100 Best Albums of the Decade: 4

4: The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

The White Stripes went from their greasy garage in Detroit to the summit of greatness when their career defining fourth album Elephant was unleashed like an atomic bomb on the world of music in 2003. A record that sounds like a band petite in size growing out of their shell and making rock the size of a Roman Legion, blues rock went from the delta back into the world conscious thanks to Jack White and his cohort in crime Meg.

The songs are all about love and a young twosome wrestling and coming to terms with a such a necessary evil. And White means business from the starting gun as he sings about a will so strong that "a seven nation army couldn't hold me back". Failure is not an option and come hell or high water he's determined to carve out a niche to store the things most precious to him.

While the band's first three records ever gently got their foot in the door, the doors come blasting off the hinges here. These are some the most blustering and most abrasive tracks ever added to the Stripe's library. "Black Math", "Hypnotize" and "Little Acorns" are the poor man's version of "Psycho-Billie Freak Out". Sludge guitar and thunderous drums sound like the end of the world - or at least someone coming home pissed off after an eternity at the office. Meet White's wrath.

But that's just his poker face. The man's real mission to win you over with his sensitive side. "In The Cold, Cold, Night", "I Wanna Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart", and "You've Got Her In Your Pocket" are easy to pass over at a quick listen. But doing so would deprive you of this album's real impact. The boisterous stuff seems more gaudy when mixed with these lonesome tunes. And the somber songs come off as more believable when paired next to an 8 minute blues jam like "Ball & Biscuit". You need a well balanced diet.

Elephant is crammed with tenacity, speckled with vulnerability, and bleeds tangibility. You don't listen to this batch of well cooked tunes - you feel them to your very core. This band has just taken you to church and baptized you in the spirit of the blues. Top Tunes:(Seven Nation Army, Ball & Biscuit, The Air Near My Fingers)