Icky Thump

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This article is about the album by The White Stripes. For its title track, see Icky Thump (song).
Icky Thump
Icky Thump cover
Studio album by The White Stripes
Released June 15, 2007
Recorded February 2007 at Blackbird Studio, Nashville
Genre Alternative rock
Length 47:44
Label Warner Bros. (US)
XL (Europe)
Producer Jack White
Professional reviews
The White Stripes chronology
Walking with a Ghost
(2005)		 Icky Thump
(2007)

Icky Thump is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released June 15, 2007 in Germany,[1] June 18, 2007 in the rest of Europe, and June 19, 2007 in the rest of the world.[2]It is their first album on Warner Bros. records

Icky Thump entered the UK Albums Chart at number one[3] and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 223,000 copies sold.[3][4] By late July, Icky Thump was certified gold in the United States. By the end of 2007, 1,235,000 copies had been sold world-wide making it the 39th best-selling album of 2007.[5] As of March 8, 2008, the album has sold 725,125 copies in the US. On February 10, 2008, the album won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Contents

[edit] Recording and production

The album was recorded at Nashville's Blackbird Studio and took almost three weeks to record—the longest of any White Stripes album to date.[2] Jack White said that the album would appeal to fans of the band's self-titled debut, suggesting a stripped-down hard rock sound. A statement on the band's official website (spuriously attributed to "Kitayna Ireyna Tatanya Kerenska Alisof" of the "Moscow Bugle", a reference to the 1966 Batman film) humorously claims that:

“ The White Stripes have completed the recording and mixing of their sixth album. It is entitled Icky Thump, and is their first album to include a title track, which curiously (and not ironically) has the same words in it's [sic] name. Though some residents of northern England might almost recognize the title, the Stripes stress they are spelling it wrong intentionally just for "kicks" and "metaphors," and to avoid a possible lawsuit from the estate of Billy Eckstine. ”

A video of The Stripes in the studio working on the album can also be found at their site, although the aforementioned statement has this to say about the song: "The actual music has been replaced with mid eighties sampling keyboard technology to prevent what industry analysts are now calling 'song poaching.'"

Entertainment Weekly's online site had an interview with Michel Gondry in which he said he would be directing a video for "I'm Slowly Turning Into You".[6] He mentions the idea for the video. Gondry also says that the video idea came first, and after mentioning the idea to Jack White, White wrote the song to fit that idea.

The White Stripes have been known for their ability to keep their albums under wrap very near to release, unlike several bands who leak tracks several weeks before release dates.[citation needed] However, several tracks from the album were leaked, and on May 30, 2007, Chicago radio station Q101 aired the entire album without the band's permission. Jack called into the station and reacted angrily about them playing it.[7] There is speculation that the label supplied the album to the station in order to promote its release. [8] In the liner notes of Icky Thump, "Electra" is thanked on the second line, just after God. According to Ben Blackwell, Jack White's nephew, this is not directed towards the radio DJ, Electra, but to a pet Jack and Meg White used to have.

The White Stripes announced the completion of Icky Thump on February 28, 2007. The title is derived from "ecky-thump", a Lancashire colloquial response of surprise, popularized by an episode of the 1970s UK comedy series The Goodies. On Later with Jools Holland (broadcast June 1, 2007) Jack attributed the album's name to its use as an exclamation by his wife, who is from Lancashire. He added that the deliberate misspelling was to make it easier for an American audience to identify with.[9] The liner notes for Icky Thump also suggest the spelling variation was due to concerns over copyright infringement.

Ironically, the pearly costume "theme" that the band used for this album is a traditional Cockney outfit, somewhat contrary to the Northern dialect of the title.

[edit] Promotion and release

The promotional box for Icky Thump, used to wrap ice cream given away by Ice Cream Man.
The promotional box for Icky Thump, used to wrap ice cream given away by Ice Cream Man.

To promote Icky Thump before its release, the band distributed custom-designed boxes and previewed tracks from the record through Ice Cream Man. The ice cream promotion focused on the Coachella,[10] Sasquatch, and Bonnaroo festivals and culminated in the band's release show on June 20, 2007 at the temporarily rechristened Icky Thump Records[11] in West Hollywood.[12]

The USB drive album artwork for Icky Thump. The left is a stylized drawing of Jack, and the right is Meg. The hats are the covers to the drives.
The USB drive album artwork for Icky Thump. The left is a stylized drawing of Jack, and the right is Meg. The hats are the covers to the drives.[13]

In addition to being released on CD and 180 gram vinyl, the band released the album on a limited edition 512 MB USB drive.[14] There are two versions, one of which depicts Jack, the other depicting Meg. The pressing was limited to 3,333 of each,[14] and were shipped the week of the U.S. release. Each drive contained the album in Apple lossless format.

The 180g vinyl edition contains alternate versions of both "Icky Thump" and "Rag and Bone". "Icky Thump" is a slightly different mix to the digital version and is also edited to be 14 seconds shorter. "Rag and Bone" is also a different mix but in addition contains totally different vocals for each verse (possibly the original guide vocals and there are no vocals from Meg) and is missing the harmonies from the last chorus, resulting in the track seeming unfinished.

The sound quality of the digital versions of Icky Thump has been a hot topic surrounding this album - it has been criticized by some saying the songs have been mastered too loudly and without using peak limiting. Critics claim this results in clipping or "digital distortion" which can be heard during any of the tracks (particularly during bass drum hits) as nasty crackling. The vinyl version was mastered by Steve Hoffman, a highly respected audiophile mastering engineer.[15]

[edit] Reception

The album received mostly positive reviews, with an overall average rating of 80 at MetaCritic.com.[16] Barry Nicolson with English magazine NME wrote, "Icky Thump is brilliant, there's no way around that."[17] Commenting on the album's "fuller sound and relaxed flights of fancy," Heather Phares, with AMG, said "Icky Thump is a mature, but far from stodgy" album, and that "it's just great fun to hear the band play."[18] Jon Dolon, a critic for Blender magazine, remarked "It's the sound of a band not stretching out so much as digging in: burrowing deeper into loamy soil they know well."[19] In one of the more negative reviews, Josh Tyrangiel with TIME magazine remarked, "The White Stripes are too weird and talented to be boring, but it sounds like they might be a little bored."[20] Ultimately giving the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and giving an (A-) on his website, Robert Christgau, with Rolling Stone, summed up the return album this way "Although the new constructions don't entice as consistently as they should, their noise stays with you. And what that noise stands for is itself." He added, "Like his sometime heroes Led Zeppelin, Jack White builds monuments. They're suitable for awestruck visits. But they're no place to settle down."[21]

On December 6, 2007, Icky Thump was nominated for four 2007 Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the single "Icky Thump", winning Best Alternative Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. Q Magazine named Icky Thump as the 2nd best album of 2007. The album was #17 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007 as well.[22]

[edit] Track listing

All songs were written by Jack White, except where noted.

  1. "Icky Thump" – 4:14
  2. "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)" – 3:54
  3. "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" – 5:28
  4. "Conquest" (Corky Robbins) – 2:48
  5. "Bone Broke" – 3:14
  6. "Prickly Thorn, but Sweetly Worn" – 3:05
  7. "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" – 1:49
  8. "Little Cream Soda" – 3:45
  9. "Rag and Bone" – 3:48
  10. "I'm Slowly Turning into You" – 4:34
  11. "A Martyr for My Love for You" – 4:19
  12. "Catch Hell Blues" – 4:18
  13. "Effect and Cause" – 3:00
Bonus Tracks
  1. "Baby Brother" (bonus track on the Japanese and iTunes edition) – 2:10
  2. "Tennessee Border" (Hank Williams) (live, bonus track on iTunes pre-order edition) – 2:09

[edit] Personnel

  • Jack White – vocals, guitar, synthesizer
  • Meg White – drums, vocals
  • Regulo Aldama – trumpet on "Conquest"
  • Jim Drury – bagpipes on "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" and "St. Andrew"

[edit] Charts

Single information
"Icky Thump"
"Rag and Bone"
"You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)"
"Conquest"

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Amazon Germany. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
  2. ^ a b News page. White Stripes web site. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
  3. ^ a b "The White Stripes - Icky Thump global chart positions and trajectories". aCharts.us. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  4. ^ Katie Hasty, "Bon Jovi Scores First No. 1 Album Since 1988", Billboard.com, June 27, 2007.
  5. ^ Global Track Chart
  6. ^ "Let's Get Visual"
  7. ^ "The White Stripes react angrily to album leak"
  8. ^ "BBC World Service | The Beat
  9. ^ Ecky is described as being a Lancashire slang equivalent of heck (itself a euphemism for hell) according to Partridge's Dictionary of Historical Slang, Penguin 1972, entry for Heck.
  10. ^ "Ice Cream Man - Coachella Review 2007" icecreamman.com
  11. ^ "White Stripes Give In-Store Performance — At Record Shop That Doesn't Really Exist" mtv.com (June 21, 2007)
  12. ^ "Ice Cream Man - The White Stripes at Icky Thump Records" icecreamman.com
  13. ^ (2007). "Icky Thump USB Flash Drive - Jack & Meg Set (Save $10)" WhiteStripes.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  14. ^ a b The White Stripes' Icky Thump Due on USB Drive. Pitchforkmedia.com (2007-06-12). Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  15. ^ Phillips, Marc. "Part LXII: 2007: Year of Grumpiness". Vinyl Anachronist, December 2007.
  16. ^ No byline (2007). "Icky Thump" Metacritic.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  17. ^ Nicolson, Barry (2007). "The White Stripes: Icky Thump" NME.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  18. ^ Phares, Heather (2007). Review AllMusic.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  19. ^ (Dolon 2007, p. 109)
  20. ^ Tyrangial, Josh (2007). "The White Stripes' Odd Appeal" TIME.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  21. ^ Christgau, Robert (2007). "Icky Thump" RollingStone.com (accessed June 19, 2007)
  22. ^ ROBERT CHRISTGAU, DAVID FRICKE, CHRISTIAN HOARD, ROB SHEFFIELD (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
The Traveling Wilburys Collection by Traveling Wilburys		 UK Albums Chart number one album
June 24, 2007 - July 1, 2007		 Succeeded by
An End Has a Start by Editors
v • d • e
The White Stripes
Jack White · Meg White
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
DVDs
Related