After 13 years and six studio albums, The White Stripes have finally released their first live album, Under Great White Northern Lights. It was recorded on their three-week coast-to-coast tour of Canada while promoting their 2007 studio album, Icky Thump. The Detroit duo, comprised of divorced couple Meg and Jack White, covered every province and territory, putting on unforgettable shows in sometimes unconventional venues, such as pool halls, bowling alleys, fishing boats and tiny town squares.
The new album comes with a DVD that allows new and old fans alike to catch a glimpse behind the scenes of the band on tour. Under Great White Northern Lights provides a stronger intake of the true, definitive White Stripe emotions as they embark on their tour, incorporating White Stripes classics, such as ?Blue Orchid,? ?Fell In Love With a Girl? and the unforgettable, age-old song ?Seven Nation Army.?
In less than hi-fi quality, the album opens with a dominating, amped-up crowd, and resounding bagpipes and, at times, overbearing rhythms. The first eight tracks of the recording fail to impress. However, with the transitory cover of the Dolly Parton song ?Jolene,? the album slowly transcends into an intimate experience, with ?300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues? closely following the cover. Despite the feeling of being an outsider to the music at the beginning of the album, the crowd?s energy becomes a communal aspect of the listening experience, as the energy slowly escalates toward the final song, ?Seven Nation Army.?
As both the listener and the crowd anticipate what is to come, the song ?We Are Going To Be Friends? marks a subtle, yet notable union of the cherished characteristics of the White Stripes ? the noisy chaos, familiar vocals and driving intonation of Jack White inevitably envelopes you.
Taking all of this into account, Under Great White Northern Lights, while an enjoyable experience, leaves the listener with an inescapable desire for the Elephant album, and hope for a release of another studio album.