly diabolical album. No rhythm, no flow, lethargic and inept musicianship. Gone are the days when they could actually carry a tune - now it's just a dreadful mess getting a typically hyperbolic response.

Probably not their best, but damn does it come close!

Crazy and brilliant. Easier to listen to than Get Behind Me Satan, just as great.

he still cant sing, she still cant play the drums beyond a beginner's level. their success seems due more to hype than talent. they were better off sticking to the stripped down sound without getting all progressive. this cd hurts my ears

After reading reviews of this album that said it sounded like the first White Stripes release, I was excited. After listening to this album I was disappointed. I CAN hear the early stuff in there, but unfortunately usually in a way that reminds me of songs that were better.

Simply put, if you do not like a White Stripes song, give yourself the benefit of the doubt that you are not a mindless fool and just listen to it again...

A little more bold, a little more political, a little less passive. I loved this album from the word Icky and am happy to see that some bands can keep it together.

Fairly uneven. Sounded great live, though.

Honestly, interesting for the ears. Yes, rocking. Yes, weird, but not good weird. Kind of WTF weird. They strike me as a band in love with their sound, not their music. The 70s revival is quaint, but not relevant, and kind of tiring. Stick with something that has soul, like Cold War Kids. At least you know Cold War Kids loves their music and feels something deep that comes out in the lyrics (try tracks 1,6 on Robbers & Cowards).… Expand

After chance taking proved ill-fated with GBMS the White Stripes return to what they know. There is an undercurrent of resignation in these songs as if they'd rather be more adventureous but are chained to their proficiency. Although they garish with Mexican flavorings in attempt to be topical Jack is the same boy you've always know and Icky Thump is the same steak and potatoes you've always loved with the parsley switched to guac & beans.… Expand

this does remind me of the old White Stripes... except more polished (yet awesomely spontaneous) and experimental... luv it

Best album since Elephant. The only song I really don't like is "A Martyr for My Love for You". Other than that, great album.

Another amazing effort. The fact that some reviews use the bagpipes as evidence of some sort of aimlessness is just evidence that there really is not much to criticize about this exciting, vibrant album.

I'm obsessed all the way through to "Bone Broke," then I tune out for the bagpipe numbers, tune back in for "Rag and Bone," and then I rewind back to the start. "Effect and Cause" is the first Stripes song I truly hate: boring strummy blues and 100 hopelessly clever lines that all say the same thing. They set the bar too high with the last two albums I guess.

It's not 'De Stijl'. It's not 'White Blood Cells'. But its a damn good album nonetheless, and many of the tracks grow on you with time. The only song which to me is a 'throwaway' - take it or leave it- is 'You Don't Know What Love IS'.

probably the worst thing i have ever listened to. Jack white has one of the worst voices in music. Their is absolutley no flow or rhythm in this whole album. A bunch of crap is what this is

My wife has stated boldly that The White Stripes are the only band making REAL Rock 'n Roll anymore. While I disagree with that analysis (although I will not drag the other deserving musicians into this forum...) I must say that this album in no way makes me disagree with the fact that Jack and Meg rock, and rock hard. As for the bagpipes, I'm Scotch... it helps (explains how I can listen to a lot of things actually.)… Expand

Although this is not the best album by the white stripes, is good enough to be the best release in the last months. i loved conquest and rag and bone, not to much prickly thorn, but sweetly worn

What more can I say? Jack White delivers yet again! Though I miss the sounds of the old Stripes, I knew they would never sound the same after the Loretta Lynn album. Enjoyable! But I'm still left with the longing taste of what was the garage rock Stripes... but this will do, this will do.

Anyone who rates this album lower than a 7 just doesn't get it.

incredible. epic, experimental. this may be the next turn in music. they've made 5 excellent records, but who saw the next landmark in music history comeing?? best album released in my lifetime

Great cd. Jack White is a throwback who's ahead of his time.

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!

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)

Thoroughly enjoyable, actually!

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.

not as good as get me behind me satan but aa great album when it stands on its own