However (there's always a however with these things), White Stripes are not the saviors of rock and roll. They are not the greatest thing since MC5. Elephant isn't so much a triumph of the simple sounds of rock and roll as it is a triumph of style over substance. The album is too simple to be anything more than a big, fat candy bar. Jack White's efforts to be everything to everyone in the re-emergence of pure rock bands is admirable; but his reliance on Meg White's mediocre drumming skills and his penchant for trying to do too much with too little overwhelms the sincerity within. It's a good, fun album. It's good background music for cleaning the house or pretending to do yardwork while you're just drinking beer and neighbor-watching or driving through rush hour traffic with one hand out the window and one hand on the horn. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's good music. It's rock and roll. But it's nothing that's going to change the world. Not even the music world.
I don't think Elephant is the most overrated album of all time. Not even close. But I just surprised myself here by what I wrote about it. I didn't know I liked the album so much until now.
You learn something new every day, even about yourself.
[Just because the poll has ended doesn't mean I'm done - I'll be "reviewing" some of the other overrated albums later today]
Added Update: Don't shoot the messenger! I'm only doing these albums because they were nominated by my readers in a poll on my site. If it was up to me, I'd just list every Dylan, Beatles, Eagles, Nirvana, Madonna and Stones album and be done with it. Maybe we should be doing underrated albums instead?
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
The album is too simple to be anything more than a big, fat candy bar
the same thing can be said about Nevermind or any Ramones album.
i wouldn't agree tho...
2 - michele
I agree that the Ramones are basically candy, as much as I love them.
Nevermind was, while not the greatest album ever, a bit more than candy. Say...a chocolate cake.
3 - Rodney Welch
What do you want from a record? A ham sandwich? Filet Mignon? Caviar? One thing I think that needs to be pointed out: "overrated" does not neccessarily mean bad, and by no stretch would I call
i Elephant
a bad record.
4 - Eric Olsen
thanks Michele, very cool series! There is hype and there is fashion and there is critical consensus - I think you have to give a fair amount of time before you can really say where any work of art fits into the pantheon
5 - eric schultz
I am not sure where you folks are coming from and am in no way trying to "flame" any of you; maybe I am just too old, but calling the Stripes and (God forbid) the Ramones candy almost made me fall off my chair. Granted most of the garage band stuff sounds like it came from the garage, but the Stripes have cultivated the punk attitude (with a serious blues bent) that has made music exciting and listenable again. The Ramones being the original punk band that they were deserve so much more credit than just that.
At a time when overblown prog-rock was the style, they (the Ramones) came out and blew everyone away with 2 to 3 minute brick-in-your-face songs that typified what was going on in their lives and New York at that period in time. The Pistols and Clash followed the Ramones' lead in England and started a musical and cultural revolution. Can you call the Ramones, the Pistols or the Clash overrated? I don't think so; and in the case of the White Stripes, I think they are in the same boat as Nirvana in being at the right place at the right time and becoming critics darlings. If that is overrated, so be it, but I don't think there is another "garage" band out there that can touch them, let alone 90% of the garbage they play on the radio these days.
My two cents... e
6 - Mark Sahm
I'm really surprised that Elephant was considered more overrated than White Blood Cells. I felt Elephant got 'overhyped' with its release... but musically, it was far superior (to WBC). It's hard not to tap your foot to 'Black Math' or 'Girl You Got No Faith in Medicine' no matter how many listens I give it. They could have done without Meg singing lead on two tracks though.
7 - The Theory
It's always been unfair to lump The White Stripes in with bands like The Strokes or The Hives. The latter two bands are polished and alternative, TWS are raw and more blues and rock than alternative.
8 - jadester
i had a similar, though stronger, experience to this with The Hives. When I first heard their stuff, I just thought they were recreating a number of 70s sounds, reasonably well, but nothing to shout about.
They did, however, grow on me a bit. I still don't agree that they're "revolutionary" or even particularly influential, but they are pretty damn good. However, I always quite like the Stripes. I felt Elephant was lacking a bit though. A little too stripped down, or maybe just not enough actual playing time to make it a great.
I do agree that it's hardly over-rated. I don't think I saw or heard any reviews trying to claim it as "the best rock album ever" or even close.
Now, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, it took me a deal longer to get into their stuff. I'd not been impressed for about the first two or three weeks that some of their tracks from By The Way had been playing, usually several times a day, on the radio, but then one evening whilst sitting in the SU bar with a pint, I forgot the hype surrounding their latest album and just listened. Then I went and listened to the whole album.
Yes, maybe underrated albums would be a better subject. It's all too easy to forget that "overrated" doesn't necessarily mean "crap" or even "average", just that the amount some people spooged over a particular release was...over zealous
9 - SFC SKI
"The Strokes or The Hives. The latter two bands are polished and alternative," I would like to add that the Strokes just plain suck, and the Hives are fantastic.
As for the Stripes, they are hit and miss with me, I download their good songs, but they haven't produced $14 worth of CD yet, that is just my opinion, though.
10 - Eric Berlin
I don't even know how to respond to this one, so I guess I agree with Eric O.
It's one thing to not like the album, from which you might say it's overrated. But I happen to think it's a great record. Sure, it's been hailed as such from time to time, but not overly so in my opinion.
I think The White Stripes bring a remarkable variety of blues, rock, punk, garage, and pop... so if it's candy, it's really really good candy.
11 - Karen
If someone is overrated, it's the writer of this crappy article.
12 - Jim457
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd. It is somewhat interesting, but after playing these songs a billion times on the airwaves, is it really such a good album?
13 - Irk Hamleg
Hey. Ain't no way White Stripes is overrated or I'm just a big pile of monkey dance shit. Fling shit at apple pie on window sill monkey dance shit I'd be.
Ramones, then White Stripes made blues monkey shit flingable again.
14 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
The White Stripes aren't overrated... They just suck!