White Blood Cells is the third studio album by American alternative rock duo The White Stripes, released on July 3, 2001. Recorded in less than one week at Easley-McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, and produced by frontman and guitarist Jack White, it was the band's final record released independently on Sympathy for the Record Industry. Bolstered by the hit single “Fell in Love with a Girl”, the record propelled The White Stripes into early commercial popularity and critical success. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 497 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Review:
Despite the seemingly instant attention surrounding them – glowing
write-ups in glossy magazines like Rolling Stone and Mojo, guest lists boasting
names like Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson, and appearances on national TV –
the White Stripes have stayed true to the approach that brought them this
success in the first place. White Blood Cells, Jack and Meg White's third
effort for Sympathy for the Record Industry, wraps their powerful, deceptively
simple style around meditations on fame, love, and betrayal. As produced by Doug
Easley, it sounds exactly how an underground sensation's breakthrough album
should: bigger and tighter than their earlier material, but not so polished that
it will scare away longtime fans. Admittedly, White Blood Cells lacks some of
the White Stripes' blues influence and urgency, but it perfects the pop skills
the duo honed on De Stijl and expands on them. The country-tinged “Hotel
Yorba” and immediate, crazed garage pop of “Fell in Love With a Girl”
define the album's immediacy, along with the folky, McCartney-esque “We're
Going to Be Friends,” a charming, school-days love song that's among Jack
White's finest work. However, White's growth as a songwriter shines through on
virtually every track, from the cocky opener “Dead Leaves and the Dirty
Ground” to vicious indictments like “The Union Forever” and “I Think
I Smell a Rat.” “Same Boy You've Always Known” and “Offend in Every
Way” are two more quintessential tracks, offering up more of the
group's stomping riffs and rhythms and us-against-the-world attitude. Few
garage rock groups would name one of their most driving numbers “I'm Finding
It Harder to Be a Gentleman,” and fewer still would pen lyrics like “I'm so
tired of acting tough/I'm gonna do what I please/Let's get married,” but
it's precisely this mix of strength and sweetness, among other contrasts, that
makes the White Stripes so intriguing. Likewise, White Blood Cells' ability to
surprise old fans and win over new ones makes it the Stripes' finest work to
date.
All Music Guide – Heather Phares